I, Joy, am obsessed with life. Raised by two parents who survived the Lebanese Civil War, I am constantly reminded that our time is short and not guaranteed. And in this short life, we have a lot we need to do. But mainly, we need to eat, we need to be clean, and we need to be well enough to enjoy our relationships with others, which are the sole reason we are here. Why be placed on this earth if not to grow together through love and connection with others? So, I make soap and grow food and medicine. I organize concerts and enjoy playing orchestral music. I think pretty much every gathering should be a potluck, and when I am hiking I feel centered and alive.

I grow food to feed myself and my loved ones, I grow soap to cleanse our collective pain, I make salves to heal the wounds inflicted on us through our time in this cruel world, and I grow seeds from and for Palestine. This is what you need to know about me in the context of Saboon Maazeh. Also, I love goats. Finally, my name is Joy and not Saboon, which means soap.