Posted on July 22, 2010 - by JamieYuenger

Kentucky’s Three Sister’s Project

“Women Nourish Us” is FRESH’s femme-focused blog series. Every week, we turn to a leading woman in the good food movement for ideas and inspiration. Be sure to check us out every Wednesday for a new write-in. Then pass the post!

…Before I introduce this next woman, I must apologize. I slipped on sharing this beautiful post with you yesterday. I’m posting to the series a day late, but believe you me, this story is well worth the wait!

Diane E. Fleet has been advocating for survivors of intimate partner violence for the past 15 years, the last 5 years as the Assistant Director of the Bluegrass Domestic Violence Program (BDVP).  She is most proud of the BDVP’s Three Sister’s Project, a farming collaborative initiated by the BDVP with the support of its local sister partners – Bluegrass Rape Crisis Center and the University of Kentucky’s Violence Intervention and Prevention Center.  Three Sister’s creates a space for physical and emotional healing, community engagement, environmental stewardship, and entrepreneurial boldness.  Diane’s hope is that Three Sister’s will celebrate and build upon the strength and courage of the families they serve and of equal importance she hopes, the Three Sister’s will help us reevaluate what we think we know about victims of violence.

My life has always been a dichotomy; as a child of divorced parents my mother introduced me to the world, both the pain and joy of it, and my Dad who lived in a small upstate NY town made sure I visited family and friends and instilled in me a sense of belonging. After college with a degree in Restaurant and Institutional Management I dreamt of running my own Bed and Breakfast. I always valued the idea of people gathering around good food and feeling welcomed but I also felt the need to work in a field that contributed to the greater good. I wanted to be more involved in social and restorative justice. I enrolled in the University of Kentucky’s (UK) Department of Sociology and served as an Americorp Volunteer. I was placed in the local Sheriff’s Office helping people file for domestic violence protective orders. I was helping people whose own home was not a place of belonging and ‘nourishment’ and sadly whose community often turned a blind eye through victim blaming words and actions. Five years ago I was hired by the local domestic violence program which was moving to a 40 acre, 32 bed residential facility. My worlds were beginning to collide!

Our first few years were spent getting settled. Moving from a small downtown space to an 18,000 sq. ft. facility with 40 acres of field and fence rows, barns, walk in freezers and a commercial kitchen was exciting but a bit overwhelming. As we took stock of our situation it was easy to see that this beautiful fertile farmland in Central Kentucky needed to play a part in the work we were doing. Unlike Joel Salatin’s dilemma in FRESH the movie, where the land needed healing due to neglect, we at the Bluegrass Domestic Violence Program (BDVP) had the opposite – we had healthy land but our families were suffering from years of abuse and neglect. I knew that the land could help heal our families from some of the hurt and neglect they had endured. This is how the Three Sister’s Project was born. With the support of our sister agencies, the Bluegrass Rape Crisis Center and UK’s Violence Intervention and Prevention and many sustainable agriculture folks, we began envisioning a working farm at BDVP.

What I love most about the farm is the exponential benefits it can provide. The farm can offer our families access to fresh whole foods, an environment that supports physical and spiritual health and an avenue for self sufficiency and engagement in community life. I know that not every survivor wants to become a farmer and I know that not everyone in the community wants to work with survivors of domestic violence. But I do believe that our community cares and that our families aren’t looking for a hand out, they want to participate – they just often weren’t allowed. Three Sisters is about restoring balance and harmony by honoring the land, family and community. I know the pleasure of sharing a meal together, the sense of belonging it can give but I also hear my mother telling me it’s a big world out there and you better make room at the table for an extra chair because everyone should be afforded a seat at the table. Please visit us at www.beyondtheviolence.org and support us in our Mission and our need to hire a full time farmer!

Please visit Beyond the Violence or call them at 859-233-0657 to learn more about their Three Sister’s Project.

*If you believe in the power of women’s words and our growing sustainable food movement, please spread the word about our Women Nourish Us blog series via email, Facebook & Twitter (http://fdl.me/d1nqNe). If you would like to host a screening of FRESH for your friends or organization, please – be in touch!