2017 was a year teeming with change, wrought with unnatural disasters, ripe with creative interventions and affirmations of why we are alive right now. We witnessed and endured stark reminders of why this sanctuary is vital in a time of increased violence, environmental upheaval and uncertainty.
We hosted a multitude of community organizers, educators, artists, youth, elders, ecologists, former political prisoners, and families impacted by mass-incarceration who value the freedom and healing that comes from an empowered connection to land. We held collaborative workshops & leadership trainings, generative & restorative gatherings, rituals and celebrations, healing & art-centered events, relational coaching & conflict resolution circles, & our inaugural Rites of Passage program for African-diasporic youth in collaboration with Soul Fire Farm.
We’ve improved the health of our soil, grew over 50 pounds of garlic, established a maple sugaring operation, harvested and dried wildmedicinal herbs, and spawned our first mushrooms. We’ve been listening to and learning from the land as we grow into this profound relationship of collectively stewarding 181 acres of fertile earth.
We’ve been renovating the existing structures on the site & expanding our infrastructure to accommodate our collective visions. To this point we have transformed the garage into a multipurpose movement studio, transported a tiny house to the land, constructed a cedar bench, erected a shade canopy, and began construction of an earthen solar/passive/off-grid “movement center.”
We’ve also been deeply devoted to building our “inner infrastructure” to establish WILDSEED as a sanctuary where people historically disenfranchised from land can co-create an experience of dignity, self-determination & belonging. This has meant innumerable meetings & incalculable hours of work devoted to strategic planning, org development,researching cooperative ownership models, & mapping out the site design according to ecological principles.
Tremendous gratitude to all the hands and hearts coming together to help build up this sanctuary of love and liberation!!! Deep bow of gratitude to our ancestors for dreaming us into this moment long before it was possible.