Czech Republic is one of the partners of MOMMAS coffee. In the north of the country there is a Liberec region, land full of castles, caves and treasures of nature. You are receving now a letter from the community of parents based there. Jana and Tonik are both invloved on MOMMAS coffee. They explain why they belived in our project and how their communities create and take part in parenting initiatives.
Jana: „I am already 4 years on my maternity leave. My biggest teachers are my two children, Samík (4) and Zojka (2). At the end of May, our family will even grow with the next baby to be born. I have been involved to the project thanks to non-profit organization LOS, where I met Toník and Polish co-founders of the initiave Mommas coffee.
I decided to take part in this project because of the topic of maternity, which is a full part of my life currently. There are several challenges associated with maternity – e.g. when mother meets her darkside, looks for various ways how to raise her children, wants to connect maternity life with the partner and working one… To be a part of a community where there is a safe space for sharing and mutual support means for many mothers a big help and a feeling that they are not alone in this.
Connecting people from various communities can open up further views and mutual enrichments.
Toník: „ I have met my wife on my first youth project in 2009 and we have together 3 children, which are the impulse, why we are part of the project. As a man I would like to understand the changes, which are women going through the maternity and I would like to hand over my experiences from the communities in Liberec.“
Our community consists of young people that share a common interest in non-formal education, improvement of public space, work with youth, community building, and our children. Liberec city is inhabited by incomers who have moved to Liberec from other parts of the Czech Republic. This fact means that local mothers feel a higher need to belong somewhere, share with somebody, support and help each other. In time, more communities have been developed. We would like to present you those that we are a part of.
One of these communities is the „Waldorf community“, which was created approximately 4 years ago. This community includes people from the forest club, the maternity centre and the first level of the primary Waldorf school. The aim is to create an environment for meetings, inspirations, sharing and thinking about the world in a wider context.
Another community is the „Liberec baby carrying mothers“, which was created in 2014 and is aimed primarily for those mothers who like to carry their children in a scarf or an ergonomic baby carrier. Members of this community support each other and organize common community meetings. The group is active primarily on Facebook. It is run by Anička Kšírová, the co-founder of Loktu She company, which focuses on production of baby carrying scarfs. Loktu She organizes already for few years the festival „Happiness from parenting“.
As Jana moved away from Liberec, she became a part of the community of mothers in Hradek nad Nisou, where the community is based also around Bohemian Brethern. The maternity centre Mašinka organizes common meetings, trips, vacations and lectures.
We are happy and keen on giving further imputs with MOMMAS coffee, looking forward also for local events that will be organized in connection to this master motherhood initiative.
