B.U.S.T Outdoors Environmental Educational Land

Hi, my name is Daria and I am fundraising to make a long time dream and

commitment of mine come true. B.U.S.T. stands for Black Unity and Spiritual

Togetherness. My uncle created the term while he was working in Opelousas La.,

helping to create systems to support the people there with developing and

maintaining their own black owned businesses. I am hoping to continue his legacy, in my own way. I have made my dream of purchasing land in Upstate NY HAPPEN!!! 

My goal of creating a small intentional community, garden/farm space for POC folks to live, visit and connect with

nature and themselves is one huge step closer to fruition!! I have worked in elementary education for 22 years

and the only model that I believe works with educating our youth, is to first

connect them with themselves, then you can do the work to educate and connect

them with the outside world. Formal education skips this step and that is why, in my opinion, it is failing miserably. While working at LaCima Elementary Charter

School, in Bedstuy, Brooklyn, NY, I saw that play out. Once we provided the

students with yoga, meditation and health fairs, we saw them begin to thrive. Not in the way the district tracks thriving, not through test scores,

and more through how they valued community, accountability, reconciliation and

effective effort. There I took a group of 5th grade boys to a house in the

Catskills with three co-workers, and exposed them to the environment

outside of their urban surroundings. Saying that the trip was impactful, not

just for me and more for the 5 boys and colleagues, is an understatement. It

was then that this dream was born.

We have historically been denied access to land and

thus we have been denied a connection to our true selves. Black people were born

with a deep ancestral connection to land before we were enslaved.

Through years of colonization, that connection has been lost. Losing that

connection has meant losing our connection to our

communities and to the earth. My land is going to be a space

for black and POC children and families to visit and regain that

connection to restore their comfort with the natural world and to see,

experience and be a part of alternative ways of living that work with our

natural world, not against it. I will teach basic outdoor skills,

provide opportunities to contribute to the development of the space as well

as create a structure of barter and trade for goods and services, moving away from

the capitalist structure of wealth that currently exists. In doing all of this, the goal is

to provide childcare in a meaningful way, that teaches children

how to respect and restore nature and all living things, and creating the

understanding that we are a part, not separate, from those sentient beings. It will

also become a place for families to visit, together, to regain familial bonds

and to see each other outside of the scope of urban life, with all of its noise and

environmental stressors.

Lastly, I intend to reach out to and partner with other organizations and communities doing the same thing, with the same or similarly aligned mission and vision.

This fundraising campaign is going to provide the initial start up costs to help the program get off the ground! Those costs include and are not limited to alternative tiny house building costs, permits and

the property taxes. All buildings will be built with recycled and/or

reclaimed materials and/or will be sourced from POC companies or

organizations. If they are not sourced from the above, they will have a minimal

footprint and be sustainably supplied. They will be rented when families are

not using them, to provide an income source to sustain the growth of the land and its offerings.

I believe action means taking one step. That step creates a ripple effect. I want my

ripple to create a force for change that is meaningful and long lasting. I truly hope

you chose to be a part of this dream, in whatever way makes sense for

you. Be a part of this ripple that is sure to create a wave of change that will be a

positive force for all involved!

With gratitude and grace,

Daria