MACON, Ga. (WGXA) – Rodney Mason doesn’t call himself a botanist, but his knowledge of plants and foods, especially from West Africa, is extensive.
This is an ancestral garden located at Felton Homes, a housing project of the Macon Housing Authority. Through the nonprofit Restored Ancestral Roots, he and others like Deitrah Taylor are building an ancestral garden in community with the Macon Housing Authority’s Felton Homes housing project.
“Ancient crops like the Gullah Geechee red beans,” Taylor said. “I’m also from the Gullah Geechee area of Savannah. We kind of got into it because of our shared research interests. It became part of helping the community.”
Ensuring a future of food security and education by knowing how to grow something and where it comes from.
“This is from Sudan,” Mason said, pointing to the leaves of a sorghum plant. “You get the grain from the top and you can also press this can into juice.”
“Despite the fact that we are in times of food scarcity, we are putting a positive light on people and getting them to talk about food literacy,” Mason said. “That’s what we need. We need to be honest about all aspects of nutrition and use local, culturally appropriate foods.”
Restored Ancestral Roots is hosting an anniversary event on Sunday, Central Georgia’s annual food literacy event, from 12:30-4 p.m. on August 18 at Fall Line Brewing on Plum Street in downtown Macon.
