Today we’d like to introduce you to Daniela Escudero
Hi Daniela , so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
In 2006 I moved to Colorado after falling with love; I attended CU Bouler and got a BFA in Film Studies. My partner and I moved to LA and were soon confronted with the reality that this was just not the lifestyle we wanted to cultivate for ourselves. After a year of trying times, we moved back to Boulder and dove into yoga teacher trainings and explored more holistic ways of living. During this time I began to deeply question where my food came from and decided I needed to learn more about how to provide for myself and also understand how meat got to my table. I decided I needed to either become a vegetarian or find a source of meat that felt aligned with my values. I had no idea what that meant, but that spring we found the Boulder Permaculture Design Course, which opened my eyes to the vast possibilities as well as introduced to me to Biodynamics. Biodynamcis is a holistic approach to agriculture that considers the farm or piece of land as a whole organism full of living beings and intricate connections that contribute to the health of the land, the beings who inhabit it and it’s stewards. I have been studying and practicing Biodynamics since 2017 and have helped a variety of farmers and gardeners incorporate these deeply practical and spiritual practices into their land stewarding day to day, enriching not only the quality of their products but also their experiences. My mission is to make Biodynamics accessible to all and empower all of us, no matter where we live to participate in cultivating a healthier relationship with the land we inhabit and how food gets to our table.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It certainly has not been a smooth road, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. Each challenge has helped me see more clearly what my path and purpose are in this world and in this time in history. I could probably write several essays on the challenges I have overcome beginning with my move to Colorado from Ecuador. The cultural shock of not having my family and learning to sustain myself was one of the most challenging things I have had to overcome and it was only highlighted in 2008 when I was in a plane crash while trying to make it home after getting engaged. I did not make it home that year and it was truly devastating. The next two years were full of challenges as I navigated healing from PTSD, and physical pain as a result from the crash, planned my wedding, went to school full time and worked part time at CU Boulder. Yet, I prevailed and learned a lot about what I am capable of along the way. About a year after graduating, I moved Los Angeles with the intention of making a life as film maker and I was soon confronted with the fact that big city life was just not for me. Though I stayed for a year and worked full time at Starbucks and part time at a production company in the Disney lot, I knew this was not my life – it all came to a head when I was robbed at gunpoint at work which re-triggered my PTSD and pushed me towards seeking natural ways of healing since the pharmaceuticals were no longer effective in treating my anxiety and insomnia. About eighteen months after arriving in LA, I loaded up the car and drove all the way back to CO where I soon dove into studying yoga, becoming a teacher, and found Permaculture through a friend. Life has not been easy since then, there have been failed projects and many lessons learned and each step of the way has been an rich experience that continues to guide me on my path.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
At Reverent Roots I offer mentoring to individuals and groups who want to reconnect with their land and discover ways of stewarding that go beyond landscape design, growing food and planting pretty flowers. I guide people in empowering themselves by learning how to read their landscapes and ecosystems to co-create living, thriving environments that are good for the land, the beings that inhabit it and our own souls. Each piece of land and each client are unique and I aide them in finding their own unique path to reconnect with the natural rhythms of the earth and their own lives. Biodynamics has been traditionally known as a practice mainly used by farmers and ranchers – my mission has been to make these practices accessible to all, including backyard gardeners. In Biodynamics we make preparations, which can be described as a homeopathic fertilizers that not only enliven the earth physically by adding a variety of microbes, mycelium and helping make minerals bio-available to plants; but also enliven the earth and ecosystems spiritually by interacting by all the unseen forces that play a vital role in bringing life to the earth. In my work with Reverent Roots I have designed ways to make these preparations accessible to all as offerings to the land and all it’s beings.
Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
Considering this particular time in history it is easy to despair. With the looming threat of climate change we can feel helpless or that we are truly too late to turn this ship around. And all of this is valid. Though I like to remind myself, my students and those I work with that the capacity we have as humans to destroy and extract we have ten fold to co-create with nature. Though we many not hear about it on these news there are many of us working every day to heal the earth and humanity with her. In my short time doing this work, I have witnessed powerful stories of healing and regeneration that ripple out into the world in unforeseen ways. All we have to do is take stock of where we are, and think about what steps we can take to slowly begin to align ourselves with our values rather than those society imposes on us. When I started this journey I was living in a moldy apartment, which was making me sick and no access to land for a garden. At my dinner table I set my intentions to shift how I was living and now I have access to nutritionally dense food that is grown locally and I have deep relationship with the farmers that provide for me. I also have an active role in inspiring others to participate, because we need ALL OF US to participate in one way or another, not matter how small. Because even the smallest shift matters, we do not know what small ripples will turn into tidal waves as we turn this ship around.
Pricing:
- Barrel Compost preparation $8/acres
- Individual mentoring hour $90/hour
- Mentroing packages upon request
- Group pricings upong request
Contact Info:
- Website: https://reverentroots.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reverent.roots?utm_source=qr
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/104190997/admin/dashboard/
Image Credits
Picture taken by my husband, Gary Kainz
