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Sylvia and I had a lovely chat, allowing us to get a deeper understanding of her history, passion, and projects. Please enjoy! Did you always have an interest in growing food? Once I became a mother, I really became interested in growing food for my family. I wanted to emphasize an Earth connection with my children, and I wanted to give them the freshest food possible. Because Mama Tierra gave me so much solace when I was growing up, I wanted to share that connection with my family. Being in the garden with my children gave our family access to a deeply healing and alive space. Tell me more about Milpa Mariposa? The milpa is just under one acre in Ashland, and my family and I are the primary carers for that parcel of land. We also work closely with my friend and colleague, Sabina, who is widely knowledgeable about agriculture; we have a reciprocal relationship on the milpa and in the cooking classes we host together. I also love to invite community members in because I value sharing the space with families and youth in the Latino community. I want to guide those who want to engage with their culture or have become disconnected from it. I’m excited to say that interest in the milpa is growing, and we’re looking to expand! What drew you to maíz specifically? Maíz makes me feel more connected to my culture. I was separated from my mother, who was a Mexican immigrant, when I was just six years old. I was the only one of my siblings who didn’t get to spend time on the family ranch in Mexico, and I felt that disconnect deeply. Everything I do on the milpa now is an intentional reclamation of culture and ancestral wisdom. How have you seen Mama Tierra heal people? It’s scientifically proven that when children and adults engage with soil, their mood improves. Having your hands in the dirt, which is regenerative, from seed to harvest brings a sense of wholeness that a lot of people have lost touch with in our fragmented society. There’s also an ancestral connection with seeds and their life-giving qualities – they give us a bridge to something more ancient and primal. I’ve noticed that when people know how to grow their own food, they feel safer and more secure. Being out on the land in community with one another helps address loneliness and feelings of displacement, particularly for the Latin community. It’s important to me to help people remember and feel close to their culture, no matter how far away they may be from their home geographically. Mother Earth is holding us at all times. When we get quiet out in nature, with the trees, creek water, birds, and butterflies, we have a greater sense of self in the circle of life. All of our ancestors engaged with the land, and the land supports healing. It helps people remember, helps them feel a sense of purpose and guidance, and supports healing. We are all naturally primed to engage with the outdoors. What does food mean to you? I’m so focused on nourishment and feeding my family well! I put greens in everything. I value scratch cooking – really seeing the process through to the end. The maíz is a great example of this: we tend to her, grow her, nixtamalize her, then cook with her. That’s the ancestral way! I love adapting traditional Mexican recipes to be more plant-based and include more vegetables. In fact, pre-contact, Mexican food included much more veggies than it does today. I love cooking with quelites, or edible wild greens, like purslane, Lamb’s quarters, and more. Foraging is a skill I’ve learned and passed down to my children; I really value being able to cook with what grows wild around me and at the milpa.
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