“I am an Indigenous Land Steward, Seed Keeper, and Food Sovereignty Activist. I’ve always grown food, and I was guided by my mother, grandmother before me. Only in the last several years have I really undertaken the serious work of effecting social justice through food, and ending food apartheid in Virginia.
I grow food because it connects me to my family’s culture, our past and preserving our sacred seeds, so that I may pass them on to my children.
We have 6 acres under cultivation. We grow heirloom traditional indigenous varieties of corn, squash, beans, amaranth, and sunflowers, along with all your typical varieties of garden produce. Seeing our families achieve a measure of food independence is very satisfying.
We use indigenous food forest/permaculture practices and don’t till our soil. We save seeds ourselves from year to year and trade with other indigenous growers. We freely give our seeds to community members, and also to enrolled tribal members across the country.
Time & man power are our biggest hurdles. We are a 501(c)(3) non profit organization, and fundraising is always a task to be improved upon as well. Our mission is to cultivate food security for at risk Virginians.
In the future we can effectively end hunger in our state & at the same time radically encourage and transform our environment through regenerative farming. Our hope is that with wide acceptance of our vision, we can change the trajectory of the lives of those suffering & their children, and begin to return to the pastoral vision of the holistic family farmer.”
