QUERENCIA
COLLECTIVE
FARM
DENVER/ARVADA AREA
FLOWERS & NATIVE FOODS
WORKER OWNED, COMMUNITY LOVED
ABOUT
THE
FARM
PAGE CONTENTS
THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE FARM
Sam, Talia, and Stevie met while working at the same urban farm in Denver, Colorado. They quickly realized they shared the same values and love of silliness and became great friends. While lamenting the difficulties of working in our capitalist society, Stevie shared his knowledge about co-ops. Talia and Sam said "Fuck yes." The rest is history!
SAM HINES
Sam (she/her) is descended from sharecroppers and Black Seminoles. Her grandfather was a sharecropper on the same land on which her family had been enslaved since the early 1800s. Sam continues her family’s fight for freedom from the clutches of white supremacy by creating a co-op and a relationship with the land that allows her to farm on her own terms.
Sam is autistic as is her sweet boy, Jury (16yo). To keep the spirit of possibility and change burning within her, she takes with her daily a quote from Aragorn in Lord of the Rings: “There is always hope.” She strongly believes that together, we can move mountains.
FUN FACTS
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Studied Spanish Linguistics at NYU Madrid
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Obsessed with LotR, composting, & changing the system that subjugates us all
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Spent first 35 yrs in Stillwater, Oklahoma
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Has a sweet kitty named Lily
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Social Media
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Videography/photography
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Playlist creation/general joy-spreading
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Website design
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Bed prep enthusiast
FARM SPECIALTIES
TALIA FEINBERG
Talia (any pronouns) is a neurodivergent white femme farmworker who has worked on other people's farms for 8 years. She's a descendent of Ashkenazi and Yemenite Jews who came to Turtle Island 2-3 generations ago as uninvited refugees of poverty and genocide. Potentially a witch, Talia casts spells with food & love and is humbly aspiring to right-er relationships with land and first peoples. She coped with the joy/pain of being a farmworker for almost a decade, and is now deeply grateful to be building camaraderie, autonomy, & tiny seeds of alternatives to capitalism with her farm partners. Talia is an artist and all-around badass
FUN FACTS
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Also known as T Beast, T$, T Breezy, T Bird, Sweet T, TB
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Aspires to right-er relationships with people and the land
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BA in Ag
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Artist
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Phenomenal cook
FARM SPECIALTIES
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Farm planning
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Farm management
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Land stewardship
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Completer of horrendous paperwork
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Writer
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Snack provider
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Math doer
STEVIE MAURY
Stevie’s (any pronouns) maternal ancestors are Nuevo Mexicanas, Manitos, and survivors of the indigenous slave trade in what is now called the American Southwest. His ancestors cared for these lands as shepherds, vaqueros and acequia agriculturalists long before the US colonized them.
His paternal ancestors came as settlers to Southern CO 3-4 generations ago to work in the steel mill in Pueblo, the coal mines of Trinidad, and serve in the armed forces during the Cold War. Stevie connects with his wise and well ancestors by working the land and building relationships of care with the human and other-than-human relatives that call this place home.
FUN FACTS
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Lover of DND and Lord of the Rings
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Aspires to be a spreader of class consciousness
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Has 2 living grandmothers
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Total fucking nerd
FARM SPECIALTIES
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Writer
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Visionary
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Philosopher
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Master bouquet arranger
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Grants
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Outreach
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Bug rescuer
About QCF
Querencia Collective Farm is a worker-owned cooperative project started by 3 farmworker besties! We grow native and naturalized crops that have long roots in our bioregion, such as beans, corn, squash, chile peppers, onions, and garlic.
We prioritize relationships between people, land, plants, water, and ancestors. Collectively, we have inherited agricultural lineages ranging from the Indigenous irrigation systems of the Southwest to the resourceful brilliance of Black enslaved gardeners. Underlying all our work on the farm is an intention to free our collective heritage from the ongoing legacies of colonialism, land theft, racism, heterosexism, ableism, classism, and extractive capitalism.
We grow food with dignity, autonomy, and joy!
WHY A CO-OP
Part of what brought us together in this project is our individual experiences of encountering dehumanizing barriers in the world of farming. Some of these barriers are a result of our marginalized personal identities. Some of these barriers are a result of how devalued farming and food production (and therefore farmworkers) are in our society. And some of the challenges we experience are due to the nature of work in our society: the capitalist & ableist mode of extracting and profiting off of people's labor.
As a worker-owned cooperative, our project offers us the autonomy and opportunity to benefit from our own labor in a paradigm-shifting way. Our work culture prioritizes democratic participation, sharing risks and benefits, and making sure everyone has a say in how the fruits of their labor are distributed. Through our collaborative project we aim to both take care of ourselves and give back to the concentric circles of care that we are cultivating.
CORE VALUES
Sustainability
Accountability
Authenticity
Community
Compassion
Rest
We prioritize sustainability by choosing:
-Low maintenance crops that don't require pruning or difficult cleaning
-Drought tolertant crops that require less water
-Crops that store long and/or can be turned into long-lasting art like pepper ristras, dried flowers, and garlic braids
We prioritize accountability by:
-Committing to learning how to have right relationships, speaking openly about concerns/issues, apologizing when harm is done, and working toward repair
We prioritize authenticity by:
-Celebrating our uniqueness
-Not expecting perfection
-Dancing in the field
We prioritize community by:
-Creating a worker-owned co-op structure
-Caring for one another, the land, and those around us
We prioritize compassion by:
-Understanding & accommodating differences in abilities and capacities
We prioritize rest by:
-Working/taking breaks according to our individual capacities
-Choosing storage crops that can go without harvesting until we're ready/have the capacity
-Choosing crops appropriate for the climate so they grow with less fuss
-Creating a dedicated rest spot on the land with shade and seating
SPECIAL
SHOUTOUTS!
To start our farm despite having *very* little money, we relied on the kindness of friends.
It truly takes a village and we want to take the oportunity to shout out some of the folks who have helped make Querencia Collective Farm what it is today. Click on a logo to see more about each business. We cannot thank them enough!
Thank you to Stacey at Sugar Boot Farm who gave us a market tent, chairs, sooooo many seeds and MORE all for free!
Sugar Boot Farms provides lush florals and colorful veggies grown on the front range. It is low till, pesticide free, and committed to responsible land stewardship and freshness!
I don't know what we would have done without Audrey at Beyond Paperwork! She got our books all the way together, at a reduced price in exchange for a work trade. She made the otherwise intimidating process so easy! Hallelujah!
Audrey provides customizable financial management services, specializing in helping small businesses, service providers, non-profits, and churches.
Emmy and Kyle at Off Beet Farm are GOATED.
Seen that box truck we drive around in our social media posts? That's from the folks at Off Beet! They also let us use their greenhouse in exchange for a work trade, absolutely clutch.
Off Beet Farm is a queer-owned and operated vegetable farm. Their mission is to be the gayest little farm in Boulder County, serving sass and naturally grown veggies for Colorado queers, straights, and everyone in between.