The 176th recipient is Ari de Leña of Kamayan Farm @kamayanfarm in Carnation, WA.
Ari writes, “I'm Ari de Leña and I'm the owner of Kamayan Farm, a 1-ish acre vegetable and flower farm just east of Seattle, WA on Coast Salish land. I'm a queer Filipina/white and descendent of peasant farmers and farmworkers, though that work skipped my parent's generation. On the farm, I'm working my way back to some of that knowledge and connecting to my culture, land, ancestors, seeds, and craft.
I'm striving to unlearn that caring for ourselves is an individual act. I was raised to be incredibly self-reliant and resourceful and, while those qualities are so highly praised in our culture and in American agriculture, I think it's ultimately detrimental to our physical and mental health. Self-care isn't possible without community care or ecological care so I try to focus on creating a world in which all three can be possible.
In real time, that looks like sharing my ups and downs with my loved ones, accepting help, building the farm around what will be best for my physical and mental health, and staying committed to working on my relationships and community.”
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