Bunky Team : Tamara

When I first met Tamara I felt her calm kindness and passion for birth work immediately. She resonates deep empathy and willingness to grow, making her a phenomenal and empathic Doula. I am so proud and grateful she is on our team!

Continue reading below to learn about her journey, story and approach...

My journey to become a doula, whether it was me finding this work or the other way around, was an uncertain one, much like the winding journey of birth, life, and death.

Having the privilege and honour of attending, witnessing and supporting births has taught me how to find a sense of comfort within this uncertain journey, and I believe that anyone who finds themselves on the path of pregnancy, birth and parenthood will find the same.

My own birth took place in a small town in Serbia on the cusp of a war; because of this, at the age of 3, my family and I had to immigrate to Canada. As a result, I grew up in a country that wasn’t my own, which left me with a feeling of ungrounded-ness. I believe that it was this feeling of being uprooted that led me to search for a deeper connection, and which ultimately led me into the world of birth, for there is nothing more grounding than being in the presence of a birthing woman. 

My experience upon this journey truly began evolving in 2014, after attending an action camp held by the Wet’suwet’en people on their traditional territories. Their teachings touched me deeply and made me realize, more so than ever, that my roots are not in Canada. A lesson that left its mark on me was hearing Freda, the chief of that territory, say “return to the lands you are from and just take off your shoes and walk on the earth there.”

After returning to Vancouver, I was inspired to enrol in a women's studies course at UBC, which sparked in me a strong desire to support women. At the same time I was interested in connecting more with the earth, and so I took courses on herbs and medicinal plants, which I continue to study on the side.

​Through my interests in women and healing I had come across the profession of Doula, and it felt like this was something which I had to learn, a profession that was a meld of my two passions. I then registered and completed the Wise Woman Way of Birth course, which ignited my interest and desire to learn more and to begin working as a doula. 

Before I could truly begin however, Freda’s words came back to me, and I knew that I had to return to my birthplace and reconnect with my roots. And so, I left for Serbia, and spent the following 6 months living between three houses; I spent time with an herbalist in a small village studying native Serbian plants, at the house of a meditation instructor doing silent retreats on and off for those 6 months, and in my hometown with my grandma, the matriarch of my family. I finally felt at peace for the first time in my life.

I returned to Canada having understood that though my roots were in Serbia, I had made a home here, and I eventually, felt ready to answer the call of being a full-time doula. The feeling of being ungrounded I once had was now gone, and being surrounded by birth brought me back to earth completely and gave me the sense of grounded-ness and connection that I was unknowingly longing for. My journey, though never-ending, brought me to this work which I feel I was meant to do - to support women in their own experience of becoming grounded, of connecting to their roots as they give birth to new life.