In May of 2023, I was at an amazing retreat at the Cliffs of Moher – if you haven’t been, Michelle and Michael have created a heavenly sanctuary!). That same weekend, there was a festival on in Ennistymon called ‘Rekindle: Festival of Lost Skills’. The elders were passing on their wise skills, knowledge and craft to the community (and any blow-in passersby like me!) – Scone-Making, Seanchaí Storytelling and Willow Basket Weaving.

It was a unique and rich cross-generational and cultural affair, so glorious in its simplicity that I admit that I did shed a tear on arrival! I was working in animation at the time with a brilliant company, though I was feeling a big shift towards setting up my own healthcare company. I had become a Building Biologist (a holistic scientist of the build environment), a 300-hour yoga teacher and was studying functional medicine. Like all creative projects, I have always had a thing about starting with a title, a name for a teeny seed of an idea, whether it be a film or TV script, theatre piece or animation show. It can change later (and often it did!) though I found it to be a sturdy guide at the beginning. As soon as I saw the deft, strong hands of the wise willow basket weaving woman, my company name ‘The BioWeaver Method’ was born! It fit perfectly with my vision:

• ‘Bio’ (in French – ‘Biologique’ or organic). It paid homage to everything that effects the ‘Bio-logy’ or ‘Health’ of the human being in the built environment and beyond – be that food, movement, physical, emotional and mental health, eliminating toxins and living as close to nature as possible (including bringing nature indoors!)
• The ‘Weaver’ honoured an integrative method inspired by a root cause medicine or ‘functional medicine’ approach (and the big shift from the current disease model in medicine to personalised or precision medicine). After all, each of us are so unique in our health needs. I had healed using this approach and I was eager to share this experience with others to accelerate their healing journey. The BioWeaver Method was inspired by nature and natural building techniques and furnishings. Building Biology is interdisciplinary and has a profound respect for Mother Earth. We reduce our chemical load as much as impossible (and even completely), to protect and regenerate this planet that we are only caretaking and out own precious bodies and immune systems (currently so beset by chronic disease). Did you know that it is possible to build a house made of entirely natural materials that is compostable back into the earth?! My vision is to empower people to use The BioWeaver Method as a compass to weave and achieve their full vitality and health, activating our miraculous healing abilities in the process. Have you, or any of your family, friends or colleagues, ever had an allergy or reaction to a chemical, product (cleaning or cosmetic), mould or anything in the built environment (a material, paint or even a piece of clothing)?

Helping people to overcome and alleviate these allergies is what The BioWeaver Method was built on. We work with our clients and community to detoxify the built environment and minimise toxins as much as possible to make the air quality as close to nature as we can get it. Fancy sleeping in a forest anyone?! This year, we have had phenomenal success stories. I would love to share two of them here in case they resonate with you, or help you or someone else you know: Kathleen (76) developed severe EHS (Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity) after having serious health issues. She was hospitalised with inexplicable heart palpitations. Whenever her husband turned his mobile data on (she had a basic Nokia), her head felt like it would explode. We did an in-depth EMF (Electromagnetic field) survey of the entire house and discovered that the router (with Pro-Mesh system) was very powerful and measuring at astronomical levels.

We did a big mitigation project – hardwiring the whole house, eliminating any Bluetooth sources, swapping out the existing coil spring mattress with a natural mattress, and shielding from cell towers close by with an RF-blocking window film. Kathleen’s symptoms completely disappeared, and she feels great in her home now. Her sleep has never been better, and she feels like a new woman! She never thought that she could feel this good at 76. If we are going to live longer, may be live as well as we can! Nathaniel (37) had developed a serious sensitivity to mould from living in a period house in London for years which had been significantly water damaged, resulting in black mould, including in his bedroom. We helped him to vet several properties in Dublin until we found one that worked for him. We did a lot of testing with meters and air and surface sampling, though the biggest test was him staying there for a few nights to see how his body felt (thanks to the estate agent and previous owner for accommodating this!). Nathaniel has successfully completed a mould detox protocol which he says worked so well because of his new healthy home that supported his long healing journey. Some of the remediation we did after he purchased the house were:

• Sealing it with a beautiful natural, compostable clay and lime-based paint.
• Installing sheepwool insulation and taking out the synthetic stuff.
• Purchasing natural hard wood beds, mattresses and organic cotton, hemp and silk bedwear, so that his and his partner’s sleep would be as regenerative as possible. Our vision and intention is to share all of this knowledge with our clients and our community. We will be offering free e-books and videos via our newsletter and social media channels in the coming months, so pop over to our website – https://thebioweavermethod.com/ if you would like to join our community. We would absolutely love to have you! Until next month!

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