By Danny Harper
Danny Harper is the Development and Communications Manager at Georgia Organics.
The Barbara Petit Pollinator Award is named in honor of Barbara Petit, a remarkable community food advocate who served as Georgia Organics' past president. This award acknowledges individuals who are successfully advancing—or pollinating—Georgia Organics' key tenants: farmer prosperity, healthy soil, and resilient communities.
The 2024 Barbara Petit Pollinator Award Winner is Cashawn Myers, cofounder and Executive Director of Helping Africa By Establishing Schools and Homes Abroad (HABESHA) INC. for his impactful work in promoting sustainable agriculture through education and advocacy. HABESHA, formed in 2002, is a nonprofit organization that combines African cultural history with environmental sustainability practices. HABESHA provides transformative training programs in Atlanta for K-12 youth, young adults, and seniors, focusing on urban agriculture, healthy living, and sustainable practices. Myers’ work has made him a cornerstone of education and advocacy in sustainable food systems.
Graphic by Ana Maria Paramao
Cashawn grew up in Woodbine, a small town in Southeast Georgia. Coming from a lineage of farmers and educators, he was surrounded by people connected to the land and extending that connection through teaching. However, his upbringing was marked by frequent moves, never staying in the same place for more than two years until adulthood. His travels across the United States and even a year in Europe exposed him to a stark reality: “It wasn't until I went to college,” Cashawn shared. “That I had, I guess, an awakening. And that awakening was that part of why (Black people) lived at the lower end of the totem pole globally is because we had in many ways been disconnected from our identity.”
He attributes this disconnection to Transatlantic human trafficking, commonly referred to as the Transatlantic slave trade, though he rejects the term "trade" as it implies a fair exchange. This understanding of the forced separation of African descendants from their culture and heritage propelled him to dig deeper into his history and identity, leading him to create HABESHA’s longest-running program: “I wanted other young people of African descent not to wait until they were in their 20s or later to learn about their true history and their true culture. We decided that it was good to be able to read books and watch videos. It will be even more if they can learn through experience.” This idea would eventually become HABESHA's Black to Our Roots program, a youth leadership rites of passage program where selected high school students spend a year studying African history and culture, culminating in a trip to Ghana, West Africa for two to three-week on what HABESHA calls a “Journey of Self Discovery.”
Image courtesy of Cashawn Myers.
Cashawn also cites his family’s history of farming as playing a role in calling him to this work. “I come from a lineage of farmers and educators, or those people connected to the land and those people who teach. I learned that growing my own food is important.” Bringing this family history into his work today, he shared, “We ended up doing what is now called guerrilla gardening, where you find an empty space and use the land to grow food. We found a spot, we took it over, clearing the land that was completely overgrown—grass was waist-high. Over the years, we kept planting food there. Fortunately, the garden was in a great location, right in between different neighborhoods, making it accessible to the community.”
After school, Cashawn and his team of gardeners would work around the time kids were leaving school. As students walked from the elementary school to the Community Center, they would see the work being done to the land. “Over time,” Cashawn shared “As they became curious, they started coming out to help us.” Their involvement grew, gaining momentum until the after-school program coordinator reached out to us and said, ‘Hey, we would like you to incorporate this as a program.’” This partnership would become HABESHA’s Sustainable Seeds Program, which aims to teach youth mathematics, science, nutrition, and environmental sustainability through the design and maintenance of an urban organic garden.
Image courtesy of Cashawn Myers.
As a dedicated pioneer within the local food movement, Cashawn eventually connected with Georgia Organics, where he further dispersed the seeds for community collaboration and served as a board member for six years from 2010 to 2016. Cashawn’s leadership while serving with Georgia Organics would leave an indelible impact on our own efforts to strengthen Georgia’s local food economy. “Once at a Georgia Organics Conference—back when they were held annually—a former staff member of Georgia Organics, who was also a HABESHA Works alumnus, and I decided that Black farmers at the conference needed a space to caucus and come together. Because he was involved in organizing the event, he found out that there was an empty space available during lunchtime. We invited as many Black attendees as possible to join us for an hour to connect and get to know each other. We continued this for two consecutive conferences, and eventually, the idea of having a dedicated track for Black farmers was introduced. That led to the establishment of the Black Farmer Prosperity track.”
The Black Farmer Prosperity Track is still a means of connecting Black farmers at Georgia Organics’ hosted conferences, most recently at SOWTH 2025 where Cashawn presented a session with HABESHA, where they imparted knowledge on Reparative Agriculture. Reparative Agriculture emphasizes undoing the harms of the Transatlantic human trafficking, which was means to exploit agricultural knowledge and dehumanize people of African descent, and now use agriculture as a means of restoration, healing, and empowerment.
Cashawn presenting at SOWTH 2025. Image by Jenna Shea Photojournalism.
And in the spirit of a true pollinator, Cashawn’s impact is not only limited to the United States: “Over the past 20 years, during my travels to Ghana, West Africa, we have developed relationships with various communities. In one particular community, we decided to establish more than just a visitor relationship—we set down roots. As a result, we built the Kweku Andoh Sustainability Institute.”
Located in West Africa, the KASI institute is 100% off the grid and continues their work in agriculture while incorporating all aspects of sustainability. It specifically focuses on people of African ancestry and their healing from historical and systemic negative effects. We have planted 500 fruit trees and constructed natural buildings using bamboo, making the entire campus fully sustainable. Their goal is to create a zero-waste campus where we conduct training in solar technology, plant-based cuisine, eco-building, bamboo construction, water works and irrigation, organic agriculture, and medicinal herbs.
The institute represents the culmination of 20 years of HABESHA’s programs, events, and initiatives. Their 2022 inauguration marked the 20th anniversary of the organization’s formation, and in Cashawn’s word, “Stands as our shining star, our capstone achievement, bringing together all our efforts and aligning with our long-term vision.”
Image courtesy of Cashawn Myers.
When asked what kind of legacy he hopes to leave behind, Cashawn shared, “We have a saying within our programs that reflects the legacy we uphold. Anytime we hold events, we always begin with African proverbs. One of the most important proverbs we use is: ‘If I stand tall, it is because I stand on the shoulders of those who came before us.’"
As an example, he offered how the legacy of the Tuskegee Institute enabled him to create KASI. Cashawn explained when Tuskegee was first founded, the Institute needed buildings to house students and classrooms. Rather than outsourcing the construction, the students themselves took masonry and carpentry courses and built the school as part of their education. “This model of self-sufficiency and skill-building remains a guiding principle in our own work.”
“We can make an impact similar to what Booker T. Washington did when he built Tuskegee Institute. I encourage younger people to be in tune with who they are and to understand their purpose. We all have a mission and a purpose on this Earth. My purpose has been to serve and to teach. At the very least, we should all know how to grow food and connect with the land. Even if we are not teaching others, we should at least have that knowledge for ourselves—knowing where our food comes from, eating good food, and reconnecting with the land. These practices are essential for our mental, physical, and spiritual healing.”