Life & Work with Jade Moyano and Erin Belair

Jade, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
We started in 2019 when we both lived in California. As writers with such diverse and opposite experiences in the field, some may think starting a business would be hard for us. But our differences is what bound us together from day 1. Erin, to me, was a serious writer with an MFA and award-winning stories in big journals, and a strong online presence. I was a globe-trotting journalist splitting my time between Asia, Central America, and North America, which is classic for a self-proclaimed nomad. My work was very different from Erin’s, I lived in the pages of glossy magazines and behind the scenes at global travel companies as a brand writer and journalist. Yet, one thing we had in common was the way we felt the world through language. I once read travelers share a gene. I believe writers do too.

Our experiences are shaped by the things we read and the conversations we have and the particulars we pay attention to on a daily base. When we got together to discuss starting this company, we were going to host one retreat together and see how it went. It’s been four years now, and we have hosted retreats in Morocco, Colombia, Sicily, Mallorca, Mexico, and beyond. We always felt strongly about finding a way to bring our love for travel and writing together under one umbrella. We also have always been champions for teaching, guiding, and holding space. Writing can be a very solitary practice, and most of the time it’s great to sit in solitude and work incessantly. But we also believe that writing in the community can bring about spiritual, emotional, and creative benefits that one cannot get by working alone. We have now experienced the magic that getting together to honor a practice such as writing can bring. Writers from all levels and all walks of life come to us because they trust in the space we hold. That means a lot.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a smooth road in my life! Haha

Well, this business is very tricky for many reasons. One, to bring humans to countries they’ve never been to, to have experiences they’ve never had, with people they don’t know is a big undertaking. Yet, they come. They believe in this work, and that is so special. But also, managing the different energies and accommodating different demands while maintaining the integrity of the group requires so much patience and experience. We do this happily, but we can’t always control what happens in the world. Being in the business of travel makes you susceptible to politics, economics, cultural shifts, and when the pandemic happened we came to a full standstill. We could not go anywhere for a while and we had to rethink our business model. This is when we began to grow our community online by hosting workshops and writer’s groups but the travel is the backbone of our work. Facing uncertainty is something we do daily as the world changes before our eyes. We adjust and accommodate but we have had earthquakes to deal with, a pandemic, unstable economic environments, a pregnancy, and several moves across the world. We have such an understanding of what matters to us as a company now, the pressures just make us more sure of who we are.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Our writing retreats focus on inclusion, on making every writer feel like they have a seat at the table no matter what part of their writing journey they’re on. In a competitive industry such as this, it’s easy for writers to feel discouraged, intimidated, or to feel like no one sees what they make. During retreats, we focus not only on craft, which is crucial to good writing but also on purely creative pursuits. Someone can write an essay or a one-sentence poem and they are celebrated the same. We love to create the space for words to flow and a container that feels fun, challenging, inspiring, and productive.

We are known for hosting open mic nights not only during retreats but in the cities we live in as well. Hearing people’s writing out loud is just as cool as sharing your own writing out loud. It’s empowering, especially when you are surrounded by people who actually care and take your unique trajectory as a creative into consideration.

From lyrical essays to travel writing, poetry, and sensory writing, our workshops are designed to unlock parts of our creativity that are stowed away. We are usually floored by the talent around us.

How do you define success?
Waking up happy and healthy. Living in alignment with the truth of our essence, doing work that serves the greater good, and being surrounded by inspiring humans.

Pricing:

• Retreats start at $2500 per person. Scholarships are available for BIPOC writers.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.wetrustandtravel.com
• Instagram: @trustandtravel.retreats

Image Credits
Images by Roza Kadi