Planting Seeds of Learning: Celebrating Our New Yurt at Juniper Garden
When you enter Juniper Garden in the fall, you are suddenly surrounded by rows of ripe vegetables and the hum of community. This October, we gathered to celebrate something exciting: the official inauguration of our new yurt in the community garden collaboration between Adelante Mujeres and Bienestar.
This yurt is a symbol of what happens when community, perseverance, and purpose come together to create something lasting. It is a space for education and connections for years to come.
A Celebration of Partnership and Purpose
Our Executive Director and Co-founder, Bridget Cooke, opened the ceremony with heartfelt words of gratitude, honoring the partners, staff, and funders who helped bring this vision to life, including Tualatin Valley Water Conservation District, AgWest Farm Credit, Oregon Community Foundation, and Kelley Foundation.
Together with our Microenterprise team, we held a ribbon untying ceremony, marking a new chapter for Juniper Garden. Sister Barbara, Adelante Mujeres Co-founder, offered a beautiful blessing to honor the yurt, saying “We are all so blessed to be in this sacred space. Allow this space to bless us and form us anew.”
Throughout the event, the spirit of learning and sharing was alive. Alejandro Tecum led a powerful demonstration on regenerative agriculture, showing how “dirt becomes soil” when we care for it. The message was clear: when we nurture the earth, it nurtures us in return.
We also heard from farmers and garden participants whose lives are being transformed through this work. Ester, a participant who has been in the regenerative agriculture program for three years, shared, “I like learning from Alejandro. I bring my daughters to the garden and we all like tasting things that are fresh and straight from the earth.” Another participant shared, “I started working in the garden last year after I took Adelante Mujeres’ regenerative agriculture class. I used to pay $2 for one organic tomato. Now I grow my own and they are delicious! I have so many, I’m happy to share.”
And perhaps the most heartwarming moment came from a 5-year-old gardener who reminded us of the power of renewal: “Every tomato has seeds you can harvest, and you have to keep them safe to plant next year.” This young teacher gives us hope for the future.
A New Home for Learning and Community
For our participants, this yurt is a classroom and a gathering place. As Javier Urenda Camacho, our Regenerative Agriculture Manager, shared: “We will use the yurt as a covered space for workshops and hands-on learning right in the garden. It will be a place for participants from all Adelante programs to connect, learn, and grow together.”
Bridget added her vision for the space: “Adelante Mujeres is all about education. We believe that when individuals learn, communities transform. That’s what this space is about: learning, connection, and hope. In these times, partnerships like this remind us that together we work for the common good, not for self-interest. When we come together to learn—and learn from the earth—that’s when incredible things happen.”
She continued with words that capture the heart of our mission. “I can envision the many opportunities to share food and abundance in this beautiful yurt. We believe the future is not one of hate or fear, but one of seeking the common good. The riches of the earth are for all of us, not just for a few.”
Gratitude and Growth
As the celebration came to a close, guests enjoyed delicious tamales and agua frescas prepared by Imelda Cirilo of Nana’s Ollas, a graduate of our Empresas and Cocinemos programs, and now a vendor at our farmers markets. Her food reminded us, once again, that when we nurture local talent and connection, everyone is nourished.
We are deeply grateful to every hand, heart, and partner that made this dream possible. The yurt at Juniper Garden stands an example of what we can build together—a place where seeds of knowledge, sustainability, and community will continue to grow.