Why is the rising earth immersion program relevant right now?
2020 will undoubtedly be a year bookmarked in our collective memory. Between suffering a worldwide pandemic, to the national awareness of horrific police murders of Black people, and the catalyzation of one the largest and most momentous protest movements the US has ever seen; the waves of change we are experiencing this year will ripple through the rest of our lives.
We are collectively being asked some difficult questions:
How can we reckon with and heal from our history of white supremacy, exploitative capitalism, and colonialism?
What does an effective, compassionate, and JUST response to COVID look like in our communities?
What do we want our post-covid world to look like?
Related questions also permeate the leadership team of the Rising Earth Immersion as we chart a course forward into our Summer and Fall programs.
How are we being called to respond to this moment?
What does our work look like as a historically white-led organization in environmental education?
What are the resources we can bring to support our community?
What are the gifts we can offer in support of this movement?
At the same time, we are also hearing many of the same questions alive in the hearts of our current and prospective participants:
How can I be a force for meaningful change in the world right now?
Is participating in a permaculture immersion really what I am supposed to be doing right now?
Shouldn’t I be on the streets protesting or canvassing?
If you are a young change-maker grappling with these questions, then the rest of this post is for you. While our role as mentors is not to answer any of these questions for you (in fact it is our intention to lure you deeper into such questions), we can offer our thoughts on why we believe that the Rising Earth Immersion plays an essential role in the movements for collective liberation. We hope that these reflections help you discern whether this program might be a good fit for you this year.
Our Role in the Movement
Rising Earth is not a front-line activist group, and it is not an organizer training. If you feel the immediate need to engage in political campaigns, canvassing, or street protests this election season, then we applaud you and encourage you to connect with one of the many amazing BIPOC and youth-led organizations leading these charges.
Rising Earth is not an anti-racist training. All of our Core Facilitators and much of our staff have gone through, or even led, such trainings, and we commit to bringing an intersectional and anti-oppression lens to this program. However, examining the history and legacy of racism/white supremacy is not the primary focus of the program. If you are interested in a deep dive into these topics we recommend AORTA, The Catalyst Project, White Awake, or Michelle Johnson as good folks to study with.
But, make no mistake, the Rising Earth Immersion is also not where participants come to "check out" of the so-called real world or abscond from the responsibility of social and environmental activism (in fact many of our facilitators and participants are directly involved in these types of activism, and have been for years).
In recognizing that there are many roles to play in pursuit of shared liberation and social transformation, we appreciate this framework by Deepa Iyer. In recognition of the powerful teachers we have learned from, the sacred land where we exist, and the abundant community that surrounds us, we strive to identify and leverage our own unique gifts and strengths for the work.
Using this model as a reference, we see Rising Earth as a space for young adults to try on some of these different roles and practice building the kind of diverse and thriving ecosystem which will generate meaningful change.
How does this map help you see your own role in the social change ecosystem?
At an organizational level, we see our role as:
Visionaries — those who imagine and generate bold possibilities
Caregivers — those who nurture and nourish the people around us by creating and sustaining a community of care, joy, and connection
Storytellers — those who craft and share community stories, cultures, experiences, histories, and possibilities through art, music, media, and movement
Healers — those who recognize and tend to the generational and current traumas caused by oppressive systems, institutions, policies, and practices
Experimenters — those who innovate, pioneer, and invent; taking risks and course-correcting as needed
Weavers — those who see the through-lines of connectivity between people, places, organizations, ideas, and movements
*Please note that these roles and descriptions are credited to Deepa Iyer, SolidarityIs, and Building Movement Project.
How This Translates — Our Curriculum
Our Rising Earth curriculum continues to evolve. We are floored by the caliber of facilitators and the content of their trainings. We invite you to take a look...