The 159th recipient is Letty Martinez of Flying DogHeart Farm @flyingdogheart in Portland, OR. Letty writes, “I am an Indigenous herb farmer. I am non binary and a veteran. I tend to medicinal plants and make products from them. I also raise rabbits for meat and hens for eggs and teach community about how to do the same.
I got into farming as a form of activism - a way to reconnect to my ancestral ways of knowing, learning about the virtues of medicinal plants and sharing that knowledge with the Black and Brown in the diaspora of Portland, Oregon.
For me community care is self care. It is reciprocal and comes from mutual love and respect. Sharing knowledge, land access, and stories keep me motivated and hopeful as a farmer. Farming is hard work and can feel lonely, but being in community where we share work and abundance, fills my heart and spirit.”