Project Taproot

“A main root descending downward from the radicle and giving off small lateral roots.”

Project Taproot seeks to:

• preserve and extend the cultural traditions of local people


• provide children and adults with accurate and inclusive information concerning regional history


• offer the community a common language to explore and address bias


• demystify urban settings for rural people and increase their comfort level, providing access to educational and cultural resources located in cities


• provide experiences in the natural world for urban dwellers, fostering a greater understanding of the natural environment and the connection of people to the land

HOW IT WORKS
Project Taproot is essentially, an exchange program. It’s primary recipients are two identified groups of children and adults–one from the rural area in which Global Homestead is headquartered, and one from a nearby urban center such as Baltimore, Maryland or the District of Columbia. In addition to the workshops described below, groups of rural children and families will travel to cities to extend their understanding of how these traditional forms continue to be expressed in contemporary culture. They will also learn how to ride the Metro, use maps, and gain familiarity with their neighbors. Furthermore, the workshops themselves will be held at rural locations, such as Slipperyslope in Washington County, Maryland with both indoor facilities and access to extensive woodlands, exposure to homestead practices and visits to neighboring farms.

Phase 1: Understand!
The experiences will begin with a series of workshops to include both groups, during which arts and musical experiences of a specific local community will be shared. They will include:
- African Percussion Instruments
- Shaped Note and Traditional Appalachian Gospel Singing
- Music and Dance of Indigenous People
- African American Rural Worship Music

Workshops will also address the vital meaning of cultural traditions in the lives of each community, as well as the challenges faced by each group in keeping its traditions alive. We will discuss accurate cultural information as opposed to stereotypes and consider ways to promote the dissemination of accurate information within our own communities. During Year 1, seeds will be planted (sometimes literally) for the creation activities of Year 2. For example, the groups will plant calabash seeds in a rural field to be harvested the following year to be used in the creations of shakerays. This will help people make connections with the source of such materials, and demonstrate their practical, artistic, and potential commercial use.

Phase 2: Create!
During Year 2, the same artists/community members will conduct workshops with a focus upon creating artistic and cultural products–musical instruments, songs, dances, costumes, etc. Children will create videos about daily life in their own communities.

Excursions into urban centers to access related resources will continue to take place.

At the same time, the groups’ discussion focus will take the form of identifying and responding to bias. We will use the work of Louise Derman-Sparks (Anti-Bias Curriculum) to provide a common language and shared conceptual framework in addressing complex and sensitive issues.

Phase 3: Act!
During the final year of this project the rural group residing in the region of Global Homestead’s headquarters will identify a community problem to address together. Examples of possibilities include restoration of a mountain African American church and graveyard, fair housing activism to address de facto segregation in our small towns, gaining a more respectful location in public venues for Native American dance, or improving the resources of local museums and libraries in their depiction of minority cultures.

Project Taproot offers a deeper view of local history and culture, one that extends beyond cliches and stereotypes about mountain folk and Appalachian heritage. It is important to recognize the role of the African American community, often overlooked outside of urban areas, as well as the continued presence of indigenous people such as the Monacan nation, who struggle to maintain religious and cultural traditions in the face of mainstream cultural bombardment.

Trepidation about going into urban centers such as Washington, D.C. or Baltimore, MD is common in rural areas such as ours. It is not unusual to meet teens or even adults who have never been to these areas despite the fact that they are less than an hour and a half away by car. Fear of crime is a significant issue, yet people are sometimes unaware or unpracticed in reducing such risks through selection of destinations, modes of travel, travel times, etc. As a consequence, such treasures as great museums, inspiring performances, or informative lectures are out of reach, along with the sights, smells, tastes, and general ambiance of the city. Similarly, many urban residents lack access to woodlands, wildlife, farms, and practices of rural life. People may not truly understand where food comes from, nor the resources to heat and light our homes. It is difficult to appreciate concerns about preserving our natural environment without any real connection to it. Project Taproot help people residing in rural areas to navigate cities and allows people residing in urban areas to explore the natural world first-hand.

Just as a taproot probes deep into the earth to secure water and food to nourish the rest of the plant, this project drinks deeply of the cultural past to nourish the continued health of our community, in its diversity, strength, and interconnectedness as we address contemporary problems and concerns.

Project Taproot fits perfectly with the mission of Global Homestead as it embraces the twin themes of continuity and change as companion approaches to contemporary challenges. The terms “traditional” and “contemporary” are often overused and do not necessarily contribute to an understanding of the best approach to modern problems. Such terminology frequently juxtaposes a “traditional” view characterized as isolated, static, and unchanging, as opposed to a “contemporary” perspective which is seen as more progressive or dynamic. What often underlies this kind of perspective is a one-dimension view of cultural evolution or progress over time. What is traditional is deemed anachronistic, usually inadequate, inevitably to be overrun by the contemporary. Since the traditional is not viewed as capable of adaptation, its demise is often perceived as inevitable. Too often, we assume a marked division between the traditional and the contemporary, and depict individuals with a more fluid approach to life as “caught between two worlds” or attempting to bridge “the gap”. We may ascribe huge stresses seen as accruing to societies subject to these conflicting pressures.

Such absolute thinking is not terribly useful in describing the response of rural people to 21 st century demands, and does not even begin to reflect reality. There are no clear categories into which individuals, institutions, and societies can be neatly fitted. The labels of “traditional” and “contemporary” comprise convenient and perhaps, unavoidable words which are, at the very least, more effective when viewed as complementary rather than opposing terms.

Tradition means more than mere stability. It does imply a continuation of ideals, values, and institutions, over many successive waves of families and communities. But it also involves inventions, adaptations, and borrowing on many levels. The emphasis for all societies is on both continuity and change.

The diversity and integration of a community, its continuous interaction with other parts of the world, and the concepts of perfect continuity and embracing change are the themes of the Global Homestead. This project lifts these twin themes beyond a level of abstraction removed from the conflict and vitality of daily life. The enduring challenge of weaving together the existing with the prospective provides and exciting opportunity to make choices, solve problems, and create new options for the future.