Somos Anahuac

We are migratory seeds, having traveled by land, water and air from our native lands of the South to the Pacific Northwest Territory of our continent. We understand what it means to adapt to survive a new climate as much as what it means to preserve our culture and protect our way of life. We are resilient as we learn to grow in new soils but are reminded no matter where we grow on this continent we are the people of the corn, the Indigenous peoples of Anahuac (what is now referred to as the entire continent of the Americas) who have something valuable to contribute to humanity.

Our Mission

Anahuac is a community centered farm and educational program of Capaces Leadership Institute located in Turner, Oregon surrounded by the Willamette Valley of the Pacific Northwest. The farms in our valley rely on our community, who are often referred to as farmworkers, to sustain our country’s food supply and monoculture system.

Our mission is to support our migrant community of Indigenous peoples of the Americas to reclaim our ancestral culture, traditions, knowledge and values and restore sacred relationships with all life and Mother Earth for generations to come. Acting as a bridge between ancestral and contemporary times, we offer traditional education in agriculture, culinary and cultural arts, wellness and Indigenous languages.

We also believe that in order for humanity and Mother Earth to heal we must walk together with our brothers, sisters and two spirits from all four directions who share our values for a greater common good. Through Anahuac, the wisdom and values of our abuelos y abuelas remains strong in our hearts and lives on for many generations to come.

Our Vision

We envision a world in which communities are empowered with the freedom of choice, accessibility and restoration of responsibility to practice the ways of their ancestors to sustain humanity, all life and our Mother Earth for many generations to come.

Our Values

COEXISTENCE : to honor interconnected relationships with all living beings and the natural elements of life

TEQUITL : of the Nahuatl language; to practice our indigenous custom of work or labor in service for the benefit of the community

RECIPROCITY : to carry mutual respect in our hearts for all life by practicing exchange and giving back for what is received

TRADITION : to reclaim and promote our ancestral traditions and knowledge in agriculture, food, wellness, language and cultural arts

EQUITY : to acknowledge the systemic and historical oppression that has impacted communities, all life and the heart of Mother Earth while exercising inclusion and fairness to heal future relationships

COLLECTIVISM : to support and work in partnership with multigenerational families and other communities who share our values

GOODNESS : to practice good intention for the wellbeing and prosperity of the community

BALANCE : to create space for ancestral ceremonies where we silence the mitote and live from the heart to best engage with our inner self and surrounding world

Areas of Focus

Caring For Our Seedlings, Our Future Generation

In our educational programming with the values of our ancestors guiding us, we support our young people and their families to have a space to celebrate multilinguism, ancestral culture, traditions and relationship with Mother Earth.

Anahuac Without Borders a weekly session with youth in partnership with Oregon Youth Authority (OYA) at Maclaren Youth Correctional Facility focusing on cultivating ⅛ an acre of traditional milpa (corn, beans and squash) and general traditional educational programming in agriculture, ancestral ceremonies, ancestral gastronomy, cultural arts, herbalism, and Indigenous languages.
Semillas del Futuro an Indigenous Land-Based afterschool program in partnership Salem Keizer Public Schools.
Circulos de Salud Ancestral a monthly ancestral health circle in partnership with the Farmworker Housing Development Corporation (FHDC) apartment complexes.
Summer Indigenous Youth Fellowship provides job opportunities in the summer months for the youth in our community to work and learn in the campo (fields), participate in cultural field trips, and gain leadership skills with summer programming activities.

Nourishing Our Community

Anahuac Farm cultivates 2 acres and 6 greenhouses of traditional milpa (corn, beans and squash), and native tomatoes, chiles, flowers and herbs. This culturally-connected fresh produce including milpa (corn, squash and beans), chiles, tomatoes, tomatillos, quelites, culinary and medicinal herbs is harvested and integrated in traditional educational programming as well as distributed at this time at no cost to our community.

Anahuac staff work directly with Farmworker Housing Development Corporation (FHDC) Residential Services Coordinators in Woodburn and Salem, OR to provide distributions of fresh and organically grown produce to families at various FHDC apartment complexes in summer and fall months.
Program staff work with the Aware Food Bank Pantry Coordinator of Marion-Polk Food Share Aware Food Bank in Woodburn, OR to distribute produce during the Farmworker Distribution Hours on Tuesday evenings bi-weekly from the months of June through December.