Love, Respect, Kindness, Generosity, Connection and Possibility
We are a settler-led and predominantly white organization farming in the territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, and səl̓ilwətaɁɬ Nations. We want to create a safe space for all to join our community, inclusive of people who have experienced trauma and who seek land-based healing and improved food access. We want to guide our day-to-day work, organizational decisions and future by shared values.
To discover our shared values as a community we proposed organizational values of Love, Respect, Kindness and Generosity. Core staff and volunteers explored these values in a March 2022 workshop by Kathi Camilleri who is trained and has depth of experience in cultural safety and elder teachings. Her focus is on the revival of culturally-based values to increase collaboration among people. The workshop was called Building Bridges: Through Understanding the Village.
We asked our members, volunteers and community gardeners what they thought about our proposed values of Love, Respect, Kindness and Generosity. This is what they said:
Members shared that Respect for nature, and for each other, is top of mind: respect brings consciousness into how we treat each other. Life is built on relationships. Next was Generosity because it seems the most action-oriented and is a way we can express an expansiveness of heart and mind. Kindness is where community begins and Love of course, encompasses all.
Members were asked what additional values they'd like our farm community to exemplify and uphold. Many members value connection: community, inclusiveness, accessibility, cooperation, sharing, reconciliation. One member expressed the value of harmony: to honour diversity through Love, Respect, Kindness and Generosity. Our members further value the creativity, learning and possibility that comes from farming the city. And lastly we want to be stewards of the environment, health and sustainability.
To honour the expressed values of our community we adopt the working values of Love, Respect, Kindness, Generosity, Connection and Possibility. We aspire to uphold these values in all that we do. Thanks to all.