On the chilly morning of November 1st, 2021, we embarked on a trip to visit the Pinoleville Pomo Nation in Ukiah, California which is a 2-hour drive North of Berkeley. I was in the company of Yael the CARES program Coordinator, Patrick Naranjo (Director of AIGP), Alan (PhD candidate), Geena(Senior and Fung Fellow), Kaavya Reddy, and Jean Roberts (both Masters of Development Engineering candidates). We are part of the Community Awareness of Renewable Energy and Sustainability (CARES) team that is collaborating with the Pinoleville Pomo Tribe in innovating the community’s Food Energy and Water Systems (FEWS). We were warmly received by Zhao Qiu the Project Director for the Pinoleville Pomo Nation and were seated at the boardroom to discuss the opportunities for collaboration with UC Berkeley. where we had the meeting.
The Pinoleville Pomo Nation (PPN) currently has a population of 350 settled in various parts of Mendocino County. The PPN has been working towards food sovereignty by growing their own food, incorporating innovative water harvesting methods and training, and involving the youth in the garden. According to La Via Campesina(global peasant movement) food sovereignty is defined as the right of peoples to healthy and culturally appropriate food produced through ecologically sound and sustainable methods, and their right to define their own food and agriculture systems. Food sovereignty for the PPN is also a reclamation of identity, community, and culture that was stripped and destroyed during the American genocide against the Indians. At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was a great feat for the PPN to provide food packages that had been harvested from the garden to support the community. I was also pleased to learn that the native American language has been introduced in elementary education which is a great undertaking in preserving language among future generations.
My greatest takeaway in working on this project is the principles of co-design that have been practiced through the relationship with CARES and PPN. Co-design requires that the community be seen as an active stakeholder in defining and achieving its sustainability goals while the research partner provides support through their knowledge, skills, and social influence. This helps in developing trust with marginalized communities who tend to be close-knit and skeptical of especially big institutions that may unknowingly cause harm. I valued learning the perspective of what it felt like to lead a tribe, the relationship dynamics between the national government and the larger community, and how it influenced their decisions for community development. We also discussed the challenges that the community was facing and opportunities to collaborate on through capstone projects. Next time you go to harvest seaweed on the Mendocino ocean shores, please use standard practices that will allow future harvests because communities such as PPN rely on seaweed as a primary for their diet. We concluded our meeting by sharing a healthy food basket and I hope the next time we visit the PPN we will enjoy the bounty harvested from their farm.
The Pinoleville Pomo Nation has a close relationship with UC Berkeley where in the past young students from the community visited the campus and interacted with UC Berkeley students to learn more about higher education opportunities and professional development. The PPN has exciting programs that run during spring and summer such as the Boys and Girls Club and mentorship program that nurture and inspire dreams for young children. This was not only a great opportunity to learn about the history of the Pinoleville Pomo Nation but also to apply participatory approaches in designing and implementing sustainable innovations in communities. My experience working with the PPN will inform the Food Energy and Water systems programs I aspire to do in my home country Kenya where I would like to work with marginalized communities such as pastoralists who have been rendered extremely vulnerable to the extreme weather conditions due to climate change.
