Conscious Homestead Fellowship Program
Have Zymora write the "story" of the fellowship.
Update the info below with 2023 fellowship timeline.
The BIPOC GrowTeam is made by and for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) Vermonters to engage with Afro-Indigenous practices and ways of growing food for themselves and their communities. BIPOC GrowTeam members will participate in art, social and educational programming, field trips, workshops, and foster community with other BIPOC-Vermonters and leaders in food and land stewardship work all while growing food together! There are two routes for participation in the BIPOC Grow Teams at Conscious Homestead; our paid fellowship and our volunteer crew.
Update the info below with 2023 fellowship timeline.
The BIPOC GrowTeam is made by and for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) Vermonters to engage with Afro-Indigenous practices and ways of growing food for themselves and their communities. BIPOC GrowTeam members will participate in art, social and educational programming, field trips, workshops, and foster community with other BIPOC-Vermonters and leaders in food and land stewardship work all while growing food together! There are two routes for participation in the BIPOC Grow Teams at Conscious Homestead; our paid fellowship and our volunteer crew.
BIPOC Grow Team Fellowship |
BIPOC Grow Team Volunteer Crew |
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Our BIPOC Grow Team Fellowship runs for 2 weekends a month, from June - September 2022. Each fellow will earn $2800 during the fellowship, meals each day during the fellowship as well as organic free food grown on the homestead to share. Our fellowship provides an opportunity for BIPOC to be financially compensated for their leadership in building community food and land sovereignty.
Applications open April 1st, 2022. Applications due April 15th, 2022. Interviews scheduled between April 18th - 30th, 2022. Decisions made / Applicants are notified between May 1st -7th, 2022. How to APPLY to be a FELLOW?To apply you will need to fill out the fellowship application form linked below. This button will activate on April 1st when the applications officially open.
The form will ask for some general information about your identity (ie. name, pronouns etc.). Additionally you will be asked to upload a "body of work" that illustrates:
For example: submit a written letter of intent, share a piece of art or a dance/musical/poetry performance, record a video responding to the prompts above; feel free to utilize whichever medium allows you to express yourself fully. |
Our BIPOC Grow Team Volunteer Crew runs from June - September 2022 with an expectation that volunteers offer support for a minimum of 4 hours per month. Each volunteer will earn the equivalent of a Conscious Homestead Seed Membership; with discounts to our botanica and merch shops, discounts to Conscious Homestead events and offerings as well as free community care shares and free BIPOC care packages.
Applications open April 1st, 2022. Applications due April 29th, 2022. Volunteer Orientation between May 1st -14th, 2022 How to APPLY to be a VOLUNTEER?To apply you will need to fill out the volunteer application form linked below. This button will activate on April 1st when the applications officially open.
The form will ask for some general information about your identity (ie. name, pronouns etc.). Volunteers are expected to volunteer at least 4 hours a month and therefore will be ask some general questions about your schedule availability. Volunteers will also be expected to attend an orientation with Candace prior to officially volunteering on the homestead. Those orientations will be scheduled between May 1st - 14th. |
BIPOC Grow Team Leads
Candace Taylor - Conscious Homestead Owner & Shift Meals BIPOC Grow Team Farm MentorCandace (she/they) is the creator of Conscious Homestead, a seed & land steward, yoga practitioner, herbalist, urban homesteader and ancestral cook. Candace is committed to living with not over the land, centering wholeness and radical love. Since 2014, Candace has had one dream, to open a BIPOC Urban Farm and wholeness retreat in Winooski, VT. Seeking out land in Winooski was a challenge but in 2020, Candace pivoted from looking outward for a space to build their vision and decided to convert their own small family urban homestead into a shared space for BIPOC to connect to the land and nurture their individual and collective wholeness.
hello@candacejennifer.me |
Zymora Cleopatra Davinchi - Shift Meals BIPOC Food Sovereignty Program Manager & BIPOC GrowTeam ManagerZymora (she/her) is an undergraduate student at the University of Vermont, majoring in Public Communication and minoring in Critical Race and Ethnic Studies. She is one of ShiftMeals’ BIPOC Food Sovereignty Program Managers, where she supports Vermonters of color involved in food and land stewardship work. She builds resources, fosters community, develops educational-social programming, and collaborates with other existing BIPOC-led initiatives. Additionally, she is ShiftMeals BIPOC GrowTeam Manager and handles all operations relating to the BIPOC GrowTeam and its mission to empower BIPOC-Vermonters with land, mentorship, and community to grow food for themselves.
zymora@skinnypancake.com |
Jean Hamilton - Shift Meals Executive DirectorJean Hamilton (she/her) spends most of her time thinking about sustainable, local food systems. Since she moved to Vermont in 2000, Jean has worked in many parts of the food system, including farms, restaurants, retailers, and community development organizations. Jean seeks opportunities to weave connections between grassroots organizing, market development and institutional advocacy to enact lasting systemic shifts towards local economies, community health, ecological vitality, and equity.
jean@skinnypancake.com |
Jaya Touma-Kajatt Shoatz - BIPOC Grow Team Art CoordinatorJaya Touma-Kajatt Shoatz (she/they) is an Afro-Mexican, Palestinian, queer, femme identified activist from Philly. She began her pursuit of justice at a young age, since then she’s been dedicated to creating spaces where marginalized groups can find homes, respect, and voices. She now attends the University of Vermont where she is currently an Arts student. Over the summer of 2020 she began working with the ShiftMeals Grow Teams as one of the two BIPOC Food Sovereignty Co-Managers and now as the Art Coordinator. In the future she plans to serve and treat her communities as a Black Art Therapist.
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