OurSpace World, Inc. (OSW), a non-profit founded in 2011 in Bowie, MD, educates people, especially those in underserved communities, to build sustainable healthy spaces and lives. OSW started farming and gardening initiatives in 2018 recognizing the need to broaden their scope and outreach. They work towards an intergenerational model of land stewardship and address Black and Indigenous peoples’ land loss. OSW’s Sovereign Activist Village Incubator (SAVI) is a training ground for new and existing cooperative efforts for people who face systemic discrimination. The community cooperative educational farm supplies SAVI with fresh produce, and a community-based natural-building crew will construct self-sustaining buildings. OSW’s goal is to have activists and stewards practice and physically embody hands-on skills; experience work as a cooperative village striving for sovereignty; and actively learn through highly transferable experiences.
Community members at one of the farms and gardens.
Founded by the grandson of a sharecropper, OurSpace World, Inc. is a Black-led advocacy and outreach organization that promotes food sovereignty and community sustainability by supporting black farmers and training the next generation of land stewards. Their Project Teach22 program offers an apprenticeship program that teaches economically vulnerable and disadvantaged individuals the skills they need to engage in small-scale, regenerative farming and infrastructure building. As part of their Ujima Initiative, they aim to build a strong network of culturally-centered, community-led groups that can create and maintain the necessary infrastructure for successful, cooperative enterprises. OSW’s Calabash program provides fiscal support, technical assistance, and consulting services to mission-aligned organizations focused on farm enterprise development and cooperative education and formation. “Health is at the center of everything we do.” – —Administrative Director Aita Aitalohi Amaize.
Community members at one of the farms and gardens.