If you go to one UK festival this year – choose this one, that’s what the press release says and the reasoning is pretty compelling.
Om & Bass Festival brands itself as the ‘single most fun and inclusive wellbeing festival on the planet’ with workshops ranging from yoga and tai-chi to cacao ceremonies, and DJ sets with Drum and Bass Godfathers Grooverider and Nikki Blackmarket. It takes place in Oxfordshire each September and is a huge fundraiser for Yoga Stops Traffick – fighting human trafficking in India.
“As long as you don’t class yourself as a ‘spiritual snob,’ you’re invited!”, says founder, yoga teacher and comedian Rach Cox.
Om and Bass founder, Rach Cox, believes that Yoga Stops Traffick is a campaign all yoga teachers should be supporting. She says, “If you make your living out of yoga, then you should be doing something to pay back to the motherland – to India – where it all began, otherwise it is cultural appropriation which I am very much against.”
“Human trafficking is an issue that gets overlooked and brushed under the carpet – but this needs to change. It’s a critical issue that needs to be addressed. Ultimately – yoga is activism.”
One real-world success story of Yoga Stops Traffick is Chandrika’s (name changed). She was 12 when her father died during the height of the pandemic. Her mother was unable to support her and her two younger brothers, and was tricked into removing them from school to work on a coffee estate. At the estate, the planter separated Chandrika from her family and she was sent to Mumbai. Her life turned into a living hell. She was passed between different families and abused sexually. Her life, dignity and dreams were shattered. After some time, she managed to tell a neighbour what was happening to her and they contacted Odanadi, the charity that Yoga Stops Traffick fundraises for. They organised a rescue and Chandrika is now in a safe house re-building her life.
Om & Bass Festival is unique on many levels. Its commitment to inclusion and diversity goes far beyond any other festival, with 80% of the performers and facilitators being described by the organisers as ‘differently abled, over 60 years old, female, queer, non-binary, trans, people of colour, black, brown, neuro diverse nand crucially, legends’.
Not to mention its commitment to providing a safe and healthy space; it is a ‘sober, plant-powered, single-use-plastic-free, waste-free event’. Rach says, “This is entirely unique to our festival and has attracted the attention and support of Green Peace UK and is sponsored by WWF: Working 4 Wildlife, the world’s leading independent conservation organisation.”
Finally, as well as it raising thousands for Yoga Stops Traffick, it has a commitment to ethical and charitable offerings: “We offer discounts to those who need them, on an individual basis. We offer free passes for carers / personal assistants who are attending with a differently-abled person, so that they may have a total frickin blast at the event, without worrying about the extra cost.”
Yoga Stops Traffick is a worldwide campaign uniting yoga practitioners to take a stand against human trafficking. People can take part by running or attending donation-based yoga classes, by organising fundraiser events, by becoming a business partner or by simply donating.
