Help Hải go to Việt Nam this fall with QTViet Cafe

i'm hải, a queer 2nd generation Việt Southeast Asian cook, seed saver, cultural artist, and writer of the diaspora passionate about ancestral foodways, decolonization, and homeland connections! i was raised by parents from two delta villages in southern Việt Nam - Mỹ Tho and Chợ Gạo (Tiền Giang).

growing up in a Việt immigrant family of gardeners, farmers, and cooks, i learned the proverb, “Một cây làm chẳng nên non, ba cây chụm lại nên hòn núi cao”. in English, it roughly translates to one tree provides little strength, three trees in strength together allows us to reach high mountains. this proverb is a guiding light in my commitment toward justice, visionary organizing, and food and ecological sovereignty – that when we come together collectively, we can achieve anything and change the world.

i joined the QTViệt Cafe Collective back in 2016 to heal with other queer, trans, and non-binary việts with a focus on preserving and honoring ancestral lifeways, creating art to address the hurt in our families and community, and making intergenerational spaces that dismantle stereotypes and fear and grow respect and love.  i've found sanctuary, healing, warmth, connection, belonging, and love among many other things!

while i've been to việt nam twice when i was a young child (7 and 12 years young), it took me another 22 years before i returned as an adult for the first time in 2018 after my mom passed.  i've been back two more times since, and every time, i heal more and more deeply with the land and people there.  it's been so powerful as a queer việt in the diaspora to attempt to make connections with my blood family there while simultaneously meeting local queer and trans việts there, especially on my last trip!  i'd love to reconnect with those local qtviệts again to collaborate on showcasing our art and healing for the first-time-ever and introduce the beautiful qtviệt community i've grown with in the diaspora to them!  

please help our collective reach our goal of raising $50K by this october to be able to travel together as a crew to grow our group healing and network of artists!  more to come - i'll make sure to share updates along the way! thank you so much <3