As we continue to adjust to COVID 19, there appears to be a collective desire for a return to normal. Whether motivated by concerns over financial uncertainty, food insecurity, or mourning the year that could have been. Whatever the case, what exactly does it mean to return to normal from this era of COVID 19? What does 'normal' refer to? Many of those impacted express a return to routine, work, and ways of living that center profit and productivity. What does returning to normal mean for those who haven't stopped working and are on the 'frontlines' as essential workers? Even during a pandemic profit appears to be valued over the safety of workers, families, and vulnerable inhabitants which tend to be Black people, indigenous people, and people of color (BIPOC). Our healthcare system either ignores or doesn't acknowledge BIPOC participants in the institution of medicine. If the current systems, institutions, and practices in place are harmful to us and our communities then: What does it mean for our communities to return to normal? What can we learn from long-standing community organizing that works to establish community centricity and sustainability? Tierras Comunitarias "a coalition of Santa Ana residents and local organizations" are among those individuals, organizations, and communities trying to connect with their community in light of COVID 19. As their well-established form of organizing, Tierras Comunitarias works to empower people and their collective power to establish a new way of living. A way of living that is rooted in old traditions preserved through a generational passage. Tierras Comunitarias work with their community to establish a collective 'vision for a more sustainable and resilient Santa Ana". In a recent call for art, Tierras Comunitarias invites community members to create a vision in alignment with the coalition's well-established mission to "fight gentrification and the displacement of our neighbors by reclaiming and re-purposing land throughout the city, to meet community needs and create a sustainable Santa Ana." Community members and artists joined in to create and compile their visions. In the 'call for art' poster distributed via social media, Diana (the artist) pictures community members in connection with land by cultivating, irrigating, giving care to plants and vegetables. The imagery Diana creates reflects the very mission of Tierras Comunitarias in their efforts to reclaim, repurpose, and be more sustainable with the land. Tierras Comunitarias effort to reclaim land and offer space for community members to participate in the local community garden reflect participation in a more sustainable relationship with the land. Tierras Comunitarias invites agency into the thoughts of community members as they reflect on how they can envision a "sustainable and liberated Santa Ana" where they get to decide how to represent their community and how to address their needs. In a call for art, community members are asked to reflect on a vision of Santa Ana with sovereignty from harmful land practices which bring pollution, from skyrocketing rents which threaten community members with displacement, and sovereignty to decide what their community will look like.
What does is it mean to "build something different" in our own communities, a circle of friends, and families? What does community look like for you? Diego Leon De JesusFoCAN Media & Documentation Coordinator 2020
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This coming Saturday and Sunday, 11am-3pm, FoCAN will be at the Santa Cruz Mountain Brewery in an effort to fundraise for our upcoming International Youth Intercambio which is happening this spring! We will have CAN's AgroEco coffee to sample and purchase. Please come out to support us and help us make this event happen! Hope to see you there!
Address: 402 Ingalls St. Santa Cruz. Today FoCAN and CAN came out to meet the students who will running the most recently added food pantry on campus! We got to talk to these students about what AgroEco represents, the story behind CAN's coffee label and how FoCAN comes into play.
To close the year, we gathered together to celebrate our hard work and enjoy each other's company. To our graduating seniors, we offered them a Stole of Gratitude. Izamar and Sophia have been working for FoCAN the longest. Their leadership proved the team with the support and guidance that brought us forward. The Cesar Chavez Convocation honors the memory of Cesar Chavez, his achievements, commitment to social justice/civil rights, unrelenting efforts to cultivate grassroots leadership, and his successful formation of the United Farm Workers Union (UFW). FoCAN's leadership team and some of our interns this quarter attended the event together. "Onions are my speciality. If I could choose any other vegetable to grow, it wouldn't matter. It's all the same in the end. I'm still working the land. To be a farmer means you'll be making love to the earth-hacer el amor. I grow and sell my own onions. One time I accidentally sold more than I should have and had to buy some from a friend so I could take some home to my family too. Ironic, don't you think?"
Héctor Rene Munoz, local campesino at the san vincente farmer's market. #focan #ucsc#humanosdelcampo #vidaenelcampo#cebolla #campesino #taguatagua #chile Hola a todos!
We will be embarking on a new project, inspired by "Humans of New York." Stay tuned and we hope you enjoy the little stories campesinos and local habitats alike have shared with us. 🌽 You can also find the stories on our instagram: Follow us at focanucsc! #focan #ucsc #choclo #campesinos #vidaenelcampo #requegua #chile |
Header Photography:
Diego Leon De Jesus Archives
November 2018
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