UMOJA KARAMU 2013

On behalf of the Green Griot Gathering at Amen Par Ankh and EMWOT (East Meets West of Troost) we sincerely express our thanks and appreciation for your interest and participation with Umoja Karamu (Unity Feast) event, on November 24^th 2013

We would also like to thank our sponsors; The KC National Black United Front . Asante Sana for  all who had attended. We had a wonderful time. The food service was superb.   

I think of the Umoja Karamu not only as a harvest celebration of food and family, but spiritually, it is a way to venerate our Aku (ancestors) for their legacy

Special Thanks to

KC National Black United Front

Councilwoman, Sharon Sanders Brooks, The inspiration of the name “Green Acres” and the Kansas City Urban Farm Initiative.

Special Recognition of Sponsors

Ajamu and Kinda Webster

Bill Grace Samori Toure'

Brother Kazuma Furlow, Queen Mother Furlow of the Afrikan Village/ Temple of Maat

EMWOT (East Meets West of Troost)

Amen Ankh Urban Farms


Special Thanks to All Personal Supporters:

Brandon Heru Amen-Ra (Adenike’s “QueenMa’s” Grandson “Prince”)

Maria Whittaker http://fssg.blogspot.com/2012/01/food-sovereignty.html

SiStar Siriki http://kcblr.org/history.html

D’Juan Love- http://KCBlackBusiness.com

Dre Taylor- Males To Men

The Chess Club

Amen Ankh Urban Farm

Black Urban Farmers Coalition

Green Griot Gathering at Amen Par Ankh

Ø  Adenike Amen-Ra

Ø  Sasteh Meter Mosley- http://emwot.ws

Ø  Yvonne Walker

Ø  Featuring

             o  Christina Scales

o   Imani Maat Hotep

o   Les Izmore

Please, feel free to call us for your family, business, and other Special events.

Sincerely,

Adenike AmenRa (816) 281-7704

Event Planner, Priestess Amen Par Ankh and EMWOT

If you need further Information on seasonal events, contact the Amen Par Ankh (Sacred house of life) for Libations and Cultural Ministry Services: Ceremony, Counseling, Coaching, Cleansing & Classes

Email: amen.parankh@gmail.com , emwotkc@yahoo.com or amenchristtemple@yahoo.com

http://emwot.ws http://amen-parankh.blogspot.com

For more than thirty years, the Kansas City, Black United Front has sponsored the Umoja Karamu in Kansas City, Missouri. This year, the Green Griot Gathering at Amen Par Ankh will present the 5 Passages of OUR-story in a grand celebration of harvest and honor of the legacy of our Ancestors. We will infuse culture in a dinner theater atmosphere with passages of poetry and spoken word

 UMOJA KARAMU means (Unity Feast)

Our Celebration will feature African American Historical Presentations Music, Spoken Word and Poetry and an abundant Potluck Feast: (Families please bring a covered dish)

Sunday, November 24th @ 4pm-9pm...

Historic Presentations and Dinner Theater of Spoken Word and Poetry by the Green Griot Gathering at Amen Par Ankh: Sasteh Meter Mosley, Adenike Amen-Ra, Yvonne Walker, Imani Maat Hotep, Christina Scales, Les Izmore, For More Information Call us: 816-281-7704 
 

Umoja Karamu, meaning "unity feast" in Swahili, is an African American celebration begun in 1971 by Dr. Edward Sims, Jr., held on the fourth Sunday in November. Its purpose is to instill solidarity, Afrikan values, and appreciation of Afrikan heritage into Afrikan American families. Libations to honor ancestors, historical readings, music, and a potluck feast will mark this observance.
The celebration is based on five periods of African American life, each represented by a color and a symbolic food.

 

1. The color black- Pre Invasion – (Black Beans) Black families before slavery

2. The color white- Maafa – (White Rice) scattering of black families (during slavery)

3. The color red- Emancipation – (Grape Juice) Black Liberation struggle

4. The color green- Struggle for Civil Rights – (Greens) the struggle for Equal rights

5. The color gold- Looking to the Future – (Corn) hope for the future

EMWOT and Amen Par Ankh are now collecting Winter Wear and Hygiene Items for At-Risk Youth, homeless Teens and Young Adults: Blankets, Coats, Hats, Gloves, Scarves, Socks, Sweaters, Boots, Drinking Water, Work Gear and Tools - Hygiene Items like: Soap, Tooth Brushes, Hair Brushes, Mouthwash, Deodorant, washcloths, Sanitary pads, Shaving equipment, Disinfectant spray, Laundry soap, Paper products etc... You can drop off your items at the Amen Par Ankh 4030 Brooklyn Ave. KCMO 64130

Amen Par Ankh (Sacred House of Life) and Amen Ankh Urban Farm; is a local Urban Farm nestled around a Spiritual Center in the heart of midtown Kansas City, Missouri. Contact Us and become a member as We Celebrate the Cycles of Life! Email: amen.parankh@gmail.com , Call: 816-281-7704 sign-up for courses and support: http://www.gofundme.com/amen-urban-farm , information: http://emwot.ws/Amen_ParAnkh , http://amen-parankh.blogspot.com/ , Look for us on FaceBook & Twitter We celebrate the Cycles of Life, Wellness and Balance in our everyday existence on earth. We assist in Wellness for Physical Fitness, Mental Health, and Spiritual Attunment - to realize the fullest capacities of life, health, prosperity and strength. We provide Whole Life Coaching, Energy work, A Par Ankh Reading Room, Org-Ankh Electric food Boxes, an Herbal Tea House & Juice bar, Outdoor Experiences, classes such as Cultural Head wrapping, Natural Hair Braiding, beading and Lox twisting, ASCAC (The Association for the Study of Classical African Civilization), Art Healing Mandalas, Jewelry Making, Gentle Yoga, Canning and preserving food, Health and Wellness Study Courses, Gifts, Accessories, Cultural Ceremonies, Workshops and special events. Amen Par Ankh means sacred House of Life. We acknowledge creation. We provide a space for your own personal discovery with quiet reflection and time for internal work, as well as an active space for expressions of our original ways of life. Ceremony, Counseling, Coaching, Cleansing, & Classes Amen Ankh Urban Farm is an urban agricultural enterprise with the goal of achieving environmental justice and sustainability by Healthy local food production and improving local neighborhood access to healthy Foods. We run Aquaponic Systems of farm-raised fish, Herbs and microgreens. We sell Org-Ankh Electric Food Boxes! We also provide Farm-a-See tours of successful Local Farmers. We grow selected local indigenous Herbs, Fruits, Vegetable and plant life of the Three Sisters: Corn, Beans, and Squash and cruciferous vegetables: Cabbage, and Kale, With Wheat Grass and other Sprouts, Herbs: Basil, Sage, Chives, Rosemary, Parsley, Peppers and Moringa nutritional drink supplements, -From our foods we produce Baked Goods, cosmetics, & liniments to provide Healing and Sovereignty: Through the inspiration of Kujichagulia (Self determination) All Original people. Dua (Th-ankh you!) ♥.

TRUTH About Latex and Synthetic Products

TRUTH about

•All Synthetic products have many dangerous chemicals

•Latex Condoms cause the same allergies as latex gloves, Bottle nipples, pacifiers, cervical caps, and diaphragms, etc..

•No side effects are listed on the labels of these products

•The allergic affects increase with each use

 One ingredient in condoms is Talc Powder. It's used as a lubricant and is dangerous.

 Talc contains magnesium silicate, boric acid, zinc oxide, bleaching and coloring agents and other chemicals.

 The American Medical Association reveals that Talc is Toxic. Talc has caused poisoning when swallowed and when applied to open skin. Talc is chemically similar to asbestos and has the same poisonous effect and can cause a number of problems.

 Problems Include:

•Cancer of The Uterus & Prostate

•Hardening of Fallopian Tubes

•Cancer of the ovaries

•Pneumonia (when inhaled)

•lung irritation (when inhaled)

•Vomiting (when inhaled)

•Coughing/ Bronchitis  (when inhaled)

 Let's Continue to The Spermicide. The recognizable spermicide  is called P-Nonylphenol.

 Phenol is actually the chemical base of nonylphenol and is derived from cancer causing Coal tar. This is a poison that causes all skin to die that comes in contact with this spermicide. So, the interior liner of the vaginal canal, the penis, uterus, and even within the uterus, is vulnerable to a gangrenous infectious condition after use. 

•Causes Low Sperm Count

•Breast Cancer

•Birth Defects

•Prostate Problems

•Reproductive abnormalities (Fibroids, Pelvic Inflammatory disease, Chlamydia, etc..)

Think its safe to say you should not use Latex at all. If so, go to a good Health Food Store and buy them there.

 This information is documented in the following books...

 1.Nutricide: The Nutritional Destruction of The Black Race

 2.African Holistic Health

Amen Par Ankh (Sacred House of Life) and Amen Ankh Urban Farm; is a local Urban Farm nestled around a Spiritual Center in the heart of midtown Kansas City, Missouri. Contact Us and become a member as We Celebrate the Cycles of Life! Email: amen.parankh@gmail.com , Call: 816-304-7240 sign-up for courses and support: http://www.gofundme.com/amen-urban-farm , information: http://emwot.ws/Amen_ParAnkh , http://amen-parankh.blogspot.com/ , Look for us on FaceBook & Twitter We celebrate the Cycles of Life, Wellness and Balance in our everyday existance on earth. We assist in Wellness for Physical Fitness, Mental Health, and Spiritual Attunment - to realize the fullest capacities of life, health, prosperity and strength. We provide Whole Life Coaching, Energy work, A Par Ankh Reading Room, Org-Ankh Electric food Boxes, an Herbal Tea House & Juice bar, Outdoor Experiences, classes such as Cultural Headwrapping, Natural Hair Braiding, beading and Lox twisting, ASCAC (The Association for the Study of Classical African Civilization), Art Healing Mandalas, Jewelry Making, Gentle Yoga, Canning and preserving food, Health and Wellness Study Courses, Gifts, Accessories, Cultural Ceremonies, Workshops and special events. Amen Par Ankh means sacred House of Life. We acknowledge creation. We provide a space for your own personal discovery with quiet reflection and time for internal work, as well as an active space for expressions of our original ways of life. Ceremony, Counseling, Coaching, Cleansings, & Classes Amen Ankh Urban Farm is an urban agricultural enterprise with the goal of achieving environmental justice and sustainability by Healthy local food production and improving local neighborhood access to healthy Foods. We run Aquaponic Systems of farm raised fish, Herbs and microgreens. We sell Org-Ankh Electric Food Boxes! We also provide Farm-a-See tours of successful Local Farmers. We grow selected local indigenous Herbs, Fruits, Vegetable and plant life of the Three Sisters: Corn, Beans, and Squash and cruciferous vegetables: Cabbage, and Kale, With Wheat Grass and other Sprouts, Herbs: Basil, Sage, Chives, Rosemary, Parsley, Peppers and Moringa nutritional drink supplements, -From our foods we produce Baked Goods, cosmetics, & liniments to provide Healing and Sovereignty: Through the inspiration of Kujichagulia (Self determination) All Original people. Dua (Th-ankh you!) ♥.

Why Urban Farming Is The Most Important Initiative of Our Lives

Why Urban Farming is the Most Important Initiative of Our Lives

06/13/2013

Nuta Beqsu Amen-Ra

Everybody Eats! So the simple act of planting food can shape issues like economics, health, and politics at the same time. Food is essential to life. Food is the focal point of human activity all over the planet. As the Urban Farming movement grows, so grows a positive future for our children and the ecology of the planet. Amen Ankh Urban Farm (AAUF) is our name- Amen means sacred- Ankh means life. We move in the approach of reconnecting with nature, spirituality and showing accountability to the Earth environment, and revolutionary social transformation.

While most houses on my street have “lawns” with Grass, or wild growth, really cut “weeds” in their yards, our front yard and vacant lot, are sprouting, Sage, Mint, Wild garlic and onions, Dandelions, Plantain, Clover, Peppers, Zucchini, Tomatoes, Cabbage, Chicory, strawberries, and more. Agricultural Scientist and Master Gardener, George Washington Carver said: “A weed is just a flower that has been misplaced.” At AAUF, We forage the plants that are already growing In the spring to harvest natural healing essence of the season… In our lot, we plant and grow thousands of pounds of food per year on a plot of land the size of a basketball court. We grow and preserve enough fruits and vegetables to feed my family and neighbors year-round. Our house and land are part of a growing global movement of people involved in urban farming.

Joanna Grace Pepper Farmer (right) Adenike Amen-Ra (Left) at Amen Par Ankh and Urban Farm

Growing food is a revolutionary act of rebellion in these times of food compromises.

AAUF is a community teaching resource rooted in re-connection to nature, Stewardship, conservation, sustainability, and education. AAUF’s workshops strengthen communities by strengthening the relationship between plants and people and will inspire people of various backgrounds to agree to peacefully live in right relationship to nature– living as stewards to the insects, animals, plants, forests, land, water, and air they live “with”, rediscovering the value of various traditional ways of communicating with the useful plants that surround us, and support for the re-awakening of our harmonious interconnectedness

 

At Amen Ankh Urban Farms, we work in reconnecting and preserving original knowledge of our Aku/Sheps (ancestors) specifically relating to the relationships of plants with hue-mans. Our teaching farm will serve as a space for the rediscovery of our relationships with community-centered educational programs. This organization focuses on the importance of preserving the ethnobotanical and cultural wisdom taught by elders, ethnobotanists, community leaders Mentors, youth, and children. Classes for adults and students of all ages include after school programs, summer wilderness adventures, weekend seminars, and retreats. The curriculum includes local native plant identification, conservation, Environmental Responsibility, organic growing, seed collecting, making teas and medicinal herbal products, wilderness survival, mystery school studies, Rite of Passage, and many others. The Green Griot Gathering at Amen Par Ankh is designed to artistically express, grow and adapt to the community base it serves as a vehicle to connect with schools, Churches, and other community forums. 

We work along with EMWOT- (East Meets West of Troost) to build sustainability in the most desolate urban areas and Zip-codes that are not supported by city green zone initiatives. We have Artist-to-activist and Adenike’s Art reduce reuse recycle as a cultural-Cultivation for our youth to engage in STEAM (science technology engineering Vocational arts medicine) education through agriculture and green craft initiatives. Here are ways that Urban Agriculture will transform our world

Revived local economies. Local neighbor-to-neighbor commerce, bartering or home cottage industry generally does not happen in our communities anymore. Although there are many successful home-based businesses that have created a boom in the economy, like Apple Computers, and Marion Laboratories, and may network marketing constructs, Residential areas almost never include edible common spaces or gardens, where community exchanges might happen. The law discourages community autonomy, economy, and commerce, and even giving away free foods. Instead, most cities want to encourage you to purchase from the supermarket chain.

In my own city, the local statutes (Chapter 88-312) that permit urban farming will reinvigorate local commerce. Yet many officials do not see the vision and are allowing residential inspectors to rack up charges and fines on property owners to discourage this development, with the expectation of promoting gentrification. So, Instead of buying tomatoes, I can now plant a seed and grow and sell food or trade cucumbers for tomatoes from my neighborhood. Many are afraid that if urban farming continues to grow, it will cause a massive and positive economic eruption by introducing local Food production that would compete with the corporate mainstream on price, quality, convenience, and level of service.

Earth Stewardship 

Industrial agriculture is a major source of air, land, and groundwater pollution due to the use of petroleum-based chemicals. Petrochemicals are used to fertilize, spray, and preserve food. Gasoline is used to transport food worldwide. Plastics and Styrofoam are made from petrochemicals and are used to package the food, Petrochemicals also affect pricing by foods outsourced to foreign processing and preparation sites then shipped back to the US to be warehoused. Urban farming disconnects us from fossil fuels by minimizing the transport footprint through local growing and using organic pesticides and cultivation methods.

While industrial agriculture often maneuvers to avoid paying for environmental pollution, urban farmers have to bear the ecological costs of their actions directly. This makes urban farmers better stewards of their land because they draw their nutrition from it. Rather than using inorganic chemicals that destroy soil biology, urban farming permaculture stresses sustainable organic techniques that enrich the topsoil. So we Compost using a worm culture system. We return Ash, Epsom Salt, hair, and food scraps back to the soil

Connecting to local politics. Urban farming makes it easier for people to be involved in local politics because it brings home the issues that directly affect the environment right to the local neighborhoods, like health and wellness, Youth Education, air and water quality, birds and bee populations, while crime, moves to the background. Local regulations become far more relevant to the day-to-day life of a person attempting to cultivate their own food. The growth of urban farming has resulted in legal pushes, like the California Cottage Food Act, which will allow people to legally sell certain homemade goods like jams and bread. Other neighborhood issues such as raising goats, chickens, beekeeping for pollinating plants, and the production of honey, berry bushes, and local fruit and nut tree gleaning, as well as homemade cosmetics. Fluoride and the chlorination of water, Windmills, and Solar energy, are also in the sights of urban farmers and environmentalists.

A Revolution for Nutrition Awareness of the negative health effects of GMO food from the industrialized food market is a big reason why urban farmers grow their own food. When you feed your products to your family, you’re less likely to use poisons. Local food is the freshest and has the best flavor, and nutrient retention, because it goes through less transportation, preserving, and processing. As the urban farming movement grows, it will mean more access to nutritious local foods and more time spent doing exercise and physical work of growing and cultivation. This could result in more intellectual capacity in our youth, more energy and vitality, Lower Crime, less obesity, less chronic disease, and decreased healthcare spending.

Blossoming of re-community exchange. Urban farming is a lifestyle inherently centered on the community. Growing food is, after all, a cooperative effort. In my own community, I see that the knowledge of how and what to grow is exchanged, seeds are swapped, labor is shared, and the harvest is traded. Home cottage industry grows, as urban farming grows, a stronger interdependence within communities is likely to result as local food systems bring more community interaction into people’s daily lives. Mega-Corporations had largely killed small-town ways of life, which were essential for the re-circulation of wealth, by destroying small businesses, Mom and Pop stores, and driving Black and small farmers off of their land. Now, successful Cooperatives, microloans, seed capital systems, and bartering and exchange is growing.

The Influences of Urban Agriculture is significant because food is a central necessity that affects everything and everybody at once and more people live in cities than in rural areas. Seeds of change are already being planted in our children, like my students across the world. These seeds will grow and blossom, where the need to demand more local food will be essential so that the market for local urban- organically grown produce will expand. We also need to put pressure on the City, County, State legal systems to allow easier local trade and more local food production.

Imagine if we grew food everywhere there is grass or so-called rank weeds. Even looking at alternatives like Aquaponics, Vertical and Rooftop Farming, and Aeroponics. Every community is a local food economy of small home cottage industries, waiting to come to life. The answer to climate change, the health crisis, and the recession economy is right outside your door. I’ll meet you at the Farm!

amen.ankh@live.com
816-281-7704

Kandaki-Ma Nuta Beqsu (Adenike Amen-Ra)

I hope you have enjoyed our presentation. Amen Par Ankh is our Outreach ministry. Please support our initiatives...

(c) All rights reserved. No part of this Blog may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the author; Nuta Beqsu Adenike AmenRa

We are available for Lectures, libations, Home Blessings, Panel Discussions, Conferences, and Workshops, along with an Af-Ra-Ka-N Centered curriculum for youth STEAM homeschooling, Workshops, and Itinerate Tutoring. 

We live in our ancient KMT Spiritual systems to serve our community in Libations, Griot Spoken Word Presentations, KMT Wedding, Naming and ReBirth, Personal consultations for Nia (Purpose), Health, Career and, Relationship, and Ascension officiant, Salutations and Blessings for new beginnings, (Home and Businesses blessings), Afrikan Storytelling. Amen Par Ankh is a Sacred Temple of Life- We are a KRST conscious Community. We Grow Food to restore balance in our relationship with the cosmos, earth, and our Natural communities by increasing awareness of Life, Health, and the Environment. We are a Ma'afia a "Healthy Place To Live" Amen Ankh Urban Farm’s Mission is to produce, promote, and perpetuate food, resources, and comfort and to grow local healthy Indigenous Foods in environmentally, respected, earth gentle ways. Call /text us-816-281-7704 

Contact: amen.parankh@gmail.com or amen.ankh@live.com 

The information on this website has been put together for general information, education, reference, Spirituality Current Events, and entertainment purposes only and is not intended to provide medical advice. This information has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any specific condition. Ask your doctor for professional advice before making radical changes in your diet and lifestyle.