Pie Ranch’s Equity Statement
We ground ourselves in a vision of healing our relationships with ourselves, each other, and the Earth; we actualize this vision through our work with youth and the public; and by fostering a multiracial corridor of land stewards, farmers, and ranchers that feed and engage with the diverse communities in our region.
In our daily work at Pie Ranch, we stand in solidarity with many of the regional, national, and global efforts to establish equity and liberatory justice of all forms. We create and maintain an inclusive, caring culture in which every staff person, board member, volunteer, and program participant’s background is honored and valued in all the diversities of race, class, gender, sexual orientation, ability, and/or age. We aim to challenge all systems of internal, interpersonal, and cultural oppression that are manifested in race, class, gender, sexual identity, and physical, cultural and religious domination. To this end, we acknowledge the historical discrimination of identifiable groups of people and understand and respect that there is an important and ongoing process involved with undoing oppressive systems within our institutions and within ourselves.
In our ongoing journey of living into antiracist values and building a beloved, inclusive organization, we have a multiracial leadership team that uses participatory decision making with input from staff as well as guidance from our Board and Circle of Advisors - these latter two groups mirror our commitment to equity with majority Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) members.
Pie Ranch acknowledges that no one person, institution or organization has all the answers in this struggle and that there is a need for collective wisdom from our staff, board, community members, youth that partake in programming, elder advisors, consultants well-versed in anti-racist work, partners and other stakeholders. Pie Ranch prioritizes holding space for meetings, workshops and other opportunities to learn which include but are not limited to:
All-staff Solidarity Meetings where we build relationships and understandings of the larger contexts and histories that inform our present realities.
Infusing the Be Present Empowerment Model into the culture of Pie Ranch.
Ongoing engagement with community stakeholders and partners like the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band and Land Trust, Puente, the La Honda/Pescadero Unified School District, and others.
We are committed to practices, community initiatives, and traditional food ways, which enhance access to healthy, clean food, land, and water, for all beings. We demand that this access be recognized as a right not a privilege. We are working to clear a path forward which supports the planet and all forms of life, by weaving together traditional ecological knowledge, scientific innovation, and regenerative methods of plant and animal husbandry. This path is exemplified by our Regenerator Program at Cascade Ranch, which actively seeks to address the historical disenfranchisement of women, Black, Indigenous, and all People of Color, including the LGBTQIA* community and others who have been denied access to land and equity building opportunities. The Regenerator Program will also model climate-friendly farming and ranching practices, which center on our core values of producing food which is grown justly, organically and using agroecological systems.