Gaia Herbs Sustainability Report 2020 - Report - Page 39
PLANTING THE SEEDS FOR CHANGE
—
For regenerative agriculture to create the change that we believe it
community members and establishing wholesale partnerships with
can, it needs to be a truly inclusive movement. This change can begin
local herbalists working within these communities.
with a single plant - the Hemp plant.
facebook.com/catatumbocooperative
The legalization to grow Hemp within the USA represents a tremendous
GREEN HEFFA FARMS
opportunity for those working in the sustainable agricultural movement
Green Heffa is a social equity farm that is committed to “leveling the
to make this industry more inclusive and equitable.
planting fields” for minority and women small farmers by creating a
living, learning lab where aspiring and current under-represented
Reparations can be made to many groups that have historically been
and under resourced farmers can gain critical skills in regenerative
systemically excluded from the benefits of the agricultural movement,
agriculture. greenheffafarms.com
primarily those of non-European descent.
With the launch of our Hemp line, we saw an opportunity to not only
GrowingChange is transforming a closed prison in Scotland County,
offer high quality Hemp products that benefit health and wellness, but
North Carolina into a sustainable farm and community resource to
also an opportunity to make the agricultural movement more inclusive.
serve as a model for what to do with closed prisons. growingchange.org
Through the Roots Initiative, 5% of profits from our Hemp product
OGEMA ORGANICS
sales are donated to organizations that develop farmer training and
Ogema Organics is working to bring the needed infrastructure to
education initiatives that empower marginalized farmers in the USA.
the nine villages of the White Earth Indian Reservation to revitalize
a traditional diet, and create a new food system that promotes
In 2019, the Roots Initiative also introduced a small grants program,
healthy living, connectivity, a sense of security, and true sovereignty.
which awarded four $5,000 grants to small farms, non-profits,
ogemaorganics.wordpress.com
and social enterprises that focused on regenerative agriculture and
prioritized farmers’ justice as a mechanism to strengthen communities.
In addition to grant funds, leaders from these organizations will receive
We are honored to support the work of these farming leaders and
a two-day in-depth training program on regenerative farming practices
inaugural Gaia Roots grant recipients:
and herbal production.
CATATUMBO COOPERATIVE FARM
Catatumbo is a small worker-cooperative farm serving communities
in South Chicago that seldom have access to fresh medicinal and
culinary herbs. They are working to create a Medicinal Herb CSA for
SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2019 // Purpose // P.39
GROWINGCHANGE