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Crysbel "Mariposa" Tejada is Afro-Dominican/Caribbean, raised by her fierce Immigrant parents from the island of Ayiti, so-called Dominican Republic. She was born and raised on occupied territories of the Lenni-Lenape nation, so-called NYC. She has been influenced by both her urban environment and her love for the beautiful island of Ayiti.
What guides her the most is her love for the land, water, people, and all beings. She is interested in food justice/sovereignty and how it interrelates to various issues in her community (health, food access, culture, etc.) and how growing food today relates to the African Diaspora. She believes that growing food and relating it to language, culture and our peoples story, can be a way to reconnect to our ancestors.
Starting in June, she will be apprenticing at Soul Fire Farm, on occupied Mohican territory, where she will be continuing her journey advocating for food justice and sovereignty. During this five and a half month unpaid apprenticeship, she will be assisting with their youth program, which teaches primarily youth of color about food justice/sovereignty. A part of the youth program is working with youth caught up in the juvenile system, as a way to fulfill their restitution requirements, rather than the usual job at Mcdonalds or washing cars, etc. She will also assist with their sliding scale CSA that provides food for low-income families of color. She hopes to bring what she learned back to the various communities she is a part of. In the future, with these skills, she wants to teach primarily youth of color about their history, culture and the system we live in through gardening, farming, and food justice. She is also hoping to go to the Rooted In Community Youth Leadership Summit this summer to build with and learn from other grassroots youth led organizations.
Because this apprenticeship is unpaid, Crysbel will need help supporting herself through these next couple of months. Financial obstacles often keep many of us from doing what our heart desires, and its the support from our communities that makes this work possible.
Please consider donating! Any amount would help.
What guides her the most is her love for the land, water, people, and all beings. She is interested in food justice/sovereignty and how it interrelates to various issues in her community (health, food access, culture, etc.) and how growing food today relates to the African Diaspora. She believes that growing food and relating it to language, culture and our peoples story, can be a way to reconnect to our ancestors.
Starting in June, she will be apprenticing at Soul Fire Farm, on occupied Mohican territory, where she will be continuing her journey advocating for food justice and sovereignty. During this five and a half month unpaid apprenticeship, she will be assisting with their youth program, which teaches primarily youth of color about food justice/sovereignty. A part of the youth program is working with youth caught up in the juvenile system, as a way to fulfill their restitution requirements, rather than the usual job at Mcdonalds or washing cars, etc. She will also assist with their sliding scale CSA that provides food for low-income families of color. She hopes to bring what she learned back to the various communities she is a part of. In the future, with these skills, she wants to teach primarily youth of color about their history, culture and the system we live in through gardening, farming, and food justice. She is also hoping to go to the Rooted In Community Youth Leadership Summit this summer to build with and learn from other grassroots youth led organizations.
Because this apprenticeship is unpaid, Crysbel will need help supporting herself through these next couple of months. Financial obstacles often keep many of us from doing what our heart desires, and its the support from our communities that makes this work possible.
Please consider donating! Any amount would help.
Organizer
Crysbel Mariposa T
Organizer
New York, NY
