Throughout history, washerwomen have gathered at the riverbanks and in their backyards to do their wash and share their lives.

The washline functioned as a place where they could put down their emotional loads and connect. In these ordinary acts and moments of togetherness, they built collaborative and caring communities, and strong networks of resilience and fortitude. Showing up daily for one another to share their stories, they learned from each other, protected one another, and grieved personal losses, as well as life's challenges, together.

While the tradition of communal laundry may have evolved, it continues to serve as a powerful symbol of drawing strength from our foremothers and the oral histories that unite us across generations and time.

We have lost touch with many of  the rituals and traditions that allow us to process our experiences in community, at a time when we could use them the most. In today’s increasingly hyper-industrialized world, we are expected to heal ourselves out of sight of each other and with as little disruption as possible.

The grief we experience may be both personal (loss of a loved one, a friendship, a belief that you once valued, a dream for oneself, a changing sense of identity) and collective (a world at war, systems of bias and prejudice, displacement or diaspora, climate change, political schisms). 

One purpose of community is to care for each other during periods of difficulty. It is in the coming together, the witnessing, and the sharing of stories that the hard edges of grief dissipate to make room for new futures and imaginations of what is possible. 

Participate by sharing your story.