We Are Wildseed

We Are Wildseed

  • We Are WILDSEED

    We are the soil that remembers,

    the river that carries forgotten names,

    the wind that lifts the prayers of our ancestors

    who dreamed us into being.

    We are the hands that build and rebuild,

    the laughter that cracks open heavy rooms,

    the firelight that refuses to dim,

    even when the storm lingers too long.

    We are the breath between battles,

    the sacred pause before the next beginning,

    the promise that no one moves alone—

    not in this lifetime, not in this work.

    If love is land,

    then we are home.

    If love is revolution,

    then we are already free.

    We are WILDSEED.

    We plant, we tend, we rise—

    rooted in love, growing toward liberation.

WILDSEED’s team is a constellation of farmers, healers, artists, cultural workers, facilitators, organizers and strategists. Together, we steward WILDSEED as a living laboratory for liberation—a place to experiment, remember, and co-create the futures our ancestors dreamed.

We honor and express deep gratitude to the Founding Core Collective (2015–2020)—Naima Penniman, Jalal Sabur, Jasmine Burems, and Diana Warwin—whose vision, courage, and devotion seeded WILDSEED. Their spiritual and strategic labor laid the fertile ground upon which our current work continues to grow.

Past & Present Key Players and Contributors

Current Team:

Today, WILDSEED is lovingly tended by a team working interdependently through a shared governance model. At the heart of this model is the Cambium Council—a core trio committed to relational health, strategic visioning, and resource cultivation. Like the cambium layer of a tree, which allows for internal growth and outward expansion, the Cambium Council nurtures WILDSEED’s continued evolution. Members of this council are: Naima Penniman, Kavitha Rao, and Taij Kumarie Moteelall.

Our team reflects a wide range of lived experiences and sacred expertise—from land justice to somatic healing, from restorative economics to art as a tool for transformation. Together, we are growing WILDSEED into a sanctuary for belonging, creativity, and collective thriving.

  • Person in red traditional attire standing in a forest with trees and rocks

    Taij Kumarie Moteelall

    Wellness & Sustainability Partner & Cambium Council Member

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  • Person with dreadlocks and tattoos stands in a field, facing a scenic landscape with hills and a cloudy sky at sunset.

    Natasha Strickland

    Operations Co-Director

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  • A person smiling and holding a basket of mushrooms in a forest.

    Naima Penniman

    Visionary Co-Director & Cambium Council Member

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  • Man wearing a hoodie with the text 'Catalyst Collaborative Farm'

    Monti Lawson

    Site Supervisor & Farmer-in-Residence

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  • Woman with gray hair and hoop earrings on a beach in white dress.

    Kavitha Rao

    Human Ecosystems Manager & Cambium Council Member

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  • A person with curly hair and a scarf takes a selfie in a rural field. In the background, there's a metal sculpture resembling a giraffe and a landscape with hills and clouds.

    Athena Bernkopf

    Sustainable Networks Steward

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  • Person taking a selfie on a wooded path

    Ana Reyes

    Resource Mobilizer

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A group of people outdoors in cold weather with mountains in the background, wearing winter clothing such as jackets, scarves, and hats, smiling at the camera.

WILDSEED Community Farm & Healing Village is stewarded by a dedicated group of BIPOC and LGBTQ+ leaders, deeply committed to fostering a hyper-local ecosystem centered around regenerative agriculture, self-determination, holistic well-being, and economic sovereignty. Nestled on 181 acres in the Mid Hudson Valley, NY, WILDSEED is a sanctuary for life in all its forms—where rolling fields stretch under expansive skies, mountains reflect in tranquil waters, and trees, animals, and winged creatures thrive alongside us.

Our dynamic ecosystem is vibrant and bustling with the arts, healing practices, and social movement partners. Artists, healers, and leaders converge here, participating in wellness retreats, artists residencies, and day-long events tailored for local neighbors and BIPOC communities from New York City seeking nature's solace. These gatherings are acts of co-creation, interweaving human creativity and ancestral wisdom with the powerful natural forces of the land, sky, water, and spiritual guides.

Partnerships  &

Social Ecosystem

WILDSEED established the Webatuck Valley Farm Collaboration (WVFC) alongside Sweet Freedom Farm, Catalyst Collaborative and Rock Steady Farm to build mutual aid amongst our sibling projects and collaborate to support BIPOC and LGBTQ+ farmers through land access, advocacy, shared infrastructure and equipment, training, technical assistance, employment and apprenticeships. We are also partnering with the Northeast Farmers of Color Land Trust to build a legal structure that protects the land in perpetuity through indigenous consultation, environmental review, and developing covenants with the land and ancestors. 

Farms operating within WILDSEED produce nutritious, culturally-relevant food and medicinal herbs, while serving as habitats for diverse species. Through WILDSEED and its collaborative ties, we are building the world we desire—a world rooted in interdependence, reverence for all living beings, and a commitment to the principles of justice, sustainability, and collective well-being. 

Here, we grow our futures, grounded in the wisdom of our past, anchored in the rich soil of community and ecological stewardship.

Check out the list of

our collaborators,

co-conspirators and comrades in the work