ABOUT US
We’re a consensus-based collective…. We are individuals that have come together because we believe there are more responsible and loving ways of existence in our current world. We are here because we believe that in order to create a more ecologically -sound lifestyle we must create radical systems that actively oppose the dominant capitalist model of exploitation and oppression.. Instead of further human expansion to our diminishing natural areas, we strive to reclaim abandoned urban areas in order to create a model and community rooted in sustainability, evolution, love, and justice. We work towards this by creating alternatives to our current food, housing, and transportation systems. We hope to further this by creating responsible alternatives to our current health and family structures as well. The urban farm is our main project that brought us together. We support the farm and in turn we are supported by the farm. We see the current exploitation and toxification of our soil and food sources as most threatening to our bodies and communities. New roots challenges our current food systems by creating urban agriculture models, teaching and empowering inner city youth through food production and cooking, and feeding and nourishing ourselves and others in the st. louis community. While our main focus is food security and sustainability (the focus of this website) it is worth mentioning that we put a tremendous amount of love and energy into redesigning how we live as humans. Other things that the collective does beyond our farm programs include:
Shared housing
Shared meals: from dumpstering, gleaning, and our farm, orchard and gardens
Medicinal herbs and beekeeping (kind of neglected but soon to be rekindled)
Tilapia production (coming soon)
Fermentation , wild and otherwise, mead, wines, beer, kimchee, kombucha, and all things delightful
Vehicle coop; includes a truck, tandem bike, and a few home-made bike carts at this point
Food preservation – mostly canning and of course, fermenting
Squatting- reclaiming abandoned houses in our neighborhood as positive space for human existence
Home schooling
Hospitality- for folks just as poorly integrated into today’s society as ourselves, intentionally or not, whats intentional anyways-in the catholic worker model
This year we hope to develop the necessary infra-structure to be an income-sharing group with a health co-op for those involved.
“We believe that our society encourages profound injustices, rampant violence, ruinous ecological destruction and greed, and that these problems are embedded in the dominant systems of governance and economy. We therefore favor radical, systemic change and oppose today's dominant systems, including capitalism, patriarchy and white supremacy.”
Excerpt taken from the website of the Emma goldman finishing school