loam (noun): fertile soil that nurtures growth
Loam is a community publishing project.
As the publishing branch of the Weaving Earth Center for Relational Education, Loam tells stories at the confluence of environmental, social and personal systems change.
Since 2014, we have published more than 20 books that explore collective liberation, climate justice, and community care. From facilitating workshops on disaster preparedness to curating multimedia art exhibits, we’re passionate about the power of narrative to nourish new worlds.
Loam Library
As part of our publishing-as-activism praxis, we launched the Loam Library in 2022. Loam Library is a mobile library and reading room that works to bring the power of print to the people. And if you want to help us continue to share radical reads for free with our community, check out the link below—our book boxes are a beautiful tool for supporting our work!
Past Publications
Since our inception, we have collaborated with frontline organizers to distribute our books for free to communities in need as well as have raised thousands for disaster relief through the sale of select publications. As publishers, we have also supported many incredible organizations in sharing their work. Below, you can find a few highlights from over the years!
Loam Listen
From 2020 to 2022, we curated “Loam Listen with Amirio Freeman,” a dynamic podcast that brought our readers into deeper conversation with Loam’s constellation of creatives. In 2022, host Amirio Freeman dreamed up The Down to Earth Deck, a series of conversation cards designed to expand connection to Earth, ourselves, and one another.
Tonics for Transformation
As 2021 Activists-in-Residence at Boulder Public Library, Loam collaborated with Curam on “Tonics for Transformation: An Ecosocial Response to Sustain & Support During Wildfire Season.” We wove together living gardens and lushly illustrated monographs to illuminate herbal allies for collective health during wildfire season.
Looking forward
As we emerge from our sabbatical, we continue to be motivated by a desire to create fierce, compassionate, and nuanced environmental print media.
We are working on Version 2.0 of our dreamy Down to Earth Deck, a series of book boxes, a new audio education program, and fresh print resources. We’re also dreaming up several workshops and retreats later in the year through seasonal Loam Library gatherings.
We are grateful to Kalliopeia Foundation for their generous support!