She Who Grows 70% of What She Eats–September 23rd

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Jacqui
About Jacqui

October 28, 2009

At the IJPES, Deborah and I were fortunate to hear a short testimony from Tamisha Evonne Singletary of Landslide Community Farm, whose life is the embodiment of the type of altruism and community local self reliance that is needed for communities of color to weather the current and coming storms (pun intended) of the existing and pending shifts in climate

Evonne is an African American woman who lives in a group house which is part of a community of households that live cooperatively. They operate a farm which grows a variety of vegetables, herbs, fruit, and also includes a chicken coop. Not only do they grow food for their own consumption, they also operate a food pantry for community members and provide meals to underprivileged persons weekly.

Because of their profile and perception as activist/hippy types, they have recently faced targeting by the police. For all of their efforts, they have gained the same negative attention human rights defenders worldwide experience. In an almost dragnet operation leading up to the G-20 meetings, they were accosted and questions by the police while dining on their front porch and a police camera was subsequently installed on their street, just two days before our visit.

The theme of persecution of those seeking to advance principles in accordance with human rights persists.

We interviewed Evonne on her farm, and the footage from the interview is on the YouTube Channel, but we hope to return to do an interview where she gives us a tour of the farm.