Hola! My name is Ysanet (pronounced IS-uh-net) Batista Vargas. I am a Black Queer woman from Ayiti— on the right side of the island today known as the Dominican Republic—born in Harlem, NY. I am a mother, community organizer, plant-based cook, racial equity facilitator, business owner, and land steward. Over the past 10 years, I have dedicated myself to creating alternative ways to care for people and heal from racism through land stewardship, ancestral cooking, cooperative economics, and relationship building.
In 2016, I founded Woke Foods, a culinary arts and food justice worker co-op, and for seven years, I brought Dominican plant-based foods to people in New York City and the Dominican Republic. I expanded my knowledge of food and land sovereignty through the Farm School NYC Urban Agriculture Certificate program, the Soul FIRE Farming Immersion Program, a Certificate in Permaculture Design via Quisqueya Permacultura, and Maroon Beekeeping with La Colmena Cimarrona from 2016 to 2019.
In 2020, I began focusing my energy on creating affinity spaces, both virtual and physical, for Afro-Indigenous Dominican people in the Diaspora and on the island, helping us reconnect with our culture, history, collective nature, food, land, and water.
I am using this site to share but also save memories of important and special pieces of my life. Join me :)
- Ysanet