Dear Peacemaker, 

What can we grow in 2021? Love not hate, food not bombs, healthcare not warfare, and peace not war. We have campaigns at CODEPINK to engage you in all of these desires. But as part of the Local Peace Economy community at CODEPINK, our task is to divest ourselves from the war machine and cultivate the peace we all desire. If we learned anything in 2020 it was the only thing of value is Life! We need to take the lessons of Life and what is essential forward.

In 2021 we are joining with 1 Billion Rising Gardens and launching Planting Seeds of Peace. Last week on our radio show with Severine von Tscharner Fleming and Kelly Curry, we shared how we can be planting seeds of Peace. Severine, the founder of The Greenhorns, a movement of young farmers, encouraged us to get dirty and deep into the soil. Kelly, the founder of The Electric Smoothie Lab Apothecary, shared the importance of feeding each other healthy nourishing food, which is good for people and planet. Listen and be inspired.  

Rising Gardens is a defiant creative call for revival, restoration, and transformation. It is also a compassionate call for peace and justice. 

Do you have a garden where you live or in your community? Have you wanted to start a garden and needed the community to give you the courage and support? Do you want to plant seeds of peace? Join us and be part of the movement. We will connect you to teachers, tools, secrets of success, and an engaged community.

We all need to be and model how peace grows; investing ourselves in the path to peace, investing our time and talents locally.

Maintaining a garden is an act of resistance because it does the opposite of what the capitalist machinery does: it connects people and communities with the Earth. To grow one’s own food, to grow beauty and life – is revolutionary in this age of ecological, environmental, societal, spiritual collapse. Join us. So we can move forward as ancestors who do not perpetuate cycles of violence upon future generations and who will be planting the seeds to nourish life for all our relations.

We look forward to growing with you in 2021, 

Angela, Jodie, & Kelly

P.S. Join Jodie Evans and Sherri Mitchel, Native American leader from the Penobscot Indian reservation, for the Maternal Gift Economy virtual salon, Saturday Jan. 2 at 9 AM PT / 12 ET. RSVP here!

P.P.S Tell Senator Cornyn that a Local Peace Economy doesn't include driving hate to your asian constituents.