Lina Bou healing, culinary, and visual arts.
“Sustainability is a way of living. It's not just about what we consume, but how and why.”
Born in Sweden, but based in the French Basque country, Lina gives life to Ronia Terra to develop her passion in healing, culinary, and visual arts.
How and when did you start with this? What has been your trajectory?
Since my teenage years, I've been passionate about the conjunction of food, plants & art. The many experiences of my life have led to the evolution of navigating my passions differently. When I came to Paris in 2012 and didn’t speak the language food became the way in which I could share health with people. My first job was as a barista in Paris, it opened opportunities to connect with a new community and the creativity and food became my language. Shortly after I started making granola and other recipes for the cafe by day, crafting creative pop-up menus by night, and traveling to cook for yoga retreats on my holidays until I decided to start my own business as freelance. The more people I met the more I continued to cook for new friends using food as a vessel for my creative mind. On my days off in Paris I often went to different parks or took the train to the countryside to spend time drawing plants that I sold after at 0fr. It was a way for me to still connect with nature and study plants by observing even when living in a big city for a few years. This time also made me work differently with my naturopathy practice, to dive deeper into other healing modalities and connect to intuition as my language now was kind of a barrier and I had to re-learn a new vocabulary. I am very grateful for those days and I don’t put too much emphasis on” the perfect plan” but rather on following my internal compass which just so happens to have led me here with you :)
Ronia Terra is about slowing down to understand deeply and this is something I remind myself in the pursuit of following my internal compass toward creative ends. Why I am passionate about what I am doing professionally, is because it’s all things I lived and practiced personally.
My work is a big part of my life, it’s art, nature, and constant research and experimentation. I love to learn new things, including about myself and I often go deep into subjects for a long time before talking about them, allowing myself to absorb what’s in front of me. Often while enjoying nature I take time to receive the beauty displayed in front of me to see the intricacies the natural world has to offer. Some weeks are more introverted for creating and others are more extroverted for social events. It helps me keep boundaries and explore a rhythm that flows with one's natural cycles and as I am often traversing the highs and lows of social engagements and need for reflective solitude always trying to find a rhythm through observing the moon calendar. I am always taking the time to know myself allowing for a better flow of creative expression and the nourishing balance of self-care.
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Could you tell us a bit about yourself and your background?
Describing myself, I’d say my soul travels between 7 and 60 years old haha. I’m a bit of a mystic who loves my solitude, yet I have a very social side that craves meeting and connecting with people. I like to go deep in conversation and subjects valuing trust, humility, and honesty in relationships. I have a love for learning and adventure and have always had an open mind to push and discover.
I grew up in Dalarna, Sweden a region 3 hours north of Stockholm, surrounded by forests and lakes. In our home, we spoke a mixture of Swedish and Spanish as my father is from Barcelona and my mother is Swedish. I think it’s an important detail about myself as I’ve learned and observed the world through a multicultural lens allowing me to understand the balance in life.
In 2010 I started studying naturopathy and herbal medicine in Stockholm allowing me to expand my passion for plants that started when I was young. Although thankful for my stable life in Sweden there was always a part of me that didn’t feel quite home. I left Stockholm in 2012, quitting my stable job, apartment, and lifestyle I created there, to go to France. I didn’t speak the language had no plans and no friends simply following my internal compass...11 years later I am happily still here with intention and a great community of people who support my passions.
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In your culinary dives you talk about how to lead a more sustainable life, this is a very large topic but if you could highlight something.
My approach, with Ronia Terra is that sustainability is a way of living. It’s not only about what we consume but the how and the why. Cooking with love, acting with kindness towards oneself and others, and taking time to see and observe nature’s gifts are examples of ways towards a sustainable life. These practices have longevity in creating a more sustainable path mentally and physically. These are ways in which Ronia Terra has shaped my personal evolution in a sustainable lifestyle. Of course, sourcing the best local produce is a priority as well, and following seasons, but also not get too rigid about the perfect plan. We’re not only mental beings in a mental world, but a part of something bigger that includes the mind, body, and spirit. There are many more ways in which “sustainability” can be implemented beyond the physical realm. Listening and taking time to live more in our hearts is one of the paths that will make our souls live more fully, and more sustainably.
This is the way we can move forward in leading a world we cherish as human beings co-existing with nature.
What do you like the most about Selloa and why did you choose us?
The moment I clicked on your page I knew this was my kind of stamp! I value your way of working with ecological material, and working by hand with quality wood, not to mention you all were so helpful! A series of choices that can shape our passion for sustainability, brands like Selloa contribute to the details of my work and values.
If it wasn’t for you Ronia Terra would have a potato stamp for sure!