Episode 13 of the Makers, Dreamers, Doers Podcast welcomes Panta Flórez of Maseualkualli Farms in North Lawrence, Kansas. Maseualkaulli (Mah-say-wahl-kwa-lee) Farms means “The Peoples’ Farms” in Nahuatl, an Uto-Aztecan language spoken by ~1.5 people in Mexico today. Maseualkualli Farms is a no-till, no fossil fuel farm that sustainably grows seasonal produce for restaurants, farmers markets, and for food security work in Lawrence. In addition to operating the Farm, Panta is an educator who speaks on topics such as food sovereignty, food justice, sustainable agriculture, and Indigenous Mexica plant ecologies.

In our conversation, we talked about why representation in farming matters, what sustainable agriculture can be, what Panta’s project ‘Food as a Public Work’ is all about and what it aims to achieve (including creating a living wage for farmers), and, Panta offers a history lesson on why the landscape of agriculture (pun intended) looks the way it does today in the United States, and how Indigenous modes of farming have been proven (by Western science) to be more sustainable, more bountiful, and just… plain… smarter. 

Books mentioned in this episode:

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer

Forest Bathing, How Trees Can Help You Find Health and Happiness by Dr. Qing Lli

Flora: The Aztec Herbal

Learn more about Maseualkualli Farms and Food as a Public Work at https://www.masefarm.org/. Write a letter of support for the Food as a Public Work project here. Follow Maseualkualli Farms on Instagram.

Learn more about Morgan at morganbarrett.co and follow her on Instagram at @morganbarrett__

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