Recap of the "Reclaiming Our Roots" Event Held During Black History Month

The “Reclaiming Our Roots” event held during Black History Month on February 11, 2024 was a treat for all the attendees.

The audience enjoyed a fun-filled presentation and performance led by Nicola Shirley Philips, Director of The Source Farm Community Development; renowned Orisha Singer and Textile Artist, Iya Amma McKen; and Dancer, Dr. Sharon (Iya Shani) McKenzie.

Starting the day with Libations for the Ancestors

Natural Dyeing Workshop held in January 2024 at The Source Farm Ecovillage

Patterns on display at the Orange Park Guest House

The workshop was made possible by The Source Farm Community Development in collaboration with Daughters of Indigo. Using Indigo dye and Logwood, the images that emerged from the natural process of the dye transmitted profound messages for the participants.

The “Reclaiming Our Roots” event display was enhanced with the songs and dance celebrating the Creator and the Elements of Nature (Orishas). Attendees were able to learn songs and movements specific to an Orisha (for example, Elegba).

Attendees spanning 12 years to 87 years old, participated in this fun-filled day. Mrs. Watson and her staff topped off the day with a multicourse meal which included, pumpkin soup, ackee and salt fish, baked chicken, baked fish and a variety of desserts.

Special thanks to The Source Farm Community Development Committee and Daughters of Indigo for providing this opportunity to reclaim and put back on the map, this tradition that is a part of Jamaica’s heritage.


SOURCE FARM'S FIRST "READ & REASONING" WITH AWARD WINNING AUTHOR A-DZIKO SIMBA GEGELE & INTERACTIVE FUN!

In collaboration with Yamaya Guani Taino Peoples, Source Farm successfully launched its first children’s educational event at the Ancestral Gardens Woodside, Highgate, St. Mary. The event “Read and Reasoning” was held on May 26, 2023. Students from the Carron Hall Primary School participated in a free Book fair with the featured Award Winning Author, A-Dziko Simba Gegele

This program was initially inspired by a US group who offer similar programs for children. The students, teachers, and Principal spent the morning listening to the author as she read excerpts from her novel “All Over Again.” They also participated in creative activities, and ended with a warm breakfast!

“Read and Reasoning” opened the Taino New Year’s Celebration, hosted by Yamaya Guani Taino Organization, which was celebrated in the afternoon. The students expressed being intrigued to be in the presence of an award winning author. They asked questions, and immersed themselves in the activities. Students received a personally-signed copy of “All Over Again” along with two other books of their choice.

Source Farm plans to launch one more event during the summer months in John’s Town, St. Thomas. We hope to see you there! 

Celebrating Kettiti- A Spiritual Guide

This past Sunday, July 10, 2022, Ni-Mala Wellness Center hosted a spiritual celebration honoring, Kettiti, a spiritual guide of Nicola Shirley-Phillips (a resident at Source Farm Ecovillage). Kettiti is a spiritual guide who is Peruvian. The event was attended by families living at Source Farm along with friends and local artists. The “Throne” or “Shrine” was decorated using materials from the plant life of the land. This included bamboo, palm leaves, flowers, an abundance of fruits, vegetables, and several dishes prepared by the Source Farm families.

The program opened with prayers and Jeremy Ashbourne, a musician who uses various instruments including crystal sound bowl, flute, drums and guitars to create a sonic meditative experience. Local drummers and children drummers from John’s Town were also part of the entertainment.

Kettiti made a special appearance and spoke to each attendee providing advice and recommendations applicable to their lives.  He also advised the general community about the importance of “community” and fellowship. In these challenging times, he said it was important for us work and support each other. He also talked about the importance of prayers.

Attendees danced, participated in playing instruments, and of course enjoyed the variety of dishes and cakes prepared by our local cook and family members of Source. 

This event is the first of a series of events to be hosted at Ni-Mala Wellness Center! See you soon!


(written by S.E.McKenzie)

Dan and Emily Visit

Dan.jpeg

Our Trip to The Source 

This truly is The Source! Turning into the unassuming entrance from a small track out the back of Johns Town, you immediately feel yourself reconnecting with something, some place more fundamental – something clearer, cleaner, truer. It’s a stunningly beautiful spot, perched on the mountainside in St Thomas on the lesser-tourist-travelled east coast of the island, with the many-blued ocean below and the mountains rising up behind, including in clear view the Blue Mountain peak itself.

We are almost straight into a site tour with the wonderful Nicola – her inspiring vision matched by the humility of someone who knows the land is the true teacher. Nicola, accompanied by more recent addition to the Source community (and all-round gem!) Rodje, shows us round the simple but beautiful structures they’ve built, made largely using sustainable/low-footprint techniques such as “Earthbag”. Like everything else on The Source, the buildings are built in relationship with the land, one seeming to flow into the other.

The farm itself, currently only occupying a small fraction of the 60-odd acre site, is terraced onto the hillside, to avoid top-soil depletion amongst other challenges faced by hillside farming across Jamaica. These terraces are not perfectly curated, weed-free zones with crops segregated into their ‘proper place’; rather, like I imagine all good permaculture, they’re a sprawling, fragrant community of herbs, medicinals, fruits, and vegetables. Moringa trees stand heavy with pods, shading herbs and spices. 

Next, we are treated to an impromptu mycology lesson from Rodje while we take a look inside the impressively fitted-out mushroom growing store. Growing many types of mushrooms and with lots of experiments underway, this felt like a mycro-industry of its own, though still working to permaculture principles.

As the sun begins to set, we arrive at the place where we’re staying for the night. A white dome rises up on the edge of a hill overlooking the sea; it looks simultaneously futuristic and ancient. Nicola tells us that the people from John’s Town call it “The Planet”. It was built using a huge (reusable) canvas balloon with concrete plastered over it like a giant papier-mâché sculpture. 

Their nearby wellness centre comprises several similar white domes on an outcrop of the mountainside with the fullest view of the ocean from the site. This is beyond any type of building technique we’ve come across. The result is organic and beautiful, almost as though it has grown straight up from the landscape. 

In the evening, Nicola and Rodje drive us over to a second plot of land, a new project that will provide a communal storage area for dried produce for the organic farmers network they incubate. At 380 or so acres this is much larger and much less worked (by humans at least). 

By the white light cast by a waxing moon, we empty dry guava leaves and French thyme from the solar powered dehydrator. An enormous and ancient-looking tree frames the south-eastern corner of the plot, towering over us, wearing its vines and shrubbery like heavy robes. 

While we work, Nicola tells us about the history of the land and how it came to her and the others involved in the community-based entity, GWG, set up to steward it. The roots of the plot feel deep, and indeed we find out it had belonged to George William Gordon.

Like so much of what we’ve heard about the origin of The Source, this is a story of synchronicity and serendipity. An agreement to sell the plot to some other buyers had fallen through when the foundation found out about their plans, which included developing large swathes for residential and other “real” estate, including the removal of the ancient tree for timber. The donor sought a more respectful steward... 

This stewardship was clearly apparent as Nicola described one of their first decisions on what to do with the land. They had initially planned to cut back a large meadow near the entrance, but on closer inspection what they had first thought to be weeds turned out to be an abundant mass of rare medicinal and edible herbs. Overcoming an instinct to harvest these and secure a significant revenue boost for The Source, Nicola and team took the amazing decision to pause, and instead listen to and watch the land to hear what it had to say. This dialogue between human and non-human people sits at the heart of The Source and shows an inspiring alternative to the degenerative, extractive human-land relationship which is fuelling climate change and biodiversity loss around the world.

Later that evening, while we’re sat in the outdoor communal dining area adjacent to the kitchen, our conversation roves from the merits and complexities of organic labelling, to the true author of the Matrix, robbed of her story, and back again to the end of extractive agriculture.  It makes us yearn for the communal and collective, a life shared more deeply with others, cooking and eating in community and afterwards talking and laughing under the stars. 

On Saturday we “help” (read: watch) planting some plantain trees on the farm. Nomi and Dwight teach us about the “compost tea” they use to fertilize the shaved pinky-purple stumps that they’re setting into small holes in the ground. Compost tea is a fermented broth made by letting a permeable bag of compost scraps decompose for a few days. It’s a reminder of the value of what is so often categorised as ‘waste’, and a promise of the potential of returning to a world founded on more circular processes. We take turns ferrying watering cans of compost tea down the gentle slopes of the tiered beds. We also learn about the medicinal properties of many of the common local plants and herbs. We’re excited to do more of this healing centred in the organic and earthy. 

The whole place makes us feel like we’re peering through a window into a future, where the abundance of the earth is at once celebrated and facilitated, that begins to heal the deep damage done by centuries of economic and social exploitation under capitalism and colonialism.

Afterwards, awed and replenished in equal measure, Dan and I talk seriously about just dropping everything and buying a plot. We’re still thinking about it.


Self-Care and Reducing Stress During COVID-19

In these uncertain times, when what we know to be “normal” is being overturned before our very eyes, many individuals are overwhelmed with fear, anxiety, and paranoia. COVID-19 has triggered stress and fear among the very young to the very old. The impact of the stressors go beyond the physical body; it also affects our mind and spirit. According to Dr. Wehry from Dementia Action Alliance, stress caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, can “set off a cascade of reactions in our body…like releasing cortisol which get us ready to flee or flight.” She suggest that this can heighten our awareness, focusing our attention, resulting in a burst of adrenalized energy, which can be beneficial in the short term, but in the long run, takes a toll on our health (Wehry, 2020). So, how do we cope with the stressors that come with this pandemic? I suggest focusing on the things you do have control of.  

It does not make sense worrying about the “what ifs.” The most important question now is, “what do I have now, in front of me?” If you are following the advice of the health officials and governmental agencies (including the Ministry of Health, World Health Organizations, or Center for Disease Control), then it means you are at home, in an environment with few individuals, or if out, trying your best to practice social-distancing.  If home, set a limit on the amount of time spent on web-based information (i.e., WhatsApp, Facebook, etc.) or television about COVID-19. I am not suggesting that you not stay informed. But, information overload, especially ones not factual (e.g. some shared by individuals on social media), can cause unnecessary anxiety and stress. If you need to, check in daily with information provided by governmental agencies via television, newspaper, etc., but limit the time spent on these.

Practice the safety measures recommended for person-centered-hygiene. In your homes, establish protocols to follow by family members when leaving and entering the home (e.g., having sprays with 60% alcohol, wipes, or hand sanitizers to use upon entering home; or changing clothing worn outdoors immediately upon entering home). Other ideas can include teaching children how to limit touching their faces, eyes, or putting their hands in their mouths. Clean surfaces (especially in the bathroom, kitchen, door knobs, and computer/laptop keys) used regularly, and of course, wash hands often for at least 20 seconds several times a day. With most of us still being obligated to work online, it is important to monitor the amount of time spent sitting in front of the computer, and/or desk. At least every 15 to 20 minutes, force yourself (set a timer) to get up and walk around, stretch, etc. This will allow proper circulation of the blood in the legs, and will take the strain off the lower spine. This is a good time to hydrate the body with water. I recommend drinking Alkaline-based water. Simply adding lemon to your tap water or purified water will make the water Alkaline.

What we put in our bodies have a lot to do with our management of stress. As said in the previous paragraph, keeping the body hydrated is most important. However, eating certain foods will also help with boosting our immune system. Eating fruits, leafy green vegetables and other Omega rich foods daily is highly recommended. It is also recommended to take a Multivitamins, including Vitamin C, B, and D3. Health officials are recommending that we try to have at least two-weeks of shelf foods and drinking water in the home. I know this has caused some anxiety for families who are challenged socio-economically. You can only do the best you can. For those of you who have access to fruits and vegetables growing on the property, take advantage of this. Share with others in the neighborhood, especially with older persons living alone with multiple chronic conditions (such as diabetes, hypertension, etc.).

Rest is also important for dealing with stress and boosting our immune system. The amount of sleep recommended for most adults is 7 to 9 hours. In general, older adults will sleep an average of 7 to 8 hours, while it is recommended that children (6 to 17 years) should rest 8 to 11 hours. Getting enough sleep will boost your immune system and help decrease the chances of getting sick. It is during sleep that the body is able to repair, grow tissues, build bones and muscles, and strengthens the immune system (WebMD Medical Reference, 2018).

Many of us are also questioning the meaning of this pandemic from a religious and spiritual perspective. In several in-person and online discussions, persons are asking why now? As humans, what have we done to warrant such aggressive ‘punishment’ from God/the Creator? Why is God/the Creator allowing this to happen?  We may not have the answers to these questions. But, what I personally know, is that this time is allowing human beings to “reset” to start “a new” to “refocus.” Many of us who are in-tuned with Mother Nature and have a regular spiritual practice had an innate sense of knowing that this time was coming. We may not have been shown the specifics of how it would appear, but we innately knew there was going to be a major shift in our perspectives and ways of being. I recall just a month and a half ago, participating in a 21-Days Abundance movement initiated by Deepak Chopra. It pushed all who participated, and actually did the work, to shift our way of thinking about life and viewing each day as a gift of opportunities. This movement had a domino effect with new Abundance groups being created daily, weekly. It really was timely, and in some sense, prepared individuals to have a deeper understanding about our existence as it relates to each other, the Universe, and all forms.

I mention Deepak because, having a practice of meditation is paramount at this time. Research studies have demonstrated that daily meditation is beneficial because “it alters the brain’s neural pathways” (WebMD, 2020). This makes us more resilient to stressors. Being in a meditative state can simply be in the form of taking a walk around your home, or in your neighborhood, or by a lake, stream or any body of water. Waking daily just before daylight, watching the sun as it rises, and being grateful that you are among the healthy. Engage in leisure activities with members in the household such as board games, making crafts, baking, planting, etc. These simple examples can be done alone or with family members and create a spiritual bonding between members. For those who are religious, you know the saying “a family that prays together, stays together.” This is a perfect opportunity to initiate a routine time for prayers together as a family.

Finally, I believe, globally, we are being forced to meditate and pray individually and communally! In the past two decades, we have been so driven by money and greed, the drive for wealth, and the accumulation of ‘things’ that we have moved away from the practice of prayer, universal love, and compassion for others. Let us all pray universally for all the families affected by COVID-19, especially those who have lost loved one. Let’s also pray that this time next year, this thing will be behind us, and that we will be in a better place physically, spiritually and emotionally.

Dr. Sharon McKenzie (Source Farm Volunteer)