GROW Sets up Camp With Red Tent Temple
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Women, especially mothers, are often lauded for their nuturing capabilities. But they just as often fail to take as good a care of themselves as they do those around them.It is this fatal flaw that has inspired doulas Alisa Blanchard and Angelique Walls to found GROW; Gathering Resources of Women. According to Blanchard, GROW was literally born out of her experience as a new mother and wanting to help other mothers in the area.
"As mothers it has been inspiring for awhile now," she said in a phone interview. "Both of us had a strong interest in advocacy and over the last year the process has snowballed and continues to grow."
According to Walls, GROW, which currently sponsors the Pittsfield Birth Circle, the Berkshire Birth Professionals Network and the Berkshire Community Doula Project, has created a much-needed space for area women to network, share experiences and seek support within a close-knit community.
"When we were forming this, we looked at our own experiences and said 'here's what I wish I had and here's what I need,'" she said. "We knew that we were going to do something in this community for women. In supporting women we are supporting their spouses and their families and their children."
In addition to offering weekly birthing classes and general discussions, GROW has also extended its arms to all women, mothers or not, by inviting them to participate in its monthly Red Tent Temple. Every month, around the new moon (Feb. 5 is the next temple meeting) GROW sponsors an all-day retreat that includes drumming, art, meditation, dance, a potluck meal and a formal women's circle. All that they ask, said Blanchard, is that women bring food to share and "an open mind."
"It's unlike anything that women have experienced. We have very few expectations," she said. "We ask that they bring an open mind and that they don't judge, especially themselves. We want women to come and enjoy nurturing, resting and doing nothing. This is a community that we are building."
The Red Tent Temple Movement was inspired by Anita Diamant's 1998 novel "The Red Tent," a fictionalized account of the life of Dinah, Jacob's daughter, who appears very briefly in the Book of Genesis. More so than the story itself, is the book's focus on the red tent, a sacred gathering place where women would go during menses, illness and to give birth. While the ancient functions of the tent have transformed with the times, and the physical space is not a tent but the
"Everyone is welcomed into the Red Tent. It's a beautiful space with colorful fabric hanging on the walls," she said. "There are cushions on the floor, tables with art supplies, snacks, women talking quietly with each other or reading. It's like coming home."
In addition to relaxing and meditation, women who attend the Red Tent Temple are encouraged to sign in. This process includes taking advantage of the skills and training of the other women in attendance as well as offering up a skill or service.
"Last month, we had more than 35 women here," Walls said. "They offered reiki, tarot readings, foot rubs, life counselling. When women come in they write down what they need and what they can give. Some women just need some quiet time or some nurturing or someone to listen to them; basically support."
As more women make their way to the monthly retreat, Blanchard said GROW will continue to do just that. In addition to the Red Tent Temple, they keep adding support groups and family events to their healing roster.
"We need community," she said. "There's nothing that community can't do."
