MISSION
The Braiding Roots Collective is a community of next-generation* New Mexican farmers and seed-caregivers rooted in relations with each other, our elders and youth, and with land. We hold space for deepening networks, resource sharing and investment, collaborative projects, and acts of mutual aid so that each of our members can succeed in their lives as land-based farmers. We are dedicated to restoring, continuing and enhancing the traditional farming practices of our ancestors and diverse cultures for a sustainable and just future.
*’Next-generation’ = people who identify as within the middle or bridge generation between youth and our elders.
About the braiding roots collective
VISION
We aspire to build strength in the face of environmental, racial, and social injustices, and systems that attempt to remove Indigenous and land-based New Mexicans from ancestral land, water, seeds, and knowledge.
We learn, heal, and address hardships together using the strength of our different ideas and cultures.
We trust and care for one another, our families and communities - and act as a bridge between elder and younger generations so we may all live and thrive with just, sustainable, and dignified livelihoods.
We restore our relations with the land, and re-build economies of sharing and exchange.
With support from each other, we are able to succeed in our personal and collective worka nd serve as sources of health, nourishment, and inspiration for our different communities and for future generations.
VALUES:
Pollination - We pollinate each other through mutual support, reciprocity, sharing, and exchange of ideas and resources.
Mutualism - We make decisions through collective decision making, empowerment, and transparency.
Justice - We prioritize the projects, needs and experiences of Indigenous and Acequia land-based collective members who have a generational connection to the land in NM. We also center the voices of other Black, Peoples of Color, and LGBTQ2S+ members, making room for those who have been excluded and planting seeds for future generations.
History:
The collective began gathering in 2018, under the name NM Next Generation Traditional Farmers Collective. In 2025 we re-named ourselves the Braiding Roots Collective (BRC).
Over the years, over thirty-five ‘next generation’ farmers from across New Mexico have worked to build relationships - gathering and sharing food and stories; doing work exchange days on each other's farms; sharing seeds, resources, knowledge, and skills; and holding each other through the complex process of defining who we are and what our purpose is as a collective.
Our initial goal has been to provide each other with the concrete help (financial resources, physical support, and loving relationships) that allows each of us to achieve our farm dreams, and to build community and knowledge through learning by doing.
Starting during the covid-19 pandemic, when we could spend less time physically gathered together, we began to distribute more direct funding support for collective members to use for self care needs, community food distribution efforts, farm infrastructure and material investments, labor and youth intern support, and creative projects tied to land-based work.
We will continue to evolve and grow, finding the best ways to work in alignment with our values, mission, and vision. While we currently have grant funding to support our work, our ultimate committment is to continue to show up for each other for decades to come, into our own elder-hoods, with or without financial support to do so.
As of 2024, we’ve developed a structure of collective leadership that includes an organizing team of ~10 members who each participate in a different work group to keep us moving.
