Roots & Dreams and Mustard Seeds Inc.
Inspiring Impactful Change
At Roots & Dreams and Mustard Seeds Inc., we aim to empower vulnerable community members through economic participation and ownership opportunities.
Alongside our member organizations, we also engage in critical community development initiatives that resource our communities basic needs, from food access and wellness to social, educational and artistic programming.
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para leer sobre nuestros programas en español y ingles!
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Our Story
Roots & Dreams and Mustard Seeds Inc. believes that economic participation and ownership is key to the empowerment of our most vulnerable community members. This type of participatory cooperative model aspires to true equity and justice, where everyone has a voice in their work, housing, local, state and national government and can easily access basic needs that extends to social, educational and artistic endeavors.
Organized and led by members with lived experience of poverty, projects include worker co-op development, community owned real-estate, co-op housing, food access, mutual aid, labor organizing, youth and wellness programming, a community center, and mobilizing for direct action for legislative change .
Since our founding in late 2017, we have witnessed how our seeds, empowered by community roots, have grown to include so many solidarity economy projects. We welcome you to join us! Contribute to our work by donating or volunteering today!
Philosophy
Creating Something Better
At Roots & Dreams and Mustard Seeds Inc., our change-making process is deeply rooted in community organizing and coalition building with local and statewide networks. Our economic development goals can only be accomplished with our incredible mentor, Cooperative Development Institute and our key statewide coalitions, Coalition of Worker Owner Power (COWOP) and MASEN (Massachusetts Solidarity Economy Network).
Together with local partner movement building groups, we bring to life community development projects that create access for vulnerable citizens at RE-Define Community Center (5 Melville St.) and O.U.R. Resurge (119 Fenn St.) that includes youth and wellness programming, food security, artistic, social, and educational opportunities, mutual aid support,
peer skill sharing, and access to basic needs.
We are so thankful to our member community groups - Manos Unidas Cooperative, The Maggie Sadoway Immigrant Cooperative, Holding & Helping Hands and RE-FORMation Academy - who co-lead our community initiatives.
We have a heightened awareness that each and every one of us has the capability to contribute our amazing skill sets. With this strength behind us, just imagine what we can achieve together!
Our Programs
Making a Difference
Economic Development
Transforming Lives
From worker co-op development, to community owned real-estate to labor organizing, to co-op housing, the opportunity for vulnerable citizens to democratically participate in their lives is both meaningful and transformational. Ownership opportunities opens up avenues for low income people to build generational wealth.
Community Development
Empowering Others
For vulnerable citizens to feel empowered, they must have access to basic needs which extends to social, educational, and artistic opportunities. Our community development projects include RE-Define Community Center, Corazonidos Community School, Mercado De Vida free food market, Madre Jardin - Let's Grow Food Together, Subsidized Transportation, Embrace Potential Wellness Program, Berkshire Art Center Collaboration - paid opportunists for artists, and peer led skill sharing classes. Join our efforts today!
Coalition Building
Activism for Equity and Justice
Change-making doesn't happen in a vacuum. We know that we must mobilize and organize with like-minded citizens for change. We work closely with COWOP, MASEN, and the Change for Miguel Coalition to pave important roadways in legislation and/or open avenues to local participatory governance so that our most vulnerable citizens can have their voices heard and counted.
Food Access
Mercado De Vida
Food Access has become a critical aspect of our organizing work. Alongside our member organizations, Holding & Helping Hands and Manos Unidas Co-op and food justice collaborators, Berkshire Bounty, High Spirit Community Farm, Greenagers, South County Guido's, Mumbet Freedom Farm and Windy Ridge Farm, this program now includes Madre Jardin urban garden, a community fridge, and three days of operating hours for organic food pick up and delivery!
Thank You!
Donors and Granters like you make our work possible! Thank you for joining us in change-making!
We're sorry we don't have room to mention all of our incredible donors but we inserted our monthly sustainers!
Program Sustainers
Health Resources in Action
City of Pittsfield
Pittsfield Public Schools
Jewish Women's Foundation of the Berkshires
Cooperative Development Institute
Berkshire United Way
Berkshire Co-op Market
Berkshire Taconic Foundation
Food Security Sustainers
High Spirit Community Farm
Greenagers
Mumbet's Freedom Farm
Guido's Fresh Market
Kamaar Talieffero
Keelia Purscell
Holding & Helping Hands
Community Center Sustainers
Pittsfield UNICO
The Funky Pheonix
Rae Langsdale
Member Org. Grants - Manos Unidas
New England Grassroots Fund
Markham Nathan Grant