Healing the Lakou: Community Wellness Through Haitian Traditions

This Haitian Heritage Month, the Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute (CCCADI) invites you to experience Healing the Lakou: Community Wellness Through Haitian Traditions on Saturday, May 11, 2024, from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Gaia NoMaya in Brooklyn, NY.

With the current events in Haiti, the Diasporic community calls for strengthening itself through communal healing, as is Haitian tradition.

Healing the Lakou centers around fostering restoration and wellness within the African Diaspora, specifically Haiti, our freedom home. Lakou is a Haitian Kreyol term referring to a traditional communal living arrangement in Haiti, where extended families or neighbors live in close proximity, sharing resources and supporting one another.

The one-day wellness event will include dance and drumming workshops, a guided yoga practice, acupuncture treatments, a sound bath, a marketplace of vendors, and a panel discussion followed by a Q&A.

The Healing the Lakou Panel Discussion, moderated by Dr. Nathalie Guillaume, will address various aspects of healing within the Lakou, including physical health, mental well-being, social cohesion, environmental sustainability, cultural preservation, and economic empowerment.