By Ana Galvis
Summer is about to arrive. That time of the year when the northern hemisphere of the planet is closer to the sun, the fields and the gardens are letting us know what we are doing correctly and what we need to correct to keep alive the promise of a bountiful harvest. Our success can depend on how well we can interpret those messages.
In the summer issue of our newsletter, I would like to share with all of you a recurrent reflection I have been doing about this question: Where are we going as humanity?
Many of us are immersed in a westernized civilization largely based on extractivist logics and the conscience of the connection between those logics, and the consequences of them in the environment, other humans, and ourselves are inviting us to rethink the future.
The levels of pollution, violence, inequality and poverty spread at the global level can make us think that we have very few options. For example, some voices in the mainstream media tell us that connecting ourselves to a computer via nanotechnology, focusing a big amount of our intelligence and resource to travel to Marte, and accepting generative artificial intelligence in many aspects of our live including our house, workplace, and even in the intimacy of our own body by becoming cyborgs are our “best possible” options to preserve humanity.
But I keep thinking, what if that vision is incorrect? What if there are other “best possible” options for our future? For example, what if everyone who has the desire to connect in a regenerative way with Earth by becoming organic producers of goods and services is given the opportunity to do it? If they can practice recycling, reusing and repurposing as much as possible, if they are provided with stable and affordable access to land and all the resources needed to become net producers, changing the pattern of being net consumers?. What if this vision of a regenerative future becomes the rule and not the exception, how would it be? How would our future be?
Besides this reflection, I also want to give a welcome to our new co-workers: Laurajean Lewis that is joining our team to support us as Executive Director, Kiki Elfendahl as Finance Manager, Aba Kiser as Information and Event Associate, and Susana Cabrera-Mariz as Education and Research Associate. I am thankful for the opportunity to co-create with all of you the vision of the Organic Seed Alliance, a vision that in my opinion, at its core works for a regenerative present and future.
I also want to express my gratitude to all the co-workers that for different reasons decided to continue building the future in other projects and organizations. They are many, but I want to extend a special note of gratitude to Jennifer Turney, our former Finance Manager who for many years took care of the organization and each of us to the best of her capacity. And even if I did not meet them, I learned about them through their legacy: Farewell full of gratitude to Mrs. Tinker Cavallaro and Mr. John Navazio, the stories of your accomplishments transcended the time and reached me. You are part of the team that prepared the soil of the garden where myself and many others working for Organic Seed will continue growing.
That’s all from me for now,
Happy summer, and rest well when you can!
Best regards.
