by linds
“Communities sustain life–not nuclear families, or the “couple,” and certainly not the rugged individualist. There is no better place to learn the art of loving than in community.” bell hooks, all about love (129)
This year while farming one September day, I found a chrysalis on one of the hairy balls (yes, that’s a real plant, a variety of milkweed). I wasn’t the only one who found a lil pupa in transition. We had a collection going in the barn in hopes we’d be around to see the monarchs hatch. A few weeks later I was working in the storage barn with Bev, one of the most kind and generous farmers I’ve ever worked for. Three of the monarchs had hatched and they were all hanging out with us, drying off enough to take off. I was giving a handful of dahlias a fresh trim before popping them into the cooler, and then it happened: Bev and I had the privilege of witnessing that monarch’s first flight. The feeling reminded me of my first kiss - tingling up and down my arms, my stomach and throat tied up in a knot, heart racing… it didn’t feel like a coincidence that we were there, together, in the barn to see it.
Cazimi is an experiment in creating core memory content. There are certain pleasures in life that can only be achieved through simple acts of slowing down to watch a monarch take flight. With our values rooted in freedom and freedom rooted in sustainability both for the collective and the land, we start with the soil. In the US and beyond, we see land being stripped to the bone for the production of cash crops–what is left? A soil that leaves us to rely on broken food systems to feed ourselves and our community. Wherever Cazimi physically settles, we approach the land with a respect and care that many indigenous folks have modeled seamlessly for centuries. This involves a slowness, a practice of observing carefully and an unlearning of extractive farm methods for the sake of profit. In getting to know the land we are not laser-focused on feeding our immediate selves, but are deeply considering our Cazimi children and beyond. ‘“You must plant the rain before you plant a seed or tree!” proclaimed rain farmer Mr. Zephaniah Phiri Maseko of Zimbabwe. By doing just that, he and his family turned a wasteland into an oasis, raised groundwater and well levels even in dry years, reduced flooding in wet years, and enhanced the fertility of the soils.’ Mr. Maseko’s work of ‘planting rain’ begins with observation. Learning about the curves and waves and dips and turns - the pockets in the landscape. I think of a pocket as quite a private space. When I dip my fingers into a lover’s pocket I feel like I’m visiting a speakeasy of sorts. It’s a signifier that trust has developed over time for me to be welcomed into that space. Fruiting trees and herbaceous offerings from the land are the spirit of the pocket that is Cazimi.
“When we see love as the will to nurture one’s own or another’s spiritual growth, revealed through acts of care, respect, knowing, and assuming responsibility, the foundation of all love in our life is the same. There is no special love exclusively reserved for romantic partners. Genuine love is the foundation of our engagement with ourselves, with family, with friends, with partners, with everyone we choose to love.” bell hooks, all about love (136).
With the land and each sweet being that flows through Cazimi, we will learn about each other as the goal is ultimately to remain adaptable through the shifts and changes. We will constantly learn, meet neighbors, experience loss, save seeds, sing and dance… some projects won’t get done, grief will show up again and again, bugs will eat our brassicas, we might fall in love, or break a bone. Ultimately these are all scenes in the movie that is us fostering loving interpersonal relationships with one another and the community at large. This is the content of our lives that has the potential to break generational curses, if handled with the love and care that we are all capable of. Cazimi gives us the resources needed to fully submerge ourselves into these loving spaces and dare I say, heal! It’s the knowing that even if you do break that bone, ultimately it’s okay, because the support is innately there. When I think about Cazimi, I get that same goosebumps feeling from when I saw the monarch take off that one fall day in the storage barn. It’s a reminder of all that has been, all that is, and all that will be - each just as important as the next.
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