Desis on the Land Weekend

Welcome to Desis on the Land Weekend!

If you identify as Desi/South Asian/South Asian-American and are passionate about the connections between land, cultural traditions, and justice, come join us for this weekend gathering. Come ready to build community, get your hands dirty, stretch your mind, and continue building our collective power for positive change!

It will be a weekend of camping, collective land stewardship activities and food preparation, rest, play and joy. There will be facilitated conversations that look through a decolonization lens at our community’s engagement in food systems, land and food justice, agriculture, conservation, and diverse cultural traditions.

Our hope is that this will be the first of many such gatherings and the beginning of a journey in which we build collective understanding of the diversity and the commonality of what it means to be part of South Asian immigrant diaspora; how to build home, belonging, and relationship with the land on which we are relative newcomers, and one which is fraught with a history of exclusion and violence of some groups; to co-create ways to build solidarity with communities fighting for land justice, food justice, and cultural sovereignty; and to do all of this through fun and joy and connecting with the soil and each other.

Who we are:

We welcome those who identify as Desi/South Asian/South Asian-American (including those who have Desi origins and have not actively been part of a Desi community but want to engage more) and whose work and/or deep interests lie in a justice-oriented approach to food systems, agriculture, and ecological conservation.

We recognize that we are all at different points on a common journey toward understanding and dismantling embedded oppressive and exclusionary social hierarchies within our community and the world at large. We embrace a “calling in” rather than a “calling out” or shaming approach to learning, centering love and relationship as the best pathway to learning, understanding, and creating a future that centers justice and collective liberation.

We assume the best of each other, i.e., that we share common aspirations of what we can create, and what we can dismantle together.

Who we are not:

Building collective awareness requires that we name, denounce, and disavow several dominant ideologies that are forces of division in South Asia, and among the global diaspora of South Asians:

· Religious bigotry, e.g., Islamophobia, and religious supremacism

· Casteism, e.g., anti-Dalit bigotry, and caste supremacism

· Gender and sexuality bigotry, e.g., homophobia, transphobia, misogyny

· Colorism and racial bigotry, e.g., anti-Blackness

· Cultural and knowledge supremacism, e.g., White/Western supremacism

The event takes place at Ayeko Farm in Enumclaw, WA from August 30-September 1, 2024. Registration is on a sliding scale from $200-$500 and includes camping, meals, and all activities. The actual cost of this event is closer to the higher end of the scale. We invite you to contribute what you can and if you are able to contribute at the higher end of the scale that allows others to participate. We are working to raise funds for this event to help supplement and we are working to keep the costs at a bare minimum. This is a volunteer-led event and a labor of love.

Ayeko Farm is a mission driven farm. We are working to make this space available for community events and would love to be able to sustain this space by holding mission-aligned events such as this. Learn more about us at our website: www.ayekofarm.net.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Ayeko Farm, 41633 236th Avenue Southeast, Enumclaw, United States