I’ve been constantly thinking about this blog and about taking
the time to sit down and actually record what work I’ve been doing and going
through. It’s been so many internal
transformative revolutions and experiences since I last posted- and I’m eager
to keep everyone updated with the developments!
So first of all…..our summer program Mission thrive began this
week! My initial intention was to write
a daily diary of the happenings- but with a full time job and a 3 month old
infant (not happening!) lol.
Mission Thrive is a
program that merges nutrition, farming, and health education with mind-body
medicine and leadership development for youth in Baltimore City. The program
concept is absolutely amazing! I’m excited because I have the freedom to
explore food justice concepts and privilege and diversity (which I’ll be
getting into next week)politics.
We have set core value community standards that everyone has
agreed to abide by which promote character and leader development. They focus
on teamwork, respecting yourself and others, and trying new things. They’ve inspired
me was inspired to create my own core values for myself (Ill share those in
another entry ;)).
I have so much more to say but I’ll stop here and fill you
in more later!
I'm grateful that you have taken the time to check out this blog and get a glimpse into my world :D
This is just the beginning of what will eventually grow into a compilation of experiences, reflection, and intention of the path I'm taking in (but not limited to) food activism, education and nutritional science. I feel that it's important that I share my process, because it not only paints a clearer picture as to what I'm organically evolving into as a thinker and a professional, but also as a means to connect with like minded individuals as I process what and how I produce and consume my experiences.
So.... lemme introduce myself..(the short version)
Most people know me as Nicola Norman. I'm a first generation South African American- from the beautiful tip of the continent city: Cape Town, South Africa. I've lived in the States my whole life.
I attended Morgan State University, a proud HBCU in Baltimore City, USA where I obtained my Bachelors in Nutritional Science in May 2012. My experience in college was amazing as well as challenging! I was introduced to the world of social organizing and activism, and hit the ground running and co-founded a student run Community Organic Vegetable Garden (COVG) in 2009, serving as coordinator until 2012. I had no prior experience in gardening or organizing, we were equipped only with our passion and the support of an amazing community.
There's a few other things I did in college which sparked my interest in the food movement or as some know as the "good food movement". I highlighted food deserts in the city I live in on a video documentary (food deserts by the way are described as an area with easy access to fast food, junk food, etc and low access to nutritionally healthy foods especially that are reasonably distanced for low income households). The beginning of that project inspired my steps as far as continuing to explore food inequity and health education through a "minority" lens.
I use the term in quotations because though people of color are often assigned this label its actually quite inaccurate in my eyes( especially in the context of the food desert issue).... (insert statistic here). I don't have an exact number but I know that low income and predominately people of color are anything but the minority in facing food insecurity. With that said, those who are most affected by these issues are also highly underepresented in conversations surrounding food activism and for me very rarely filtered through a cultural paradigm that I can connect with. I hope that this blog can bring illumination to ways that we can all work together to improve the food system and the consumption of healthy foods, and especially to inspire us to more often look within our communities for those answers.
The well is certainly deep...... and we are positioned to draw upon our resources and the plethora of resources now available to those that can successfully articulate their vision of a better relationship with food, resources, and mother nature. I feel there is so much more space now, than ever before to fit these visions into grants and into the context of a budget and management of resources that synergize with a way of life that is healthy for us holistically, and good for our Earth.
Constructing the vision.
This is going to be a very interesting summer for me: I'm working with over 20 inner city youth as an urban farm experiential education facilitator doing health lessons, cooking, and yoga to name a few, which the experiences of which will be a big part of this blog after it kicks off June 24th, 2014.
Ill also be:
Applying for a certified dietetics internship in preparation for becoming a Registered Dietitian by 2015!
Greening my neighborhood in West Baltimore (maybe even utilizing the adopt a lot program!) by bringing out my kin and members of the community for trash pick ups and greening (followed by a cookout!)
(This is hopefully but most likely) Gardening at a hoophouse I discovered right around the corner from my home that looks unused (but which I found out may be facilitated by someone I know) so gardening by my home for the very first time! (got a bunch of organic seeds too :D )
Host my mother who is visiting my husband, infant son & I from Cape Town, South Africa (she arrived yesterday morning!)
Work on my website
And probably much more...
This blog will be jam packed with insights, perspective, and experiences of an Earthy Nutritionist in the making. I am excited to share this journey with you, and invite you to add on if you feelin the light!
