Taking it on the road

Posted by Arlyssa Becenti | Feb 16, 2017 | Culture |

Gardening summit planning meeting produces idea for tour

Navajo Times | file
A meeting on an upcoming gardening summit produced a harvest of ideas for getting Navajos to plant their own food.

WINDOW ROCK

The Dine’ Bich’iiya’ Summit promises to have an agenda packed with gardening and planting concepts, insightful discussion on food sovereignty and security, nutrition, resiliency, community garden challenge and so much more.

This food and gardening summit, which is in its final planning stages, is scheduled for April 6-8. Continuing with bringing health and wellness to the forefront on the Navajo Nation, Navajo Nation Vice President Jonathan Nez, along with other groups, have been meeting steadily to develop an agenda for the Dine’ Bich’iiya’ Summit

“When it comes to changing, in a good way, the Navajo people’s way of thinking is to encourage farming,” said Nez. “There’s a lot of teaching in farming.”

With the groups from Tolani Lake Enterprise, Community Outreach, Patient Empowerment (COPE) and Dine Community Advocacy Alliance attending, the latest planning meaning gave way to a diverse and informative discussion of what type of information should be given, what lessons could be taught and confirming the agenda.

One of the new ideas that had come from the meeting was to not make the summit a one-weekend-only event. In order to teach meaningfully and correctly about planting and gardening, as well as keeping the momentum going after the summit, the group said they would have a tour after. This tour would be a one-weekend meeting each month after the summit, and it will make stops in different communities throughout the summer and end in the fall for harvest season.