Want to join us? The Council is open to Black, Indigenous, and People of Color individuals and representatives of their intentional communities. We have folks from BIPOC-led intentional communities, and we also have BIPOC individuals who are in non BIPOC-led intentional communities. We welcome allies to join us as supporting members.
BIPOC Council Membership Process
- If interested in joining our network please fill out this intake form.
- Once you sign up, BIPOC Regular Members and Organizational Members will be invited to join the BIPOC IC Council Google Group. You can receive email updates and engage with your questions and offerings there.
- Regular Members and Organizational Members are also invited to join our board members in committees. If you would like to join one, please reach out to bipocfund@ic.org
- Memberships Committee
- Healing Committee
- Conflict Resolution Committee
- Fundraising Committee
- Regranting Committee
Council Staff & Board Members
Paola Diaz,
Managing Director
Paola’s lineage comes from Muisca and Pijao territories, and of the campesine culture, which honors reciprocity with the land, growing our foods and medicines in community, and defending our sacred territories. First generation person born in the so-called United States, raised in New York and bi-coastally based in California. As a daughter of immigrants, their calling involves weaving the stories and knowledge of the North and South. Her work involves mobilizing the redistribution of wealth and power in the form of land, money, and resources for land-displaced peoples, facilitating in the land justice movements, as well as space holding for ancestral healing. She’s a queer land listener and land steward, corn, cacao, and cumbia lover, committed to revitalizing cultural, ecological, and spiritual memory of the ancestors.
Zarinah Agnew,
Co-President
Studying, building & supporting experimental commons and autonomous communities. Related endeavors that might be of interest here include – Haight St Commons – a Bay Area collective of around 70 intentional community houses that brings together people from different co-living spaces and helps them cross-pollinate, curate open-source resources, guides and financial models to help others get set up, District Commons – a non-profit geared to support experimental commoning across the globe, and The Second Life Project – building intentional communities centered around the needs and wisdoms of the formerly incarcerated.
Crystal Byrd Farmer,
Co-President
Crystal Byrd Farmer is an organizer and speaker in the intentional communities movement. She serves as Co-Director with the Foundation for Intentional Communities and is on the Editorial Review Board of Communities Magazine published by the Global Ecovillage Network-United States. She also serves as Co-President for the BIPOC Intentional Community Council. In 2020 she published The Token: Common Sense Ideas for Increasing Diversity in Your Organization. Crystal is passionate about encouraging people to change their perspectives on diversity, relationships, and the world.
Dr. Myra Miller
Sister Maria Muhammad
Aleta Toure’
Aleta Toure’ a homeschooling mother, liberation organizer/community strategist and worker-owned cooperative member with Parable of the Sower Intentional Community Cooperative, a co-lead for Just Recovery through the Climate Justice Alliance. Aleta has six documentary films on PBS/WFSB -TV, The first being “Eyes On the Prize II Documentary Film and together their cooperative members will be doing organizer services and products, which will include the film documentary “Reviving the Black Cooperative Movement.”
Council Members
Organizational Members
Acorn Community
Alan O’Hashi – Whole Brain Thinker
Arrowrock Farm: An Urban Sancutuary
Batwa Indigenous Development Organization
Black Sustainability, Inc.
Central Virginia Collective-Armonia Farms
Choices Interlinking Alliance
Collective Power
Dandelion Medicine Liberation
Dismantle Collective
Earthlodge Center For Transformation
Earthly Wilds Community
Esopus Agricultural Center
Grandmothers’ Village Project, Inc.
Growing Ancestral Roots
Growing And Growth Collective
Hearers Hermitage
Indigenous Mothers Community Land Trust
International Welcome Center
Lgapha Energy Ttd Co-Op
Liberated Lands
Liberation Offline
Mahogany Manifesto
Mosaic Heritage Homeschool Collective
Parable Of The Sower Healing Center (Intentional Community Cooperative)
Pixan Balam
Portals Of Samadhi
Quinta Travancinha Foundation
Sankofa Village Arkansas
Serenity Solidarity
Stellar Roots Education
Sweet Livity LLC
The Farm School
The Infinity Nexus
Twin Oaks Community
We Have Always Been Related (Whabr)
Wild And Free Family Farm
Wildseed Community Farm & Healing Village
Yashapi
Regular Members
A Mocorro Powell
Aeshwa Rd
Ahimbisibwe Alex
Aleta Toure
Arcadian Barrett
Brandy Brooks
Cathy Mason-Jordan
Crystal Farmer
Darrian Williams
Deondra Carter
Diana Lee
Dr. Loryne Joyyce Bowen Bey
Edith Lewis
Ericka Williams Rodriguez
Fern Tupelo
Francis Burroughs
Hoiyee Cheung
Jai Medina
Jera Oliver
Juana De La Cruz
Kafi Khalid
Kirah Monroe
Laquinta Jackson
Larahna Hughes
Leona Hess
Lesleyanne Crosby
Michael Del Rio
Miles Rose
Ming N A
Myra Tara
Osyrus Bolly
Quanta Cutler
Ridhi Dcruz
Rosey Hakim
Sarah Elisabeth
Sharifa Tomlinson
Syreeta Sevé
Venus Swinson Hayes
Vincent Wu
Yeamah Brewer
Yolanda Williams
Supporting Members
Alan O’Hashi
Bryan Bowen
Caddis Collaborative
Copywrite Brown℠
Courtney Overby
Yolanda Brown