Of Seeds, Their People and Stewardship: A 2025 Retrospective with Inside The Husk
- Inside The Husk Indigenous Foodways
- Jan 7
- 3 min read
Recently, a colleague from the Mashpee Wampanoag Nation shared an observation on the many tasks one carries when lifting a boutique consultancy from the ground. It reminded me of the road to ceremony: "Chop wood, carry water."
In this work, we wear many hats. One day, the task is Program Architecture—the "chopping wood"—where we design ethical frameworks, budget schemes, and strategic roadmaps like our 2026 Stewardship Arc. The next day, the task is Event Facilitation—the "carrying water"—where we show up for the community, nourishing the relationships and backbones that sustain our collective efforts.
We balance these roles to serve you responsively. By matching our best teachings to your specific needs, we ensure that the tools we provide are never just theoretical. Whether it is a Seed Guide with sensitive coordinates to facilitate community monitoring, or a Planting Decision Flow that prioritizes steward wellbeing, these tools are built from the daily labor of being present on the land and with the people.
A boutique consultancy means we don’t offer "off-the-shelf" solutions; every project is a unique socio-biological network. We do the quiet, essential work behind the scenes so that when we stand together in the field, the foundation is solid.
The Organizations We Served
Our work with Inside The Husk has connected us with a diverse range of organizations dedicated to education, environmental conservation, social justice, and health advocacy. These groups operate as the vital backbones of their communities, and their commitment provided a profound foundation for our collaboration.
Connecting with these special people—those doing the sacred work of carrying both seeds and their people—reminds us that this sometimes slow, process-based approach is exactly how we heal the world.
The Kingston Land Trust: "Land for All, All for Land"
We had the privilege of partnering with several leadership circles within this vital organization to support the stewardship and vegetative mapping of two of their protected sites. This collaboration also saw us supporting three events in their "Comida y Tierra (Food and Land)" series—a space where the relationship between nourishment and the land is celebrated and reclaimed. An important aspect of this collaboration was to make science functional, accesible and relevant to local and migrating Indigenous communities as well as non-Indigenous families from the Latinex diaspora.
An essential aspect of this partnership was making science functional, accessible, and relevant. We worked to ensure that ecological data served the needs of local and migrating Indigenous communities, as well as non-Indigenous families from the Latinex diaspora. By bridging the gap between technical mapping and cultural heritage, we ensured the community becomes a primary driver of it.
Building Autonomy and Indigenous Expansion
To ensure our partners can upkeep this work autonomously, and to support the continued expansion of their work with Indigenous Communities, we provided specialized training in partnership with esteemed colleagues Chenae Bullock (Mashpee Wampanoag Nation) and Curtis Zuniga (Lenape Indian Tribe of Delaware).
Hudson Valley Farm Hub: Seeds and Cultural Continuity
Working alongside the incredible seed program at the Hudson Valley Farm Hub, we focused this year on supporting data recording systems that capture community cultural needs. We were fortunate to meet the diverse communities engaged with this organization and to support their external collaborations by tailoring data systems to favor cultural continuity. In both agricultural and ecotype settings.
Health and Wellness Programs
Healing the Silences: Partners for Andean Health
Our work also extended to health-focused nonprofits in Ecuador, supporting mental health and wellbeing in Indigenous communities through medical caravans and outreach.
While our communities have ancestral protocols for caring for ourselves, we must acknowledge that colonial-made problems—suicide, gender-based violence, and substance abuse—often require a combination of strategies. These struggles are often silenced, and silence does not allow for healing. We advocate to lead with culture, but we also believe in authentic, ethical interventions that address these "modern" wounds. It is about matching the best tools to the needs of the people, ensuring our health is as resilient as our seeds.
The People We Met
We could say something like "there aren't enough words," but this might be easier: There are many words to describe those we met and had the pleasure of supporting. While we are mindful that not everything—and not everything—has been shared, we want to express our deepest gratitude to those who carry seeds, chop wood, and water.
This work is for you and it is a pleasure to work alongside.
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