Fermenters Anonymous was a community that formed during the @COVID-19 pandemic through the social audio platform @Clubhouse. Sparked by a surge in interest around fermentation and digital gathering, it quickly became a hub for yeast stewards, bacteria wranglers, and culinary experimenters sharing their passion for preservation. Moderated by @Dennis Magdato, @Chantle Edillor, Claudia Schimmer, and others, the group explored fermentation as both practice and metaphor—a conversation with time, told through food, microbes, and memory. Weekly sessions were held in @Topia and streamed across platforms including @X (Twitter) and @Reddit. As pandemic-era engagement with Clubhouse waned, so too did the group’s activity, giving way to new, more grounded forms of community connection. I remember Chantle's excitement after she found Fermenters Anonymous—like a tuning fork struck in the center of her being. Her contributions were immediate and alive, and it wasn’t long before she became not just a moderator but a central axis of the group’s evolution. Fermentation was becoming her obsession; scientifically, culinarily, culturally and cosmicly. She guided the group with a reverent @playfulness, until her attention flowed naturally toward in-person spaces like LA Ferments. Witnessing that arc taught me, and continuously reminded me, how living cultures—both microbial and communal—flourish through attention, surrender, and @time.

Contexts

• #fermenters-anonymous (this is the @Root Memo)
• #chantle-edillor (See: @Chantle Edillor)
• #fermentation