• Lifewerq Project is by and for Two-Spirit, Trans, and Gender Non-Conforming Black, Indigenous, People of Color. We are a collective of organizers, healers, storytellers, careworkers, and dreamers with a vision of a future rooted in Disability Justice, Trans Liberation and Reproductive Justice.

  • We primarily gather in the Coast Salish region of Turtle Island, and our virtual programming reaches around the world.

  • Our programs center the needs of 2S/T/GNC BIPOC. We work with local and national creatives, healers, organizers, and leaders to offer supportive trainings, learning opportunities, and community gatherings for our collective. Currently we offer:

    • an annual no-cost, 5-day, in-person Birthwerq training/retreat,

    • an annual no-cost, 13-week, virtual Birthwerq training,

    • seasonal no-cost webinars on varying carework, Reproductive Justice, and related topics,

    • Summer-time in-person family events, and

    • future TBIPOC Parent Support Groups.

  • We are fiscally sponsored by Allied Media Projects, based out of Detroit, MI, who “work to nourish, protect, connect, and cultivate the ecosystem of media for liberation.”

  • We are blessed to be funded by various LGBTQ+ philanthropic organizations in the Pacific Northwest and beyond, such as the Pride Foundation, Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice, Social Justice Fund Northwest, Groundswell, Trans Birth Fund, and Birth Center Equity, as well as private donors. All of our programming is offered at no-cost to participants. We encourage those who have economic privileges to donate to support our work and communities.

Our legacy

Lifewerq Project, formerly known as QTPOC Birthwerq Project, was created in 2014 by community midwife, Emi Yamasaki-McLaughlin, and community bodyworker and artist, Rafael/a Luna-Pizano out of a need for Trans and Queer Black, Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC) spaces and education within the Reproductive Justice (RJ) movement in Seattle, WA. After hosting their first Birthwerq Training by and for Trans and Queer BIPOC, project stewardship was passed to community organizer, Lucia Leandro (LL) Gimeno. He grew the project, creating national community connections, with a focus on Trans Women and Intersex People in RJ, led panels at numerous RJ conferences and hosted webinars where he was often the only Trans person present and representing our vast communities. Alongside community organizers and birthworkers, Satchel Silvette, Jordan Alam and Amaryah Wolf, he hosted an all Trans BIPOC Birthwerq Training in Seattle, WA. After LL joined our Trancestors in 2021, the project stewardship was passed along to community organizers and birthworkers, Ale Abreu and Amaryah Wolf. Since 2021, they have developed a 150-page curriculum, hosted several in-person and virtual Birthwerq Trainings, numerous webinars and in-person events by and for Trans and Queer BIPOC, all with the support of their amazing Guidance Council Members - Alphonse/Lain Littlejohn, Ganesha Gold Buffalo, Rafael/a Luna-Pizano, and Riley Hewko.

Our Mission

Lifewerq Project is a grassroots community project by and for Two-Spirit (2S), Trans (T) & gender non-conforming (GNC) Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC). We provide trainings, webinars and support groups that center Black & Indigenous intuitive knowledge, healing, spirit, and skill sharing. 2S/T/GNC BIPOC are often denied stable access to reproductive health options, and for far too long have been gatekept from conversations about reproductive justice. However, our trans resilience has led us to support each other where systems fail us. We know that not all people who give birth, raise children, or need an abortion are women—and that not all birthing experiences are related to family building. In centering 2S/T/GNC BIPOC, we reframe other health issues left out of conversations around reproductive justice: affordable contraception, access to hormone replacement treatments, recovery from gender-affirming surgeries, expansive fertility options, neutral-gendered language, etc. Leading ourselves frees us from the burden of policing, minimizes dysphoria, and avoids invalidating experiences. We promote 2S/T/GNC BIPOC as visible leaders in the movement; our work is about recovering our history and skills around health and wellness as 2S/T/GNC BIPOC. We undoubtedly understand and have experienced the ways in which racism, anti-Blackness, colonialism, and imperialism have impacted our relationship to our bodies—be that reproduction, gender embodiment, relationship to land, or more. Our role in the movement for Trans & Reproductive Justice/Liberation is to ensure that we center and uplift Black & Indigenous experience, knowledge, and histories in everything that we do. We absolutely believe in Indigenous Sovereignty and stewardship of land, health, and overall wellness. We understand that we come from a history of exploitation and sacrifice, and we honor that history by providing education and building care skills that allow us to both remember a time before colonialism, as well as move towards a future where our communal and individual autonomy is regained on a larger scale. Our deeply-rooted curriculum and programming speaks to this ongoing commitment. We offer all of our programming at no-cost to participants to help alleviate the financial barrier many face to accessing this life-saving knowledge and skills.

Our Community agreements

  • We are committed to Birth, Trans, and Reproductive Justice

  • Supporting birthing people in their journeys of pregnancy and childbirth is as critical as supporting people through other birthing experiences such as renaming, transitioning, and embodiment of gender

  • We understand that we come from a history of exploitation and sacrifice, and we honor ourselves and the legacy of love present in our communities by prioritizing joy and rest in our werq endeavors 

  • We uphold body sovereignty and autonomy

  • We acknowledge and address the effects of colorism and featurism in BIPOC spaces

  • We acknowledge and address that 2S, Trans & GNC people do not need to medically transition or present as androgynous, and that those who do transition and change their presentation experience higher levels of violence and discrimination