Assist The Mystic Roots Medicinal Herb Farm
Donation protected
Greetings beautiful people,
My name is Parthenia Myers and I hail from an Ancestral bloodline that is deeply rooted and connected to the earth, by way of St. Mary's, Ga and Fernandina Beach, FL. In the spirit of holistic living and a strong desire to continue in the earth ways of my people, this campaign is for the cultivation of the Mystic Roots Medicinal Herb Farm and Apothecary/Cafe and Retreat home on Historic Sapelo Island. I would like to thank you for taking the time to engage in our story and for seeding into our vision.
HERSTORY
As stated above, I come from a family deeply connected to the earth. Both my maternal and paternal bloodlines are Gola Kissi people, also known as Gullah Geechee. Growing up along the Gullah Geechee corridor provided us a rich heritage of life ways. My people were/are land owners, farmers, boat captains, fisherman, shrimpers, teachers, herbalists, midwives, carpenters, chef's and so much more. We were a self sufficient people.
Even with this rich heritage, it took a personal trip to Shashemane, Ithiopia in 2006 to truly inspire me to grow food and connect on a deeper level with our earth. Seeing how everyone in the community had their own gardens and fruit trees and herbs growing around them sparked something in my soul. And from that moment, I knew that wherever I lived, I had to have food growing around me. In 2007 I planted my first kitchen garden in my brother's back yard. Needless to say, I was hooked. From 2009 until 2013 I was one of the stewards of Carnell's Orchard. This backyard orchard was planted by my Grandfather over 50 years ago. He planted grapefruit trees, a variety of orange trees, tangerine trees, a pomegranate tree, lemon and lime trees, a fig tree and muscadine. It was during this time at the orchard and living communally with my cousins that I received my "on the job" training in agriculture. It was also during this time that my love for foraging wild food and medicine blossomed. In 2013 I received an invitation to come to Atlanta to further my knowledge and receive my certification in the HABESHA Works Urban Agriculture Certification program. This program changed my life, connected me with a tribe of earth keepers and solidified my path of earth work that continues to this day!
Class of 2013 HABESHA Works Alumni
From 2013 until 2020 I've had the privilege and honor to steward and co/manage several community gardens and farms throughout the city. HABESHA Gardens, Omenala Gardens, Oakland City Community Garden, Eastwyck Community Farm, Ashlar Gardens and The Gardens at Camp Creek. These growing spaces not only provided healthy food for the communities, they also became spaces for community to gather for art, workshops, events, classes and more!
Eastwyck Community Farm 2016
The Gardens at Camp Creek 2019
Oakland City Community Garden 2013
HABESHA Gardens 2014
In 2020 I was called home, back to coastal Georgia to continue in my work and to decide where I would sink my roots. By this time I had already began a relationship with Sapelo Island by way of our Sacred Earth Retreats. These retreats encourage ones to connect to the earth, learn the history and culture of the island, commune with like minds and learn about wild foods by way of our plant walks. In 2021 by divine alignment and ancestral assignment a space opened up for me to live on the island. From that time until now, we've continued with our Sacred Earth Retreats as well as other events to bring black folks to Sapelo. We've cultivated our small kitchen garden and we're continuously learning about the plethora of wild medicine growing here. And now we have the opportunity of a lifetime, to purchase land and build here on the island!
THE VISION
The Mystic Roots Medicinal Herb Farm and Apothecary/Cafe will be a healing sanctuary for mind, body and spirit. It will be a place that the community can come to for hands on learning, workshops, events, a market and to just sit amongst the beauty of the farm if that's what is needed. The farm will provide fresh produce and herbs as well as fruit from our orchard, Carnell's Orchard in honor of my Grandfather, and an assortment of flowers.
Our herbal garden will be sectioned off based on their culinary and medicinal properties. For example, herbs for respiratory health will have their own space, herbs for anxiety and stress, womb herbs, herbs for digestive health and so on.
We will build an apothecary/cafe that will provide a space to purchase all of our value added products such as tea blends, tinctures, salves, oils, smudge bundles, etc. As well as our farm to table cafe specializing in eclectic plant based cuisine. We know that health is your true wealth and so we're excited to provide a space to nurture you on your journey.
HOW WE WILL USE THE FUNDS
-purchase/lease the land
-clear the land
-dig a well
-build infrastructure (farm, storage for equipment, building for processing herbs and vegetables)
-permits and license required
-admin fees
-tools and equipment
IN CLOSING
This is a vision that we've held for a long time. We are so thankful to have an opportunity to see it manifest in the reality. And it will not be possible without your support. So again we thank you for seeding into our vision as we do our part in ushering in a new earth!
Organizer
Parthenia Myers
Organizer
Sapelo Island, GA