Currently in my internship, I am starting a Three Sisters (corn, beans, and squash) garden. It will also include Red Amaranth from Guatemala and Colossal Sunflowers. I’ve also started some herb seedlings to transplant into an herb garden. TCEDC has brought in a Taos Pueblo elder and her grandson to assist me with my garden and teach me more about native plants, medicinal uses, and how to grow, harvest, and preserve them. There is also a possibility that we will be starting a youth internship program to bring in some of the Taos Pueblo youth and let them work in the community garden.
The ultimate goal is to have a small Food Festival and feast with the produce from the garden. I’d like to be able to speak publicly comfortably to give my harvest ceremony presentation at the Food Festival. As for leadership, I am hoping I will be able to start the youth program. To expand my professional network I am hoping to reach out and connect with community members with knowledge of herbalism, native plants, and natural medicine, which will be applicable to my goal of being a massage therapist and growing/producing my own herbal salves, teas, and tinctures.
