Padayon, Sawaga River Press, to 2025!

WORDS FROM OUR ANCESTORS

It’s only the first quarter of the year and yet there is no denying the muck that we are in. What would our ancestors and Mungan, the babaylan-healer, say? Padayun, they would say. Keep going. So we at Sawaga River Press will continue telling our stories and sowing seeds for an alternative world that is centered on gratitude, care, and reciprocity in our relationships with our human and more-than-human kin.

2024 brought us insights into our calling as a nonprofit press. With what we’ve learned and are continuing to learn, this year we are aiming to get back to the basics and to intentionally build a sustainable press. Burning out and losing hope are not what we want to do. This is heart-led work that takes a lot of care from as many as possible in our community. We have decided we are going to take our time, be present with the process, and feel the joy in this work. Hinay-hinay basta kanunay, the ancestors would also say. Build slowly, but surely.

OUR BEGINNING-OF-THE-YEAR ENGAGEMENTS

Because of our decision to go slow, we purposely tried to limit our press engagements at the beginning of this year so we would have the time and space to dream with intentions. We have only attended one event, so far, but it was definitely a good one to attend. In January, we attended the 15th Anniversary Biennial conference hosted by The Division on Filipinx Americans (DoFA) of the Asian American Psychological Association, a community of students and professionals committed to understanding the social, cultural, emotional, political, and personal factors affecting various aspects of Filipinx American psychology. We participated as a publishing mentor and led a panel on Embodied Community Rituals of Care and Healing From Our Colonial Wounds based on the Mungan and Lola book. Hats off to the organizers, panelists, mentors, and participants for such a soulful gathering!

Instead of attending events, we have been spending our time dreaming and envisioning with the Cultivate nonprofit cohort through the Sacramento Region Community Foundation. Four months into this program and we remain grateful for the forces that brought it to our press’ doorstep. Through our monthly group meetings and bi-weekly mentor meetings (with Marisa De Salles- THANK YOU!!!), we are learning so much about ourselves and how to sustainably “grow”. Part of the challenge is to figure out what “grow” means. What will allow us to keep making beautiful books on kapwa, even if it is only one book a year?

OUR NEW TITLES!

The end products of the flurry of work we did last year will soon arrive. We are at the final phases of publishing 1.) All About My Lola, A Mungan and Lola companion journal; 2.) The Salamat Book; and 3.) Our Bahandi, Our Wealth. We recently received the proof of the Mungan and Lola journal and here’s a quick peek! You can order your copy here.

In the non-picture book area, we are proud to announce the release of the Rooted in Practice: Our Active Values. It debuted at the 8th Pinay Powerhouse conference in Washington DC, March 7th-9th. Here’s a peek of the reader! You can order your copy here.

A PEEK INTO OUR NEXT EVENTS

As we intentionally grow, we are mindful that we want to publish WITH the community. With this in mind, we plan to appear at the Davis City Council meeting on April 15, 2025 to introduce our local press to the council and the city.

We are also excited to be part of the Professional Publishing Network’s conference on April 25, 2025. Along with two other independent publishers, we will be presenting on the topic of “Audacious and Subversive: Impact Strategies from Indie Publishers.” Check it out here.

On May 31, 2025, we will be at the all-day Bay Area Book Festival, Family Day. The Social Justice Book Fair will be hosting the Family Day event and has invited us to lead an activity based on the Mungan and Lola book. There will be butterfly dancing a la Mungan, that’s for sure!

Also on May 31, 2025, we will be at the all-day Sacramento Book Festival.

BIG DAY OF GIVING

We saved the best parts of this post for last.

This year, for the first time, we are participating in the Big Day of Giving, the Sacramento Region Community Foundation's annual giving event for local nonprofits. It’s going to be a fun way to help us raise money for our next book project.

And what is it we’re working on as our next project? We’re glad you asked!

ANNOUNCING OUR NEXT BOOK PROJECT

We are super excited to share with you that we are finally working on a project we have been dreaming about for years now: a picture book about Thelma Buchholdt! Let us not allow her story to be erased! Let us tell her story!

More to come but for now, a teaser flyer, just for you!

LET’S KEEP PLANTING THE SEEDS

Thank you for being a part of our publishing journey! Padayon, friends, and let’s keep planting those seeds for a more caring future!