Starting our garden

It's spring here on the east coast and it is always a blessing to see the buds blossom and watch the seeds you have sewn emerge as little babies. Strong enough to break through the topsoil, yet so fragile. I have been blessed with these images of growth and regeneration since I was a child. This is my first spring here on the east coast. I have traveled from the Coast Salish region on the west coast of Turtle Island, to Lumbee ancestral homelands now referred to as Virginia.

Our journey, my partner and I, began on Waganakising Odawak land in Anishenabek territory. We began our food journey on land that is now referred to as Petoskey in Michigan. My background is social justice work in elementary education with a focus in Spanish. I began my food journey as a farmer and working with businesses associated with local food initiatives. My partner is a chef. He began his food journey in Spain where he attended the Basque Culinary Center and learned traditional techniques with locally sourced produce.

We are so excited to be living on new lands and exploring new food systems. I have a dream that one day our world does not depend on imports and new goods, that we stop overproduction and begin to prioritize the wellbeing of our community. Our current social culture does not hold space and admiration for those who sew the land. There is a world of knowledge and wellness that is just waiting for us to tap into. It feels impossible and scary to change the system all at once, but don't the benefits outweigh the costs? The cost of exploitation and continued devastation to our Earth is not done without consequence. Our madre tierra has already began to show signals that we, her entrusted caretakers, are failing our sacred duty. It is not impossible to practice and develop techniques self-sufficiency while living urban.

We are living without access to affordable, healthy and culturally appropriate foods. We are supporting a system that was designed to destroy the sacred, our minds, spirits and bodies. We need to support ourselves. We all deserve to live in the freedom of life without the weight of our societal gameboard.