Poeh Povi, The Flower Path: Indigenous Matriarch Farmer Collective
@ Flowering Tree
Background
In the aftermath and ongoing climate crisis through wildfires and long-term drought in our region, it is vital that our communities integrate interdisciplinary approaches for creating safe spaces to store and access traditional heirloom and wildflower seeds. Seed sanctuaries help protect our seed sovereignty as Native Peoples that our ancestors have been stewarding for generations. Extreme climate increases the need to enhance pollinator habitat for pollination services, and for regenerating habitats affected by wildfires that impact wild food and seed foraging of culturally relevant foods and medicines. Five Indigenous, women farmers will each establish seeding areas for growing pollinator-friendly plants for seed collection within high-desert, riparian, canyon and alpine settings of the pueblos of Santa Clara, Taos, Cochiti, and Vadito, New Mexico. Seeds will be harvested at appropriate times for storing in satellite seed sanctuaries using traditional, earthen and natural-material methods and then shared to increase seed diversity and security.
Goals
Protecting our pollinator habitats and saving native seeds are two opportunities we see to not only protect our land and our traditional crops but also to empower our communities to promote innovative solutions to mitigating and adapting to shifting climate impacts. Our efforts will fill in the gaps for community members, from youth to Elders, to create their own pollinator habitats and/or seed sanctuaries, by providing educational workshops, resource materials, and a community of support. Education is the most effective path toward empowerment and we, as an Indigenous, matriarchal, farmer collective, have expertise that we want to pass down to the next generation.
Main activities
The objectives of this project are to: plant, grow, harvest, and save native seeds for regenerating wildfire-impacted landscapes; regenerate pollinator habitats; research and test different materials for seed sanctuaries; and develop best practices to share with our communities.
Expected outcomes
Our desired results will include: seed sanctuaries established in Santa Clara, Taos, Cochiti, and Vadito, NM; field days at each site, with Indigenous community members, to collect, cure, and cast seeds for their communities’ own regenerating pollinator habitats and growing spaces; nature’s tool kits provided, with resources and materials for seed sovereignty; a website established to share project process, lessons learned, and information on the various plants grown at each location; an anthology of best practices developed from each location, with adaptable templates that appropriately include cultural perspectives; and presentations at local, regional, and national conferences and events.
Our targeted beneficiaries of this project are the Indigenous people and tribal members from Santa Clara Pueblo, Taos Pueblo, Cochiti Pueblo, and Vadito, NM, adjacent to Picuris Pueblo. Our community outreach, including in-person field days at each location, will be marketed to everyone in the community, from youth to Elders. We want to ensure that we are supporting the Elders of our communities in growing and maintaining their own pollinator habitats and also in passing along knowledge to the next generation of Indigenous stewards.