Building Our Own Table: sahibzada mayed (صاحبزادہ مائد)

In partnership with

Hello friends,

It’s time for another instalment in the Building Our Own Table series. I’ve enjoyed sahibzada mayed’s LinkedIn posts on decolonisation and liberation for some time, and I’m delighted to have this chance to share her work more widely. Please meet mayed …

mayed, tell me briefly about your background prior to founding Liberation Maasi's

At the present moment, I reside on the unceded, ancestral lands of the Anishinaabe people, particularly from the Ojibwe, Potawatomi, and Odawa nations. I am a first-generation immigrant to the “United States”, a settler-colonial project on Turtle Island—a place that carries many names for the multitude of Indigenous peoples that have called it home for generations.

I come from a lineage of ancestors, known and yet to be known, who tended to their native lands and waters (spread across parts of South and West Asia today) as a primary form of sustenance and survival. Due to colonial violence and forced displacement, these relationships have been severed over multiple generations and cycles of loss. Unravelling the work of colonization has led me through a process of reconciliation and remembrance.

I have always existed in the chaos and the messiness, never really fitting the mold, embracing curiosity as my compass and intentionally nurturing my capacity for freedom dreaming and imagination. Some people know me as a designer or an engineer, others as an educator or a social scientist. My work embodies what it means to engage with decolonization as an everyday practice, actively confronting the ways in which colonial legacies and norms seep into our lives, relationships, and social structures. And yet, my journey with decolonization continues to emerge and remains imperfect.

Give me the elevator pitch for Liberation Maasi's

Liberation Maasi's is a community space dedicated to collective healing, joy, and envisioning liberatory futures. We believe liberation is a practice—something we shape daily through our actions and relationships. Through regular gatherings and exclusive content, we create opportunities to engage with liberation as an active process and to learn from grassroots activists, artists, and cultural workers worldwide.

And in more detail?

Last year, we created this sacred community in response to a growing need for liberatory spaces to gather, rest, and build connection.

As a member of the Liberation Maasi's community, you will be able to:

• Access exclusive content where we exchange and share ideas, musings, and reflections

• Attend our community events (book clubs, workshops, teach-ins, and more) led by the Liberation Maasi's team, guest artists, cultural workers, movement builders, etc.

• Engage with a growing network of people living into responsible eldership and shaping liberatory futures

• Explore curated resources (books, documentaries, podcasts, spells, and zines) to nourish your mind, body, and spirit

• Join our monthly virtual chai chats where we process, share, and exchange knowledge on a variety of topics