The Humus rainbow stories continue with part of our crew, sharing about their experience. Get reminded what the project is about, and scroll down to read what they share.
Humus is a 3-year Volunteering Teams project in High Priority Areas, aimed at creating more resilient communities fostering a healthy lifestyle and collective action on climate change as well as nurturing a sense of community to foster social inclusion, mobilizing young volunteers and enhancing civic and community engagement in local contexts.
Humus – Co-creating a Festival for imagining Queer Futures, is one of the volunteering teams activities that took place in Riga Latvia in September 2025 and was hosted and organized by our organization.
The project involved 15 volunteers from European countries – Latvia, Greece, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Germany and a team of 5 professionals in youth work, Queer education and activism, mentorship, and more, who are experienced in the different methods and tools that were used during the project, in the process of co-creating the festival and organizing this volunteering opportunity.
The main focus of the project was the co-creation of Radical Imagination of Our Time!, a queer performing arts festival made by queer people for queer community and allies. Volunteer team members owned their experience in a month filled with creativity, self and collective expression, queer and trans joy, variety of organizational tasks, creating audio-visual content, rehearsing, exchanging stories and experiences, engaging with the local communities, performing, learning, unlearning, holding space for magic to happen and so much more!
Enjoy the reflections and learning takeaways from part of our crew!
Humus was honestly one of those rare projects that sneaks up on you and ends up living in your heart. I came there not fully knowing what to expect, just a mix of curiosity, chaos, and a wish to feel something meaningful again.
What I found was tenderness, queer joy, and a group of beautiful humans re-imagining queer futures together.
It wasn’t always smooth (let’s be honest, nothing that involves robes, ropes, glitter, and art ever is), but it was *real*, as real as it can be. I learned how creativity can be soft and loud at the same time, how teamwork sometimes means hugs more than spreadsheets, and how community can be built from scratch, literally, like humus.
This experience reminded me that queerness is not only about identity but about creating worlds that feel kinder, freer, and more alive. I’m leaving with full heart, a messy camera roll, and a voice inside me saying: “ella people, let’s imagine Riot! 2.0”.
Humus was one of the best experiences I have had in my life.
It was a safe space in which I could reconnect with myself, with my body, with art and with many wonderful souls that made this amazing journey unique.
It was an opportunity to express our emotions, to listen and truly be listened, to create something with and for our community, to be revolutionarily tender and hopeful.
Personally, this project was a fresh wave of happiness, love and life that helped me find my path. I encourage any queer person to collaborate with Active Rainbow if they want to experience what a non-judgemental, secure and cherishing space is like while learning, having an impact and enjoying themselves.
I’m really grateful for the chance to be part of such a safe and welcoming space that you have created!
It felt like much more than just a project… It was a community where everyone could show up as themselves, explore and share small magical moments, which will last our whole life.
– The whole project is the festival! 🙂 –
I can wholeheartedly recommend this experience to anyone who’s looking for a well-planned and thoughtfully organized project within the European Solidarity Corps, with a strong focus on the local community and social aspects of activism.
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My experience in this project has changed the way I look at teamwork, how I approach things like communication about work.
I gained more empathy and value in others opinions about my work and how to respond to criticism.
Overall I gained a lot of confidence in my work and others around me. This project has been a wonderful experience that has taught me a lot of things that I can and will apply to my work in the future.
You can find more information about the festival and its programme in this link https://riotfestival.carrd.co/#