Braiding Seeds Fellowship Application

Rooted Emergence project’s work focuses on three primary areas: the intersection of community, ecology, and food justice to relieve dependency on unsustainable, existing systems.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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As stated above – our mission is to address socioeconomic disparities, the growing effects of climate change, food insecurity, and reverberating effects like mental and psychological disorders affecting at-risk, BIPOC youth. Unbelievably, 145,000 New Yorkers aged 12-17 have depression, while 1 in 6 U.S. youth aged 6-17 experience a mental health disorder each year [Source: National Alliance on Mental Illness]. RE’s core processes focus on internal value development and skill-building that helps these at-risk youth navigate nature and society more effectively – like a symbiotic process of building a bridge between them and the natural world. [Source: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health]

 

Phase I of the project will consist of multiple stages. 

 

• Stage I: Build community and foster a spirit of cooperation amongst these at-risk youth experiencing great socioeconomic and health disparities. Tehuti Ma’at, our partner, currently operates a community garden in Brooklyn, NY that will serve as the hub for project outreach and recruitment of program participants. This relationship establishes the link to our immersive program, held in Upstate New York. Through emphasis on ecology and climate science – we will host and facilitate workshops and training programs with youth to develop an appreciation of biodiversity, nutrition and self-sustaining systems that foster well-being at this Brooklyn hub. This includes but not limited to:

  1. Basic Introduction to Permaculture Design & Principles

  2. Food Preservation and Production

  3. Farmer’s Market Business Ethics and Systems

  4. Nutrition and Farm-to-Table Cooking

  5. Group Movement and Guided Meditations

  6. Community Outreach & Services

 

• Stage II: In alignment with the mission of NYC Youth Wrap and the Thrive for Life Prison Project we will recruit and pair 9 “justice-involved” youths and 9 adults to join our first mentorship program cohort.  

 

• Stage III: We seek to purchase and acquire land for the immersive experience: participants will be recruited to join Rooted Emergence’s 2024 summer cohort of 12 youths, multiple 1–3-day immersive programs over the course of 8-weeks in Upstate NY. During these immersions, we will take the fundamentals of ecology and climate science much further by introducing participants to regenerative farming and expand on permaculture design education to heal food injustice in their communities. Additionally, our team will provide training for craftsmanship, woodworking, and other skilled trades to improve mental health, encourage creativity, and develop real-world skills.
   

• Stage IV: Rooted Emergence will then prepare the land for planting and seeding to later provide produce to our partners Tehuti Ma’at and Seeds in the Middle at Tehuti Ma’at’s location where one of RE’s team members will facilitate operations for these two organizations and become a chief supplier for Seeds in the Middle’s work within inner-city schools. Rooted Emergence will also establish partnerships with local restaurants and grocers as a supplier from the farmland in upstate New York.

 

The Re Project is a self-reinforcing model that rehabilitates and heals our youth, creates cash flow, and increases the value of real estate and community – all while benefiting the planet and species around us.

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Potential impacts of this model include:

• Rehabilitation and healing of at-risk, BIPOC youth, leading to a positive impact on mental health and well-being.

• Increased revenue streams for the local community through the sale of produce to local restaurants and grocers, which may also create employment opportunities.

• Increase in the value of real estate in the community through the implementation of sustainable and regenerative agriculture practices, which may also attract new residents and businesses.

• Positive impact on the environment through sustainable and regenerative agriculture practices, which may contribute to ecosystem health, reduce carbon footprint, and protect local species.

• Creation of a model that can be replicated in other communities, leading to similar impacts and positive outcomes.
   

Overall, the self-reinforcing model has the potential to create a range of positive impacts that benefit the youth, the community, the environment, and the economy.

[See Diagram - Program Flow Below]