Community Spotlight: Zuri farms!
If you, like us, are just REVELING in the bounty of summer and endless tomatoes and peaches, you'll also be as excited as we are to celebrate some of the incredible, inspiring women in our community who are building sustainable, ethical and inclusive food systems.
Shellie-Ann Kerns runs Bunkhouse Acres, a 20-acre homestead and designated tree farm in the Middle Satsop Valley, in the homelands of the Tsihalis Salishan people in western Washington. Through sustainable and regenerative land management techniques including permaculture, biodynamic farming and companion planting, Shellie-Ann is creating a farm that is connected to the history of land and an inclusive local farm network. Learn more about the farm and support Shellie-Ann's work here!
Lizy Bryant is a queer, Black, emerging land steward born and raised in Minnesota. She is currently fundraising to buy 25 acres of land and farming infrastructure an hour outside of the Twin Cities, which will be converted into an agricultural and artistic resource for Black Minnesotans and their families. When fully operative, this land will function as a farm, a gathering place, a learning facility, and a generative nexus for wellness and creativity. If you'd like to support Lizy's work, please follow the link here!
Dalila Boclin is the Director of Programs at FRESHFARM, a nonprofit based in DC that focuses on building a better food system by connecting the dots between sustainable agriculture and food access. If you live in DC, Maryland, or Virginia, maybe you've visited one of their 33 farmers markets, or seen their FoodPrints programs at DC's elementary schools. Since the onset of the Covid-19 crisis, FRESHFARM has provided 100% fresh, locally produced food to over 9,7000 residents of the area, supporting both vulnerable urban communities as well as dozens of family farms during this critical time.
WHAT WE'RE READING // Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid
In her mid-twenties and unsure about what to do with her life, Emira finds a job baby-sitting for the Chamberlain family. A confrontation at a local supermarket while watching the Chamberlain's toddler sets off a vortex of events that bring us into the complexity of race, gender, economic status and transactional relationships. This novel is so engrossing that you won't be able to do anything else until you finish it, so make some time and enjoy!
WHAT WE'RE READING // Interview with Isabel Wilkerson
Ever since reading her definitive history on the Great Migration, Warmth of the Other Suns, I've been eagerly awaiting the release of Isabel Wilkerson's next work. Her new book, Caste, was just released, and this interview is the perfect amuse bouche for those of us eagerly checking our mailboxes waiting for her new book to arrive!
WHAT WE'RE LISTENING TO // Syli Authentic
In addition to a fantastic sound, what's so incredible about the Guinean band Syli Authentic is that the members were all students, ranging in age from just 14-16. The sound is rich and complex; it's a happy reminder that young people are truly capable of amazing things.
