Chasity Salvador of Sandstone Farm

The 391st recipient is Chasity Salvador of Sandstone Farm in Acoma, NM. Chasity writes:

What self-care and well-being mean to me as a farmer: “Self care and well being means everything! My farming work began by wanting to care for indigenous women and protect them from harm. In this process of care and career, I found myself as a birth worker and farmer that weaves that story that healing our bodies, heals our land, and food is the medicine. In this same token, I find myself holding on the ancestral and chronic conditions of our plants and people that I work with such as the chronic stress, anxiety, and fatigue in muscles and shoulders and pelvis. I find these common places of ache and tenderness to be alike for birthing folks, care givers, and farmers alike. I think the more we are able to give to those who are growing food and medicine for our communities and providing bodily healing for others, then the entire ecosystem of healing and community care works.”

How I might use this $100 self-care award: “I would like to offset the costs of my first chiropractic treatment that I am having this summer in June 2025.”

Most important self-care needs that contribute to my well-being as a farmer: "I think body work! I find that when I am to work with other farmers with body work trades and care - we are able to release the stress and tension from the years prior. I think some of our experiences, especially as marginalized famers, lay heavily in our bones. Sometimes the grief that we experience from the realities and challenges of climate change align with how we experience chronic illnesses in our bodies. I think body work such as: sports massage, chiropractic care, acupuncture, and herbal regimens help us sort through our bodies in depth in order to take care of them, so that we can take care of our our farms, and each other in that tender and in depth fashion. ”

#realfarmercare