Frequently Asked Questions

Below:

About the Project

Programming Partnerships

Learning Materials & Curriculum

About the Project

We believe a deep connection to one's foodways can light a path towards understanding crucial things about oneself and others.

  • Deep Routes is an educational multi-format project that uplifts the foodways of African and Indigenous diasporas.

    Our aim is to be an educational resource to people of African and Indigenous diasporas as they (re)connect to, celebrate, or deepen their relationships to food via understanding the Roots and Routes of our interconnected foodways (e.g. cultural plants, animals, people, places, culinary practices, agricultural practices, and rituals).

  • We offer Afro-Indigenous centered Educational Materials like curriculum and books illustrated and authored by Black and Indigenous artists, writers, and educators; Virtual, hybrid, and in-person workshops, courses, and events in the New York and tri-state region; and create Media like videos and infographics.

  • Deep Routes was founded on December 4th, 2020 by Maya Marie S. with a collective of educators, land stewards/farmers, and cooks who contributed to the first curriculum. Check out our about page for more info.

  • Holistic stories of African and Indigenous foodways have been and continue to be excluded from many educational spaces, programs, and institutions; or a glossed over footnote. If there is mention of our foodways it's often told in ways that center and romanticize European colonization and supremacy.

    We believe a deep connection to one's foodways can be a lightbulb path towards understanding crucial things about oneself and others.

    Our work is to create resources for educators and learners that not only centers our African and Indigenous stories, but is told by us.

    Resources that center reconnecting us with our foodways in a way that holds nuance, complexity, and heaviness as well as celebration, joy, and creativity.

  • Deep Routes learning materials and media is made possible by a collective of Black and Indigenous artists, writers and educators, and most of that happens remotely.

    Our leadership as well as some collaborators and contributors are New York City based, therefore many of our in-person culinary and agriculture workshops and events happen in New York City.

    While other collaborators and contributors of Deep Routes are based in the surrounding Northeast region (including upstate New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts), across the United States, and internationally. But we love to travel, so don’t be shy to ask about a collab outside of NY!

Programming Partnerships

  • If your organization has a budget for programming and you’d like to work with us, please send more info about what you’re envisioning as well as what your budget is, and let’s find a time to connect!

    Reach out to Maya at hello@deeproutes.org

  • As of 2024, Deep Routes will no longer respond to inquiries or partnership proposals with organizations or corporations for Black History month, Juneteenth, Kwanzaa, other African or Indigenous diaspora holidays, or Earth Day in the following circumstances:

    • Organization/representative does not offer a budget in initial communications (e.g. email, text, or social media DM).

    • Organization is looking for a partnership to offer an internal/non-public event or workshop.

    • Organization has not drafted their intentions and desired outcomes for the proposed event, workshop, or class for us to review prior to initiating communication with Deep Routes.

    • Organization has submitted the partnership request within less than a month of the holiday’s occurrence.

    In short this means, any event in observation/celebration of the above holidays must have a substantial budget, be open to the public, come with a proposal that outlines your intentions for having the event, and be requested with at least 1 month’s notice.

  • Occasionally yes, but it depends on the event.

    Email us at hello@deeproutes.org with more details about the event, the intended audience. If it’s for a festival please include whether there is a fee for tabling or not. If it’s a cooking demo please include your budget.

Learning Materials and Curriculum

  • Individuals can purchase our curriculum and learning materials here.

  • We recognize that most folks purchasing the curriculum may be doing so through an organization and that, depending on the organization, may have access to more or less capital to access teaching resources like ours. We also recognize that many organizations focused on food and agriculture education are White-led and will benefit exponentially from our curriculum, especially if their work is in BIPOC communities. Therefore we’ve priced the curriculum to reflect those factors.

    We ask that large and White-led organizations purchase the curriculum at it’s true cost and contact us here (https://deeproutes.org/institutional-contact) . We invite medium-small and BIPOC/QTBIPOC-led organizations to purchase directly through our website, and if applicable request a discount.

    For a breakdown of how we define an organization’s size and whether it is BIPOC-led, see below.

  • TL;DR = Yes, and . . .

    This project and curricula centers the stories and perspectives of Black and Indigenous peoples of color (BIPOC). It is dedicated to affirming and celebrating BIPOC students/learners and educators. It is written by BIPOC and queer educators, farmers, cooks, chefs, and writers who love plants, animals, stewarding the land and celebrating Black and Brown peoples.

    Anyone can use this curricula, and at the end of the day we are limited in our ability to control who does once it’s out there. However, it's important to us that you're clear and aware of your intentions around teaching BIPOC stories especially if you don’t identify as a BIPOC. That's not a deterrent but something to be mindful of.

    Additionally, this curricula highly encourages self-inquiry which looks different for everyone. For White people, we ask that you ask yourself the following questions when using/adapting/offering this curriculum as a way to gain clarity around your intentions:

    • What is my impact as a white educator among people of color?

    • Have I taken the time to learn about my own European ancestry and its relation to whiteness?

    • Why am I interested in teaching BIPOC stories? Am I actively questioning whiteness/white supremacy?

    • How am or can I advocate for educators of color to have more platforms to teach their histories to their people?

    Deep Routes’ curriculum offerings are provided on the basis of an honor system, where we expect folks to be honest about their intentions and organizational/individual resources (e.g. funding, access to capital, etc.).

    Therefore, if you are invested in the work and liberation of BIPOC, and supporting BIPOC educators like us we have the following requests:

    • Purchase the curriculum according to the pricing brackets we outlined below. If you are a large organization please contact us for pricing. If you are a high-income individual, consider also donating to our work.

    • Do not re-sell or distribute the curriculum to organizations or individuals who haven’t purchased it and agreed to the terms of use.

    • Consider further supporting us through a Patreon or Community Membership so we can build our capacity to improve the curriculum, build this platform, and offer it at low or no-cost to BIPOC educators and learners.

Large Institutions and Organizations Click Here