2023 Sankofa Living Memories Series Recap
In celebration of Black History Month, Sweet Water Foundation hosted its third annual Sankofa Living Memories Series. The Sankofa Living Memories Series embraces the practice of Sankofa, reaching back to the knowledge and wisdom of the past and bringing it into the present in order to build a more radical and imaginative future. The overarching theme of the 2023 Sankofa series was Reverence -- deep respect for someone or something. More than 50 community members and Values-Based Partners attended each of the three virtual sessions through which we sought to [Re]Member, [Re]Generate, and [Re]Mediate with deep Reverence for the wisdom of the past and the Earth. Read more about this year’s Sankofa series.
[re]membering | friday, february 10
On Friday, February 10, five of SWF’s newest team members shared a presentation [Re]Membering their time at Sweet Water Foundation. Team members shared how their paths overlapped, and how 5 strangers became coworkers, friends, and ultimately, family through their relationship with each other, the SWF community, and with the Earth. They demonstrated their growth over the past 1 - 2 years at The Commonwealth - from developing hands-on farm, garden, and carpentry skills, to strengthening their emotional and interpersonal skills, to becoming teachers that share what they learned with visitors of all ages.
Their presentation was a beautiful act of [Re]Memberning. Through their story, it was evident that they have pride in their work, have a deep connection with each other, respect for history, and hope for the future. The work we do every day at The Commonwealth is history making -- which is where hope comes from. Their presentation showed that SWF’s value that Small is Beautiful makes us stronger together.
[re]generation | friday, february 17
On Friday, February 17, the SWF team was joined by a group of Values-Based Partners to share deep reverence for the produce we have been cultivating throughout the winter and for the wisdom of our elders through a live cooking demonstration and conversation. This year, the [Re]Generation event featured a dynamic blend of photography shared via a Google Slides presentation and livestream video that took viewers from inside our hoop houses to a live cooking demonstration inside [Re]Construction House.
During the presentation, the SWF team shared our experience growing year-round even in the midst of winter. The presentation started in the hoop houses -- showing the abundance and variety of cold-weather crops like collards, kale, purple mustards that are available. The team brought the harvest directly to [Re]Construction House to hand off to SWF team members, Phoenix and Alysse, to prepare this year’s recipe - Rainbow Soup of [Re]Generation. The soup included assorted greens, turnip bottoms, and leeks directly from the hoop houses as well as bell peppers, tomatoes, red beans, and garlic that had been preserved from the summer.
After the cooking demonstration, the audience had a rich conversation about their techniques, experiences, and memories of preparing meals and their memories of sharing meals within their own families and communities. Audience members’ senses were awakened, with partners expressing that they could, “Taste it from here in Charleston!”
When the presentation was over, the SWF team shared a meal of Rainbow Regeneration Soup and homemade Peach Cobbler with peaches that had been frozen from the summer.
[re]mediation | Friday, February 24
The final Sankofa session of 2023 was hosted on Friday, February 24, featuring a group of Values-Based Partners from Freedom Dreams in Detroit, who joined SWF for an immersion at The Commonwealth. Five Freedom Dreams team members, including Coach Kellogg, Sam Scardefield, and two young apprentices, drove to Chicago for a two-day immersion at The Commonwealth during which they engaged in the cultivation of life in our hoop houses and hands-on building of Interlocking Burros in the Work-Shop.
On Friday, the Freedom Dreams team co-presented with the SWF team for the final Sankofa Series event, focusing on [Re]Mediation of our collective stories through re-storying, Freedom Dreams, and dream walking. During the presentation, both teams shared how they had deepened their connection as individuals and as Values-Based Partners over the past two days and ended with a new understanding and excitement for what is to come across the network in 2023.
After the presentation, the immersion concluded up with a Sankofa art project in Civic Arts Church. Each participant created a Sankofa Collage dedicated to an ancestor from Black history. The group had a chance to learn about historical figures and share with each other about those ancestors who have impacted our lives on a more personal level. Two days prior, the SWF team had created Sankofa Collages with second graders from Beasley Elementary school through our Seeding the Future Program. Together, the collages will be used to create a Sankofa Memory Wall in Civic Arts Church.
GRATITUDE to all those presenting and attending! Each of the 2023 Sankofa Living Memories Series sessions is recorded and available to the SWF community and Values-Based Partner network. Contact info@sweetwaterfoundation.com to access the recordings.