Jovantee Anderson reads a piece by Lorna Goodison at Kindred’s inaugural Pride Month social event.
Agriculture at Kindred does not yet sustain the business, so the farm has adopted the principles of a social enterprise, inviting the community to contribute in cash, or in sweat equity, to the cause. ‘Black to the Land’ is one of the programmes, which generates revenue through sales and donations. Jovantee was the only local Jamaican participating in the inaugural cohort of ‘Black to the land’ this year - the rest of the participants in the cohort were foreigners.
‘Something shifted in me at Kindred, and it had to do with my relationship to the land, and to the community. I was deeply touched to see not just older folks in my cohort, but also by the older men and women cheering us on, and listening to us speak about our queer experiences on that stage, and affirming us, laughing with us. And it was very important for me to sit on that land, to feel grounded in it. I was deeply touched by this experience.’
