Celebrating Mother Earth Day with the Conscious Food Systems Alliance Community
On April 22, Shumei representatives attended Celebrating Mother Earth: Reconnecting with Ritual to Support Food Systems, an online discussion facilitated by the UNDP-convened Conscious Food Systems Alliance (CoFSA). Through the transformative perspectives of regenerative food systems leaders Sarah Queblatin, Sonita Mbah, and Margarita Zetheluis, the event explored how consciousness practices can help connect us more harmoniously with Mother Earth and each other.
Moderated by Charlotte Dufour, Practice Advisor, Conscious Food Systems Alliance Secretariat, this event built on CoFSA’s work over the past four years, including the Collective Inquiry on Traditional Wisdom for Food Systems Transformation launched in 2023 and the From Ubuntu to Kapwa initiative supported by CoFSA Conscious Food Incubator. In observance of Mother Earth Day, Charlotte asked attendees to welcome Mother Earth into their hearts and minds. Charlotte then invited the speakers to share why reconnecting with their ancestral roots and rituals is essential to their work on food and local development.
Margarita Zetheluis, Director at Alianzas para la Abundancia, opened the conversation by sharing how her connection to nature planted the seed for her journey across biology, community engagement, and food systems. Margarita recounted how growing up in a country with so much violence and conflict has led her to seek healing rituals that allow her to better understand ecosystems and the communities that they touch. She also expressed that nature can be a victim of violence–she recounted a recent visit to a lake that had dried up after a massacre in the area, and her observation of healing rituals by local Wisdom Keepers that brought the water back.
Sonita Mbah, Communications Coordinator at The Pocket Project, explained how rituals and ceremonies were vital to her education. Growing up in a farming family in Cameroon, Sonita noticed that many young people were disinterested in agriculture, and many felt as if there were not enough jobs in the community. She began to explore what caused younger generations’ disconnection from agriculture, and to understand how she could use her own deep connection to ritual to improve its practice in a way that nurtures mind, body, and spirit. Now as a new mother, Sonita is committed to passing down her ancestral knowledge and corresponding rituals–to continue her family’s farming legacy and to protect and nurture sustainable food systems in her community and beyond.
The last speaker, Sarah Queblatin, Regenerative Design and Development Specialist, discussed how rituals and community engagement have nurtured her spiritual practice and connection to nature. From her early experiences praying the rosary with her grandmother to her peace-making work in partnership with indigenous elders, Sarah emphasized that she did not originally understand the power of ritual– it took going into different spaces to value her spiritual background. She also expressed how a repetitive, ritualistic approach to spirituality–one not practiced on behalf of any specific ancestors or gods–presents an opportunity for people to become more aligned with their higher selves and deepen their connection to Mother Earth.
Collectively, Margarita, Sarah, and Sonita shared that ritual remains a crucial part of their approach to farming and food systems: from the blessing of the seeds and invitation to the rain to the thanksgiving prayer for the harvest.
The cultivation of gratitude and related rituals for this Mother Earth Day and beyond fosters positive energy that extends well beyond individual circumstances–transforming deep suffering into connection and fostering healthier, more interconnected communities.
“Gratitude breeds gratitude. Discontent breeds discontent.” – Mokichi Okada.
Watch the full recorded webinar here.
