What is it like to intern at Iskashitaa?

The first thing I noticed when I came to Tucson were the trees. Okay I lied, it was actually the terrible roads (I mean how could I not) but the very next thing I noticed were the beautiful trees with ripe, swollen fruit dangling into the streets. Coming from Oklahoma, where there is nothing on the trees (beyond the millions of smelly, fishy dogwood flowers in the Spring), I was amazed to see a fruit tree on every corner. Lemons right by my house on Elm street, green olives on Speedway just before the intersection on Cherry, kumquats in the courtyard at Time Market. I could not stop marveling at what felt like an infinite supply of fresh fruit displayed in Tucson’s yards and streets. 

While working at Iskashitaa, I realized the team not only matched my enthusiasm for the local flora, but took it a step further to map and connect with these food sources across town. Iskashitaa has created a sustainable network of Tucson residents, refugees, and backyards to feed, support, and maintain the local community and agriculture. I was inspired by the level of coordination and dedication within these structures. Most Mondays and Fridays, I would trail the Harvest team (composed of both Iskashitaa volunteers and refugees) as we visited local backyards and farms to gather pumpkins, dates, pomegranates, squash, and more. Covered in sunscreen and bug spray, we packed up the vans with crates and sometimes produce to trade with the residents of these backyards. 

This was one of my favorite opportunities to speak with the asylum seekers and refugees and learn about their backgrounds. I even learned various ways their cultures would use the fruits we would harvest. At our pumpkin harvest, I spoke with Coney, a refugee from Cameroon, who was harvesting the leaves. He taught me how to lightly steam and cook the leaves as a savory and nutritious dish. These harvests taught me a lot about my own culture as well. While calling my mother later that day, I learned that in Korean culture, we also ate steamed pumpkin leaves and sauteed squash blossoms. The connections in sustainable food consumption between various countries and cultures amazed me. 

Another opportunity I had to learn and connect was the R-GAP community garden on Wednesday mornings. Refugees, volunteers, and interns came together to tend to our plots and create art projects together. I would spend these hours digging my hands through the soil, gathering clippings of mint and basil, and sorting through fragrant tomato vines to find the ripe fruit, all while speaking with other volunteers and refugees who quickly became my friends. I even audited my new friend Muideen’s French 101 class at the University of Arizona. This is another gift that Iskashitaa gave me— a special way to experience a town and community in which I was a visitor, feeling the love and energy of the locals and their values. 

Overall, Iskashitaa gave me many new ideas for future food sovereignty work, showing me how you can sustain this often grueling and difficult passion. I have new hope and well-fueled passion to carry on this work wherever I may end up by modeling this framework of community networks, consistent volunteers, and sustainable support systems.