Today we’d like to introduce you to Nida Syed.
Hi Nida, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Hi there! I am Nida Syed and founder of an adventure and experiences organization: Caravan Tales. Since I was young, I always knew I wanted to be an actress. I loved the art of expressing emotions. More importantly, I discovered that acting was a high form of empathy and learning about humanity at the most intimate level. Though I did not professionally pursue a path in acting, I enjoyed being part of a handful of theatre plays and acting as a theatre judge for the DMV area! I also always enjoyed baking and, in my adult life, became fascinated with the world of working with local grains and baking with all the players of the chain in mind: including farmers and millers after reading the book “Sourdough School.” After traveling with groups and professors in college, I had one of the biggest pivotal moments in my life: attending a three week spiritual retreat in Turkiye that transformed my relationship with my religion.
Caravan Tales started off with international adventures, but I am now focusing on interweaving local, accessible adventures with the international adventures that centers on conscious living. All of what I mentioned were the ingredients needed to create Caravan Tales: acting was to celebrate our humanity with these adventures and be sources of comfort for each other as we shared our stories, baking with local grains created a focus on the importance of appreciating the origins of our food and the heartfelt efforts farmers put into creating our food, and my religion provides the foundation and framework for a purposeful life. The intention of the adventures was to awaken people from a deep slumber of monotonous living, into experiencing the richness of life, even in its small moments.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
From an emotional and internal standpoint: absolutely not! Starting this initiative demanded my intense emotional energy and vulnerability. I felt an internal push to begin this and was inspired by souls I’d come across to take the courage to start – but I had no roadmap or instructions on HOW it was going to happen. The most beautiful aspect of this journey is not knowing how you would get there, but each vessel coming in your path to provide you the next clue or breadcrumb. Life is so much richer when we reflect on the gifts given by God, be it the small breadcrumbs that help us in our journey of self-discovery.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Academically, I have my Bachelors and Masters in Civil Engineering, specifically in the field of airport planning. At the time of choosing the major, I was going along with what others were doing but my heart was never in the career. The influences around me at the time favored stability but I always yearned for something different. I am still thankful to have studied in this career because it helped with organizational skills and critical thinking skills.
I am currently working as a part-time Baker for a DC-based bakery where we mill our grains on site and use the whole grain in our baked products. When I’m not working there, I help at a farm so that I may learn the entire lifecycle of a food product from seed to food. I am hoping to build a career in this field and take people on adventures as I keep learning more about the world!
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
Identify the places where the people you want to be around will be spending time. For me, religion is a huge part of who I am so that means going to gatherings of spirituality. From a creative sense, I enjoy being in spaces of storytelling and theatre. And I heard excellent advice on a Masterclass by Steve Martin once about being vulnerable and TALKING about your dreams and ambitions, and eventually you follow the breadcrumbs of people in the path to get where you need to!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://caravantales.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caravan.tales?igsh=bWxrbDNhaGQ4ajlh&utm_source=qr
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@CaravanTales
