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Braiding Rivers

Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Braiding Rivers, Eco tour agency, Unceded Algonquin Territory, .
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24/04/2024

Swag 2024🤍

Look how happy good swag makes you feel! Shop easier knowing we are committed to working with local, small batch and/or sustainable sources to bring you swag we love. We think you’ll love our swag too, like the Loft Coat, the Modern Melton and the recycled cashmere toque from , with a restock of a fan fave, mugs!

100% of our profits go into The Ripple Effect Bursary AND until May, 15% of our swag profit will go towards the fundraiser to keep this hub along the banks of the Madawaska river and within our community.

22/04/2024

Meet the guides! Say hey to Mina🤍

Mina Etezadi (she/her) is a racialized, cis-gendered, q***r settler who grew up in Tiohti`ake/Montreal and now lives in Tkaronto/Toronto. She spends her working days trying to create a more equitable Ontario Public Service as Senior Manager, Centre of Excellence for Human Rights and Employee Experience, Treasury Board Secretariat.

As a child to immigrant parents from Iran, she is on a lifelong journey to connect with, heal and understand the magic in her own lineage while living, working and playing on lands that would have been foreign to her ancestors. She finds it easiest to be her truest self in the woods, by water, on her bicycle and moon gazing. She looks forward to sharing her love of canoeing and is committed to building a sense of community that honours the gifts of the land and waters through reciprocity.

We are so grateful Mina will be co-leading Joy and Release: BIPOC Presence On the Water, Aug 2-5 in Algonquin Park!

09/04/2024

Meet the guides! Say hey to kumari!

kumari (they|them) grew up learning to paddle alongside their family and have been supporting other q***r and trans people of colour in connecting with land since then - whether it be planting gardens, walking forests or paddling on the water.

They are an artist, facilitator, food maker and consultant who embraces their multitudes. They are based in tkaronto, with roots in many places. A mixed maker of many things they lean into creativity and curiosity towards collective transformation and healing. kumari is interested in engaging people in unique and creative ways through embodied agency, storytelling and food through a healing, trauma informed framework. Whether holding space, participating, sharing or guiding, they aspire to shape processes with trust, access, joy and play.

kumari is slowly unfurling from a period of deep healing alongside playing, foraging and learning about liberation in the forest.

We are so grateful will be co-leading the Joy and Release trip, Aug 2-5 in Algonquin Park🤍

19/03/2024

A love note to manoomin from , one of our co-founders and fellow water woman✨

“If there is a better example of a
healthy relationship
than
the relationship between
manoomin and Anishinaabeg,
I do not know it.

Long-term and devoted
- 10,000 years and then some
this relationship is renewed every fall, as harvesters
are intimately engulfed by the thick mat of
manoomin,
canoes gently parting the plants, gratefully
accepting the seeds that fall into laps
hair
and mouths.

In this relationship,
one’s flourishing nurtures another’s
The more that we harvest manoomin,
The more manoomin grows.
The more that manoomin grows,
The more we flourish.

As manoomin expanded northwest along the Great
Lakes,
the Anishinaabe followed
Seeding and leading each other.
It is not a subtractive relationship,
it is not rooted in scarcitv.

Harvesters do not “receive less” when muskrat,
ducks, fish, geese, and insects feed,
hide,
and nest in manoomin.
Everyone receives more, as these relations too
sustain and strengthen us.
This relationship can support an entire community.
An entire ecosystem.

I wonder why some people despise manoomin.
They say it is because it gets in the way of their
boats. They say it is “taking over”
“their” peaceful
lake. They say it is to
“protect” their cottages. They
say it is to’
“save” the lake.
I pity them. Their relationship with the lake is
panicked, gripping, and fearful, only affirmed by
state sanctioned legal frameworks and rising
property values.

I am so grateful to have had my hands in manoomin
so I can learn from an example which is opposite to
that.
May I be in such relations with everyone in my life.
Where my flourishing does not subtract from yours,
but is part of yours.
Where your flourishing nourishes mine, and mine, yours.”

Chi miigwech for your words, Keira 🌾

08/02/2024

A sweet, meditative reflection on the teaching of water, in all her forms by one of our co-founders, 🤍

The Land will always be the greatest teacher.

“Today while out sitting in a pile of fluffy snow after the storm, I marvelled at the different ways water can take form.

Here in Montreal, we were greeted with about a foot of the most delightful packing snow. I stood above a creek dropping snowballs into the water, watching them slowly be molded and melted by the current.

I found myself picturing each water molecule and the journey it has been on, only to arrive with me in this moment. I was transported into a daydream akin to an episode of Magic School bus, my body shrinking down to the size of a water molecule, going on the journey too.

While following the droplet, I pictured it at one point flowing through a narrow section below Richard rapids (aka Z rapid) on the Dumoine. I found myself wondering at, and welcoming, the idea that perhaps somewhere in these frozen layers of snow was a molecule of water who had been with me at one point on the river.

How beautiful to be reunited again —
in a completely different context —
both of us shaped and weathered by our travels
since seeing each other last.

My water droplet friend never resisted this change, but allowed the forces acting on her to arrive in this moment.

I think I’ll trust that I too will end up where I need to be.”

What has your relationship with water taught you? Drop a comment 👇

📸:

19/01/2024

An intimate share from co-founder on what it can be like as a woman leading in outdoors spaces. This was ONE of the catalysts for the creation of Braiding Rivers — a need for spaces where these conversations could happen in safer spaces and become the seed for (dare we say) a revolution of thought.

*context: Rachel is a cis-gendered, straight white settler, responding to a request for her account of sexism experienced in a classroom setting of mostly cis-het white men.*

“So much of the general experience of being in that class comes from moments that accumulated over time…all of the incidences are so small — microaggressions — that they can be explained away or understood within their context, e.g. ‘that person probably has stuff going on at home,’ ‘they’re probably stressed about their upcoming test.’

The issue is that as a female instructor, I deal with this kind of stuff all the time and what seems to be even more harmful is the expectation that I will, in fact, just deal with it. I will let it slide off my back, I will soften, understand, make accommodations, not make it a big deal, be chill. And when I don’t, I will be reminded... I’m ‘too sassy.’

And because I love teaching…these moments become an unpaid aspect of my job description. I think about this a lot, both because it directly impacts me as a female surviving the patriarchy, but more so because…I see the ways this kind of [violent, sexist thinking] particularly impacts women that I mentor, and I see the ways that it sideswiped the women before me…

It is so paramount that everyone on the gender spectrum unpacks the ways in which we have internalized that the role of a ‘woman’ is one of service — to give their time, energy, kindness, empathy, body, mind, stories…so that we can identify all the ways in which we perpetuate patriarchal violence.”

Drop a comment below if you can relate👇

27/12/2023

Ever wonder about how we spend our time with the rivers we know and love✨🤍🌊

Slide1. fishing on the Ekonakwasi Sipi (Dumoine River)

Slide 2. teaching participants how to filet a fish

Slide 3. giving a lift ✈️

Slide 4. leading a campsite beach yoga class

Slide 5. and enjoying warm summer water swimming with Ekonakwasi Sipi

28/11/2023

“In the Western tradition there is a recognized hierarchy of beings, with, of course, the human being on top—the pinnacle of evolution, the darling of Creation—and the plants at the bottom. But in Native ways of knowing, human people are often referred to as ‘the younger brothers of Creation.’ We say that humans have the least experience with how to live and thus the most to learn—we must look to our teachers among the other species for guidance. Their wisdom is apparent in the way that they live. They teach us by example. They’ve been on the earth far longer than we have been, and have had time to figure things out.”

~Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass

Never more applicable than now.

May we learn — from the trees, the water, the rocks, the winged and finned ones, the animals, the ecosystems of being — to recognize our newness on this earth. In doing so, perhaps we can hear the call to walk gently and with softness for each other. May we hold more capacity for nuance, for kindness, for compassionate action, in the hopes of moving ever closer towards right relationship.

When you’re stuck, can you listen to the Land?

06/09/2023

Trauma-Informed Facilitation Workshop Saturday, September 23, 12-6 PM EST✨

Do you ever feel out of your depths as a guide/outdoor educator/teacher/instructor/humyn supporting others in their emotional experiences??

Literally same.

We are hosting a workshop with for facilitators.

Join Shauna as she invites us to explore:

🌊Deepening kinship with ourselves and the Land in a good way
🌊Trauma-informed facilitation frameworks
🌊Our personal edges as we support others
🌊 Co-leadership and decision-making

Cost is $150 for the day, payment plans are available as needed.

DM to secure your spot🤍

24/08/2023

I stand
on the sacrifices
of a million women before me
thinking
what can i do
to make this mountain taller
so the women after me
can see farther

legacy - rupi kaur

A beauty shot of some of our fave women and Zofia. We are so grateful for their commitment to building capacity for women+ to travel with the Land🤍

10/07/2023

So grateful for our Babes In Boats weekend to be so heart-filling. Our multi-generational trip was watched over by Grandmother Moon at her fullest and it was really special to watch women from all walks of life gather and support each other. Amongst the intangible lessons, we somehow also fit in learning how to navigate our boats and bodies (“boad-ies”) in whitewater.

So much respect to the humyns who showed up and met themselves where they were at. More of this in the world, please!

Shoutout to the moon for her unwillingness to be fully captured by a camera lens 📸

29/05/2023

“Let's not kid ourselves, we find mutual love only when we know how to love. And the best place to start practicing the art of love is with the self — that body, mind, heart, and soul that we can most know and change.

The one person who will never leave us, whom we will never lose, is ourselves.

Learning to love our female selves is where our search for love must begin....rather than embracing faulty thinking that encourages us to believe that females are inherently loving, we make the choice to become loving.

Choosing love, we affirm our agency, our commitment to personal growth, our emotional openness.”

~bell hooks, “Communion: The Female Search For Love

22/05/2023

We are so grateful to say that we have only 2 spots left on this near-and-dear-to-our-hearts Madawaska Flatwater trip, July 14th-July 17th. The pace of this trip is beautifully gentle, allowing for lots of space for fishing, playing, swimming and deep, sacred rest.

The Madawaska is our home river in the heart of Anishinaabec territory and she holds a special place in the hearts of many paddlers. The Madawaska is both firm and gentle and a dear friend to learn and grow with.

We’ll begin our journey in the Lower Madawaska Provincial Park, travelling with the river flow, around cascading waterfalls and through playful swifts. We will have a rest day on Day 3, where there is the opportunity to hike to the top of Blueberry Hill for an expansive view of the river and the valley lands that hold her.

Click the link in our bio if you're feeling a big "yes!" to join us!

04/04/2023

Dreaming of summer sunsets on the water?

“But…”

🛶”I’ve never paddled whitewater before!”
✨Our long weekend course, Babes In Boats (July 1-3), is for you — 3 spots left!

🛶”I want to go on a canoe trip, but whitewater is too scary right now!”
✨Check out our Women With the River Flatwater (July 14-17) for a beauty flatwater trip paddle down the Madawaska River — 4 spots left!

🛶”I want to go on a whitewater canoe trip, but I don’t have the time to commit to your 8-Day Dumoine trip!”
✨Heyyy, we get it! That’s why we created Women With the River Whitewater (July 14-17) for those who want the adventure of whitewater without a big time commitment — 3 spots left!

All our trips are running on the Madawaska River this year on unceded Anishinaabe territory. Gratitude to this Land and her people!

Join us and learn why this place has our hearts🤍

30/03/2023

Call out for applications for The Ripple Effect Bursary 🛶

We aim to reduce financial barriers to outdoors spaces through our crowdfunded (by people like you!) bursary to subsidize the costs for women+ to get outside. Currently, we are seeking applicants for The Ripple Effect bursary to join us on the river this year!

The bursary is for you if you:

1. Identify as female/woman+
2. Want to join us on a flatwater or whitewater canoe trip (check 'em out on our website!)
3. Believe you would benefit from financial support

If you would like to apply for the bursary, head on up the link in our bio. If you would like to be a part of increasing access for women+ to be with the Land, do the same to donate👆

24/03/2023

“I hope you will go out and let stories, that is life, happen to you, and that you will work with these stories from your life — not someone else’s life — water them with your blood and tears and your laughter till they bloom, till you yourself burst into bloom. That is the work. The only work”
~Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Women Who Run With the Wolves

19/03/2023

Raffle Winner Announcement!

Firstly, WEE! We were able to raise $645 with the raffle of .wilds beautiful turquoise ring and 's mug. Not gonna lie, it was tough to NOT put a raffle ticket in😅

To give context to how meaningful your donations are, the raffle raised nearly enough ($80 shy) to fund an entire seat on a Babes In Boats weekend, or half a seat for the 4-day Women With the River.

Now for the winner ...

We had a delightful occurence where our dear friend won the raffle, but opted to rescind (read: gave up) his prize for someone who can rock that ring (WLYSM Ian 💚 ), so with that being said...our winner is Meredith Buckley!!

Thank you all so much for your generous donations and participation in the raffle. As always, your belief in our vision helps to make accessing outdoors spaces possible for more people.

08/03/2023

✨The Ripple Effect Bursary Turqouise Raffle✨

TLDR: raffle details below…

Today is International Women’s Day and we are so grateful to honour the women who came before us, our contemporaries and those who will follow us after.

We continue to recognize some of the complications with “International Women’s Day.” Very often, this “history” captures the history of one type of woman, without recognizing Black, Indigenous and women of colour. These movements have also been exclusionary of gay, le***an, two-spirited and women with a trans experience, as well as unhoused women.

We also see lack of representation in the outdoors industry, and we recognize there are many barriers facing women+ to accessing these spaces. As an industry, we need to continuously ask ourselves why it is this way, how we perpetuate it, and how we can shift this.

For our small part, we have developed The Ripple Effect Bursary to reduce financial barriers to accessing outdoors spaces for women+. This year to raise more funds for more folks, we’re offering a BOMB raffle with .wilds for her Braiding Rivers turquoise + silver ring PLUS one our Of the River mugs in turquoise✨

To enter the raffle for .wilds silver and turquoise ring and Of the River mug:

1. Donate directly to our GoFund me (link in bio)
2. $2=1 ticket, $5=3 tickets, $10=7 tickets
3. Each tickets gets your name dropped in the “bucket” once, unlimited entries,
4. Raffle entry closes March 17th!

While this day reminds us to celebrate our victories, it also reminds us that it is not a victory if it does not include all women.

Happy IW+D🤍

16/02/2023

A repost of some really important questions co-founder Keira Loukes invites us to ask, particularly as a company whose "business" it is to be with the Land and Waters:

"Many outdoor enthusiasts say that traveling by canoe makes them “feel Canadian”, or is “quintessentially Canadian." Yet, something in this does not sit well with me. It is not because I think settlers should not travel by canoe, or should not be connected to land – it is because I see the relationship between settlers and canoes and land in North America as extremely complicated.

For example, where did the canoe come from and who taught settlers how to paddle and build them, how to navigate the terrain and water systems? Yet, when canoes are built, bought, and rented – what meaningful credit is given to the original inventors? The lakes and rivers these canoes travel on and the relationships to land that they facilitate – who was removed in order for these relationships to be built?

When people say that canoes feel Canadian, I also hear them say that theft of Indigenous technologies and land is Canadian. Which, I guess it is. ⠀
⠀
This is not an accusation or a challenge or a judgment, just a simple question - what do we lose when we gloss over how complicated these relationships are? What do we lose when we avoid that discomfort? ⠀
⠀
Of course, this is not to say that settlers should stop canoeing, buying canoes, renting canoes, or being on the land – indeed, our company itself is in the business of facilitating relationships between all sorts of people and Algonquin land. It is just to trouble the relationship. If we ran from every relationship and conversation that was complicated, uncomfortable, and made us question ourselves - how would we grow?

See it as an opportunity to reconsider the relationships with canoes, land, and travel that have previously felt simple, innocent, “natural”, and well-intentioned. Do we have the courage to go deeper than that as a society? As individuals? ⠀
⠀
Leanne Betasamosake Simpson is a writer, academic, and musician from Alderville First Nation (the same community as my grandfather, father, uncles). Consider her song/poem “How to Steal a Canoe,” linked in our bio.⠀
⠀
Consider what feelings arise in your body when you watch this. Can you ask that feeling where it comes from, or what it is asking you to do?"

13/02/2023

Babes In Boats is our delightful long-weekend introductory whitewater workshop for newcomers to paddling and those who want a little refresh. This year, we're offering two trip dates: July 1st-3rd + August 5-7!

For these weekends, we are so grateful to call the our home, located right next to the Madawaska River with running (potable) water, sinks for dishes, firewood and composting toilets -- the perfect amount of amenities for those who want to dip their toes into camping.

This weekend is a gentle introduction for women+ to build relationships with whitewater, themselves and others within a supportive environment. You will not regret saying yes 😎

02/02/2023

Women of the River -- Flatwater -- our brand new program for Summer 2023 and spaces are filling up quickly!

Women of the River is a 4-day flatwater canoe trip, on our home river, the Madawaska. While the Mad is known for her whitewater, she also offers calm, gentle, slow moving waters protected within the Lower Madawaska Provincial Park.

Some things we're looking forward to with this trip are:
- 2 stunning waterfalls
- 2 nights at Crooked Rapids (known to us as "Blueberry") where some say this is the most beautiful spot to camp on the river
- An optional hike up Mt. Jameison
- Beautiful warm pools of water to swim in

If you have been apprehensive about the whitewater, or the physicality, involved in our other trips, this trip offers a gentle entry point to meet the river. We will be travelling minimal distance each day, with a focus is on relaxing in relationship with the Land.

Yeow!

30/01/2023

Today while out sitting in a pile of fluffy snow after the storm, I marvelled at the different ways water can take form.

Here in Montreal, we were greeted with about a foot of the most delightful packing snow. I stood above a creek dropping snowballs into the water, watching them slowly be molded and melted by the current.

I found myself picturing each water molecule and the journey it has been on, only to arrive with me in this moment. I was transported into a daydream akin to an episode of Magic School bus, my body shrinking down to the size of a water molecule, going on the journey too.

While following the droplet, I pictured it at one point flowing through a narrow section below Richard rapids (aka Z rapid) on the Dumoine. I found myself wondering at, and welcoming, the idea that perhaps somewhere in these frozen layers of snow was a molecule of water who had been with me at one point on the river.

How beautiful to be reunited again --
in a completely different context --
both of us shaped and weathered by our travels
since seeing each other last.

My water droplet friend never resisted this change, but allowed the forces acting on her to arrive in this moment.

I think I'll trust that I too will end up where I need to be.

xo,
Ashley

10/01/2023

We're so excited to announce that we've got our 2023 swag listed on our website finally! Thank you to everyone who has already (whoa) purchased from us, knowing that 100% of our profits go into our Ripple Effect Bursary to subsidize the cost of women+ to join us on the river.

We have a few of The Modern Meltons and recycled cashmere toques from left, restocked Of the River Mugs and newly added Dust City Designs wood stickers to share with you!

As always, we are so proud of the collaborations on our swag, as they exemplify the kind of environmental practices that we love, all while making us feel sexy, cozy, badass and well-stickered.

Woot!

xo,
Rachel, Ashley and Keira

06/01/2023

We took a long winter's nap over the holidays and Yule to cultivate serious Hag vibes with our dear ones. While we're still savouring rest, we're working away to put out new swag, fill our 2023 trips and go through applications for The Ripple Effect Bursary.

We hope that you feel the slowness of the season and sit around the metaphorical fire with humans that make you feel warm inside.

xo,
Rachel, Ashley and Keira

07/12/2022

We are currently offering an Early Bird Special of 20% off all trip bookings between now and the Winter Solstice on December 21st🌚

We're so happy to offer this as a way to reduce financial barriers to being with us on trips AND to ensure that we can run these wonderful trips in the summer. As a small business, wintertime is crucial for us to know in advance that we have the resources (i.e. $$) to pay our team to run these trips. The Early Bird Special is our way of thanking those who make this possible!

Until December 21st, you can either choose to take 20% off ANY of our trips, or pay the full cost. If you choose to pay full price, we'll put your 20% directly into The Ripple Effect Bursary to financially subsidize women+ to join us with the Land. Yay!

Your support means everything to us, so we can keep supporting ourselves and others in building gentler relationships with the Land🌞

29/11/2022

“Is it not a magical thing, this life, when just a little ash, cinder, and unclear water can arrange themselves into a beautiful old woman who sways, lifts, kisses, loves, sickens, argues, loses, bears up under it all, and, wrinkling, still lives under all that and yet feeds the Holy in Nature by just the way she moves barefoot down a path?

If we can find the hearts, tongues, and brightness of our original souls, broken or not, then no matter from what mess we might have sprung today, we would be like those old-time speakers of life; every one of us would have it in our nature to feel obligated by such true living beauty as to know we have to say something in its presence if only for our utter feeling of awe.

For, finally learning to approach something respectfully with love, slowly with the courtesy of an ornate indirectness, not describing what we see but praising the magnificence of her half-smiles of grief and persistent radiance rolling up from the weight-bearing thumping of her fine, well-oiled dusty old feet shuffling toward the dawn reeds at the edge of her part of the lake to fetch a head-balanced little clay jar of water to cook the family breakfast, we would know why the powerful Father Sun himself hurries to get his daily glimpse of her, only rising early because she does.”
~Martin Prechtel, The Unlikely Peace at Cuchumaquic

📸:

23/11/2022

As the Land goes to sleep around us, we're drinking in some rest and dreaming towards next summer. Check out our Summer 2023 journeys below, including two brand new trips. Enjoy a 20% discount if you book your trip before the Winter Solstice (December 21st)!

🌞Babes In Boats (July 1st – July 3rd + August 5 - 7)

This is our weekend introductory, or refresher, white water paddling workshop. Here you will spend time with the beautiful Madawaska River in Palmer Rapids, Ontario.

🌞Women of the River - Madawaska Whitewater (July 14th – July 17th)

A new offering for summer 2023! This 4-day whitewater canoe trip takes us on a journey with our home river – the Madawaska – in the heart of Algonquin territory.

🌞 Women of the River - Madawaska Flatwater (July 14th - July 17th)

You asked for flatwater and we listened! We're so excited to travel on the Madawaska River for a truly gentle flatwater journey.

🌞 Embodiment with the River - Dumoine (July 22nd - July 29th)

This trip is designed with an intentional focus on embodiment and mindfulness as pathways to remembering our connections to ourselves and the Land.

Check the link in our bio for more deets or to register!

09/11/2022

Last January 2021, we launched The Ripple Effect Bursary to subsidize the cost for folks who identify as female to travel with the Land and us. The bursary, and our summer, was a beautiful success thanks to donors and friends like you!

While our small company can't overthrow late-stage colonial capitalism (yet!), we knew from the outset of Braiding Rivers that we wanted to tackle financial barriers that limit access to our trips. In light of this, we created The Ripple Effect Bursary, a multi-stream grant built through crowdsourced donations and merchandise sales.

Through your generous donations this year, we raised a total of $4,191.03!

$1,408 through GoFundMe
$783.03 from the sales of our 2022 swag
$2,000 from private donors

So much love and gratitude to you and our loving female makers !

We want to increase the number of folks who can access this fund for Summer 2023, so here are some ways you can continue to support our vision:

🌚Spread the word: If you like what we are about, tell a friend, share our social media posts or tag us if you bought some swag!
🌚 Donate to our GoFundMe: 100% of your money donated goes directly into The Ripple Effect Bursary. Link in bio!
🌚Purchase swag: We'll announce our 2023 lineup just in time for the Yule season. Keep your eyes open here!
🌚Trip with us: Our Summer 2023 trips offer a scaled payment method. Any amount above the base cost of the trip goes directly into The Ripple Effect Bursary

This year, $1150 of your contribution helped make our Babes in Boats weekend accessible for two women. There are still funds left, so if you, or someone you know, want to travel with the river and us in Summer 2023, yet are prohibited by cost, please fill out a bursary application through the link in our bio.

We'll officially be announcing Summer 2023 dates next week, so stay tuned!

xo,

Rachel, Keira and Ashley

11/07/2022

A part of our philosophy is building capacity for folks to feel comfortable and confident in outdoor spaces. With rivers, this includes building a relationship with the river and learning to understand and speak her language(s). Rachel also calls this 'getting our river eyes'.

River morphology is a term used by folks who travel with rivers to describe this language. While morphology is the study of shape and sound, we think of river morphology more so as the learning of a language.

Just like spoken language, the river speaks in a way that is nuanced. At first, her alphabet looks chaotic, making seemingly little sense. With time, we learn to understand her more blatant cues, a deep downstream vee, or a distinct hole that can be spotted easily. We also begin to understand the nuance of her language, and start dancing alongside her. As with any language, the learning is never "complete", but rather an ongoing spiral. On our trips we try to hold space to connect with the feelings that arise as we begin learning the language of the river, and take time to listen to and build a relationship with her.

Address

Unceded Algonquin Territory

K0J2E0

Website

http://www.braidingrivers.com/

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Videos

Trauma-Informed Facilitation Workshop Saturday, September 23, 12-6 PM EST✨ Do you ever feel out of your depths as a guide/outdoor educator/teacher/instructor/humyn supporting others in their emotional experiences?? Literally same. We are hosting a workshop with @sacredgriefshaunajanz for facilitators. Join Shauna as she invites us to explore: 🌊Deepening kinship with ourselves and the Land in a good way 🌊Trauma-informed facilitation frameworks 🌊Our personal edges as we support others 🌊 Co-leadership and decision-making Cost is $150 for the day, payment plans are available as needed. DM to secure your spot🤍

Flatwater Braiding Post

We are so grateful to say that we have only 2 spots left on this near-and-dear-to-our-hearts Madawaska Flatwater trip, July 14th-July 17th. The pace of this trip is beautifully gentle, allowing for lots of space for fishing, playing, swimming and deep, sacred rest. The Madawaska is our home river in the heart of Anishinaabec territory and she holds a special place in the hearts of many paddlers. The Madawaska is both firm and gentle and a dear friend to learn and grow with. We’ll begin our journey in the Lower Madawaska Provincial Park, travelling with the river flow, around cascading waterfalls and through playful swifts. We will have a rest day on Day 3, where there is the opportunity to hike to the top of Blueberry Hill for an expansive view of the river and the valley lands that hold her. Click the link in our bio if you're feeling a big "yes!" to join us!

Raffle Winner

Raffle Winner Announcement! Firstly, WEE! We were able to raise $645 with the raffle of @silver.wilds beautiful turquoise ring and @spark_pottery's mug. Not gonna lie, it was tough to NOT put a raffle ticket in😅 To give context to how meaningful your donations are, the raffle raised nearly enough ($80 shy) to fund an entire seat on a Babes In Boats weekend, or half a seat for the 4-day Women With the River. Now for the winner ... We had a delightful occurence where our dear friend @gillachilla won the raffle, but opted to rescind (read: gave up) his prize for someone who can rock that ring (WLYSM Ian 💚 ), so with that being said...our winner is Meredith Buckley!! Thank you all so much for your generous donations and participation in the raffle. As always, your belief in our vision helps to make accessing outdoors spaces possible for more people.

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Today while out sitting in a pile of fluffy snow after the storm, I marvelled at the different ways water can take form. Here in Montreal, we were greeted with about a foot of the most delightful packing snow. I stood above a creek dropping snowballs into the water, watching them slowly be molded and melted by the current. I found myself picturing each water molecule and the journey it has been on, only to arrive with me in this moment. I was transported into a daydream akin to an episode of Magic School bus, my body shrinking down to the size of a water molecule, going on the journey too. While following the droplet, I pictured it at one point flowing through a narrow section below Richard rapids (aka Z rapid) on the Dumoine. I found myself wondering at, and welcoming, the idea that perhaps somewhere in these frozen layers of snow was a molecule of water who had been with me at one point on the river. How beautiful to be reunited again -- in a completely different context -- both of us shaped and weathered by our travels since seeing each other last. My water droplet friend never resisted this change, but allowed the forces acting on her to arrive in this moment. I think I'll trust that I too will end up where I need to be. xo, Ashley

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We're so excited to announce that we've got our 2023 swag listed on our website finally! Thank you to everyone who has already (whoa) purchased from us, knowing that 100% of our profits go into our Ripple Effect Bursary to subsidize the cost of women+ to join us on the river. We have a few of The Modern Meltons and recycled cashmere toques from @anianmfg left, restocked @spark_pottery Of the River Mugs and newly added Dust City Designs wood stickers to share with you! As always, we are so proud of the collaborations on our swag, as they exemplify the kind of environmental practices that we love, all while making us feel sexy, cozy, badass and well-stickered. Woot! xo, Rachel, Ashley and Keira

Letter to Donors

Last January 2021, we launched The Ripple Effect Bursary to subsidize the cost for folks who identify as female to travel with the Land and us. The bursary, and our summer, was a beautiful success thanks to donors and friends like you! While our small company can't overthrow late-stage colonial capitalism (yet!), we knew from the outset of Braiding Rivers that we wanted to tackle financial barriers that limit access to our trips. In light of this, we created The Ripple Effect Bursary, a multi-stream grant built through crowdsourced donations and merchandise sales. Through your generous donations this year, we raised a total of $4,191.03! $1,408 through GoFundMe $783.03 from the sales of our 2022 swag $2,000 from private donors So much love and gratitude to you and our loving female makers @charmainbertram @victorianorthcott @sparkpottery! We want to increase the number of folks who can access this fund for Summer 2023, so here are some ways you can continue to support our vision: 🌚Spread the word: If you like what we are about, tell a friend, share our social media posts or tag us @braidingrivers if you bought some swag! 🌚 Donate to our GoFundMe: 100% of your money donated goes directly into The Ripple Effect Bursary. Link in bio! 🌚Purchase swag: We'll announce our 2023 lineup just in time for the Yule season. Keep your eyes open here! 🌚Trip with us: Our Summer 2023 trips offer a scaled payment method. Any amount above the base cost of the trip goes directly into The Ripple Effect Bursary This year, $1150 of your contribution helped make our Babes in Boats weekend accessible for two women. There are still funds left, so if you, or someone you know, want to travel with the river and us in Summer 2023, yet are prohibited by cost, please fill out a bursary application through the link in our bio. We'll officially be announcing Summer 2023 dates next week, so stay tuned! xo, Rachel, Keira and Ashley

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Sharing a little Tuesday zen moment to refresh your nervous system. While the waters are frozen here in Ontario, we can feel the return of the light with each passing day. Gratitude to Winter for reminding us to rest and bask in the sun, Gratitude to Spring for new life. Thank you to the magic of Kaminiskeg Lake for supporting us in the depths of winter. How's your nervous system these days? What's been supportive to you this winter?

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We're a month away from our first trip and here's a little sneak peek of a morning in the life of Braiding Rivers! There are still a few spots left on our 8-Day Dumoine River trip August 19th-26th. Click the link in our bio for more details! We'd love to have you join us on the river 💙

Today is a day of mourning. Canada - grieve, listen, accept, reflect, heal, dismantle, rebuild. Song: “Baby I Love You,” sung by the Soul Shakers of the Ditidaht First Nation🧡

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