Food as Medicine
Sonia's story of returning to the forest.
“As long as I can live in this symbiotic relationship with plants and trees and nature, I think that I don’t want to be anywhere else.”
Surrounded by a forest of cork oak and strawberry trees, hidden on a granite mountain in Serra de Monchique, you can find Sonia. Originally from the north of England and from a Jamaican descent, she spends her days immersed within the rugged landscape that she calls home — foraging, fermenting and exploring. It is a simple and playful existence in many ways, driven by a child-like curiosity to discover more about the wonders of nature that have become obscured by our modern existence.
The core essence of her philosophy is a return to nature, or as Sonia likes to refer to it — returning to the forest. Spend a day with her and this attitude will not only become self-evident, but it will create and amplify the inspiration to connect more deeply with the wild that exists within and around all of us.
I spent the night camped in my van on the south face of Picota, the second highest peak in the Algarve region of Portugal. Greeted by a warm, vermilion sunrise that poured over the rolling hills like molten gold, I started the old Mercedes and followed her directions along the narrow mountain roads. Heading up a sharp and steep gradient, I arrive at Sonia’s abode just as the sun is beginning to illuminate the entire mountain.
This was our first meeting, having only known each-other previously through mutual friends. I had been familiar with her for already a couple of years prior, since she had built up a unique reputation in Monchique for being a sort of modern-day witch, in the magical, herbal remedy sense (and not the heretic, medieval connotation of the word as is commonly expected nowadays). Within the first couple of hours of meeting, as we toured her property and engaged in conversation, it became apparent that she embodied everything that she spoke of. Walking over granite boulders and through the forest, Sonia points out the many species of edible plants existing within this mountainous environment. Her excitement and joy at these simple pleasures is something that is undeniably infectious. I find that every so often, I cross paths with someone who is so deeply engaged with their passion and purpose, that it is impossible to not be positively influenced in some way. Sonia is certainly one of these people.
Growing up in Sheffield and born to a large family of Jamaican immigrants, she shares some of her most influential memories from childhood and how this has come to inform her current existence. Living a considerable distance from her school, she would walk for hours through the country lanes and forests of northern England — mesmerised by the wonders of nature. She shares how much joy she gained from wandering through the hills and forests, observing the change of the seasons.
“One of the things that I really loved is that it would open up your senses, I would take my shoes off and walk through the streams, I would watch horses and how they jumped at the beginning of spring. I was always so mesmerised by nature.”
It was clear from the beginning that Sonia was on a pre-destined path. We walk back to the house, where she reveals the many concoctions of fermented and foraged produce stored in glass mason jars. Mushrooms, flowers, berries of more varieties than I can either name or even comprehend — all sourced from her relatively small piece of land. She takes out one of the mason jars and begins her alchemical processes — slicing, cutting and sprinkling an assortment of fruits, herbs and flower petals into the jar for the purpose of making a hibiscus water-kefir drink.
Returning back to the past, she shares how much her Jamaican family influenced her outlook not only on food but also towards life. The era which she grew up in was far less pharmaceutically-influenced in terms of healthcare, so when illness or imbalance struck, her parents used their generational knowledge as treatment — through fasting, fermentation or medicinal plants.
“Everything you were putting into your mouth had a total effect, not only how you felt but how you thought as well.”
As time went on and the years passed, Sonia found herself living in the Netherlands where she met her husband who she still shares her life with in Serra da Monchique. She explains how he was diagnosed with a life-threatening illness, and how the process of returning to her roots and her family’s generational knowledge of using food as medicine had helped to manage the symptoms of his condition so that he can now live a contented and healthy life. This was the pivot point that set Sonia on her true trajectory that she still lives by today.
Realising that she was always meant to live in the wild, they looked to relocate to rural Portugal to be able to live more aligned with their values — to be able to live in harmony with their environment, with the fresh mountain air and wild forests. Nowadays, you can find Sonia hosting workshops on fermentation and medicinal foods or spending the majority of her time making wildly experimental, delicious and life-enhancing concoctions that are sure to delight the tastebuds and give an entirely new perspective and appreciation for nature.
“Every morning when I wake up, I look at Monchique and I think to myself “Oh my gosh, I get to wake up in this fairytale again.”
~
Featuring Sonia from Mother’s Finest Monchique
Directed, filmed, written & edited by Adrian Howell