Rest.Ritual.Routine is 1 year old!
Welcome to Rest.Ritual.Routine’s website! We are so excited to have you! In our first year we met so many beautiful tea lovers. We have been a part of so many wonderful and inspiring events. And we have built a community that we are so happy to be a part of. Through tastes and flavors we have connected with one another. In sharing and exchanging about our health and lifestyles we have fellowshipped. You all have made our first year so special and so sweet. We are so grateful and thankful for your support, smiles, and energy.
When I started my journey of growing and urban farming, it was pretty unexpected. I begrudgingly obliged to chaperone a field trip with youth to a farm in Grafton NY. That farm was called Soul Fire Farm. I expected to see animals, and it to be smelly, and there to be elder caucasian farmers because those were my only references. When I got to the farm, there were no animals, thus it was not smelly, and there were black, young, farmers. I was stunned, but it didn’t stop there. As the workshop ensued we started off with conversation and an ice breaker around land ownership, race, and our historical connections and references to land. We talked about our relationship to the land currently and our perception of farm work and how for many black-brown folks, the land had been the scene of the crime but we ought not treat her as the criminal. I was captivated, I was moved, I was emotional, and I was all in.
I participated in a Black & Latino Farmers Immersion in 2015, cultivated 4000 square feet of land in our community neighborhood garden, and later on apprenticed for the summer at a small urban farm called The Vale Urban Farm. For a couple of years I started a program called Project Backyard through my non-profit (Miracle on Craig Street) where we supported people in building raised beds on their land. We came out each month and taught people how to grow their own veggies and herbs.
During the pandemic and the time following, health and well-being came to the forefront of many of our lives. Many of our old patterns and rhythms of care came crashing down. I believe we began to be tasked to create better and more holistic ways of care, nurturing, and nourishment. And it is my belief that building better flows and systems of care is the work of our time. As I began to struggle with long covid symptoms and work that was not serving, I heard the whispers of mama earth calling me back home. I heard mother nature telling me I was her child, my body made of her flesh; clay, minerals, soil, bacteria and that I could heal in her presence, with her bounty. So in 2024, I returned back to the land with renewed vigor and interest in healing and making herbal medicine. And it’s been a blessing, a wish, a prayer, and reckoning.
It’s been challenging to start something new, believe in this path and this journey, and learn to listen to my body and the earth in new ways but, it has been so worth it. When I get to do this work, put my hands in the soil, harvest or put down seeds, share my bounty with my friends and family, connect with people over tea and health, I feel highly favored and humbled.
My dream is to continue the work that I am doing, continue to expand my growing capacities and herbal knowledge, and share and exchange in my passion with community. I truly love what I am doing now and who I am becoming. As a young (33), Latina, Urban Farmer who grew up in the urban, neglected communities of the Capital Region NY, I never envisioned being on this path, getting this far, and being this aligned with my purpose, my heart, and my consciousness. It is all truly a gift and I am blessed to be able to share it with you! Thank you for following me here. And welcome to my virtual healing space.
Rosa <3
