ReGeneracíon: A Reflection on a (r)Evolution of Being in Borikén (Puerto Rico)
AUTHOR’S NOTE: This article is part of our new initiative: Reports from a (r)Evolution of Being. This series is a place to tell stories of the future, the big transitions we need to make, and how these transitions are unfolding now. This piece is a reflection on our recent visit with pollinators in Borikén (Puerto Rico).
Farming is regenerative. It’s revolutionary. And it’s freedom. A lot of people don’t make those connections. But these people here do. — Susimar González Martínez, Regenerating Ancestral Agriculture in Puerto Rico
Take a moment to notice your senses. Imagine the vibrant colors of birds of paradise and hibiscus, the smell of green onion, plantains, oranges, limes, the hum of bees and the taste of sweet honey. These favorite plants, food, and insects were our introduction to five Boricua farmers — ranging in age from their 20s to their 70s — who were brought together by Regenerating Ancestral Puerto Rican Agriculture (RAPA). These farmers — along with many, many others — are stewarding a (r)Evolution of Being in Borikén (also known as Puerto Rico).
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In May, Root. Rise. Pollinate! traveled to Borikén to deepen our partnership with RAPA and understand how a (r)Evolution of Being is unfolding on the Island. RAPA was founded in 2023 by Susimar Gonzalez Martinez, a Boricua farmer seeking to provide farmers on the rural West side of Puerto Rico with hands-on learning and tools in Boricua ancestral farming methods. RAPA’s vision also includes creating community-led structures to ensure local communities have access to healthy food and that Puerto Rico’s soil and land are stewarded in ways that enable the Island — and the world — to not only survive, but thrive. Together, we were there to collaborate on a very special gathering where farmers who are active in reviving ancestral farming practices had space to share their stories as they co-create a collective vision. This was RAPA’s first gathering and the first place-based gathering for RRP!’s Reports from a (r)Evolution of Being.
As soon as we arrived on the Island, we could feel the complex weaving of past, present, and many potential futures animating this place and time. In the face of colonization, accelerated climate change and land disposition which so deeply shape the physical and spiritual terrain of the Island, the people of Puerto Rico are leading incredible efforts to renew and strengthen traditional Caribbean practices of land and water stewardship, healing practices, farming, and food cultivation.
Heeding the call to love and tend the land, Boricua farmers are reclaiming what their ancestors taught them by listening to that which still lives in their cellular memory. This cellular memory comes in many forms, most often through the senses — smell, touch, taste, feeling and vision — and through story, song, dance and practice.
The farmers and beekeeper that we met — Susimar (founder of RAPA), Teresa, Damara, Juan, Rogelio, and Armando — shared their farming journeys and how they were called to live their purpose. Their stories spoke of how, through farming, they are doing what they love, with joy, commitment, and in community. While their journeys have included challenges, these farmers are finding ways to move through them by grounding in something larger than themselves — their connections to nature, ancestors, Spirit, their own deep knowing, and pride in purposeful, rewarding, work.
My grandfathers had lime trees, and I have the seeds from my grandfathers. So that’s an ancestor practice. I’m proud of those seeds. I maintain those seeds. It’s part of my family legacy. — Armando
As the Root. Rise. Pollinate! team continues to reflect on our visit with RAPA and the community of farmers, we have begun to identify a few emerging elements essential to practicing a (r)Evolution of Being. We witnessed all of these in this gathering:
- Love for place, human and non-human beings
- Spirit-rootedness and connection to ancestors
- Courage to be in right relationships — challenging the “norm”
- Joy, even in the midst of hardship
- Journeying with/in community
With gratitude to the farmers of RAPA for their generosity, wisdom, and practice, we now invite you to sit with and share your responses to the following questions:
- In what ways are the five key elements essential to practicing a (r)Evolution of Being showing up in your life?
- How might you cultivate them?
Stay tuned for future blogs in which we look more deeply into the work of RAPA, the (r)Evolution of Being that is embodied in being a farmer, and the particular ways of farming that are unique to Borikén.
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A NOTE ON THE FEATURED ARTIST & ART
Yasmín Hernández is a Brooklyn-born and raised artist whose work is centered on liberation themes. She rematriated to her ancestral homeland of Borikén in 2014, where she is still based.
Borikén Luciérnaga (Firefly Borikén), 2019, was created out of Hernández’s Mayagüez artspace, CucubaNación, a project is dedicated to Boricua bioluminescence. That piece is inspired by this project and these fabulous glowing creatures of so many that we have here in our archipelago.
CucubaNación was conceived in the bioluminescent waters of Vieques following Hurricane María. Contemplating the imposed darkness of climate change, incessant power outages and colonialism, it is a meditation on Boricua bioluminescence and its liberatory lessons in light. In 2022, the concept expanded from a painting series into a store-front art space directly across from the mural on Calle San Vicente. In addition to being Hernández’s studio, gallery, art shop, it also serves as a community space that has hosted art classes, workshops, healing spaces, creative circles, and conversations on self-healing, rematriation and liberation.
Follow her work on IG: @yasminhernandezart and @cucubanacion
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ABOUT REPORTS FROM A (r)EVOLUTION OF BEING:
Reports from a (r)Evolution of Being is a place to tell stories of the future, the big transitions we need to make, and how these transitions are unfolding now.
In late 2023 Root. Rise. Pollinate! held our first two Inspiration Sessions, ‘Governance for Collective Thriving’ and ‘Embodying Love And/With Power Within Our Organizing and Organizations.’ Inspiration Sessions are space for feminist changemakers to come together to learn and share new developments and exchange narratives that shape understanding and strategies for transformative feminist praxis. This work is part of our project, Reports from the Revolution of Being — a place to tell stories of the future, the big transitions we need to make, and how these transitions are unfolding now.
This article is part of a series of posts, over the next few months, drawing on reflections we shared with participants after each Inspiration Session and also highlights new reflections and invitations into transformation drawn from the wisdom and experiences of our ‘Inspirators’ who currently call home India, Kenya, Borikén (Puerto Rico), South Africa, the United States, and Zimbabwe.
