Bismillah

Twenty plus years ago, when we first got married, we sat down to write out our goals. Knowledge and experience was a thread all our goals had in common. We wanted to learn from and experience life, and we wanted the same for our children. Farming and homesteading wasn't forefront in our minds but we both came from families where farming/gardening/homestead type activities were just a part of living (even in the city).

We’ve had a garden wherever we’ve lived (California, Sudan, Kuwait, Qatar, & Mexico). We’ve always educated our children at home and this allowed us to try and teach them some practical life skills/Sunnah along the way, while encouraging them to pursue and practice their own interest (woodworking, horseback riding, fiber arts, leatherworking, animal husbandry, mechanics, cooking, etc). We currently live in Oregon and moved here so that we could live on a larger property where our seven children could have space to grow, meet our needs via the land, and have enough to share with the community.

We’ve yet to find that balance where we can have land and community. We are the only Muslims in our town. We realize as our children mature that being near a Muslim community is very important. We cannot teach them everything. It’s not easy to have a full time job and try and homestead. We do most things here by hand (milking the cow, harvesting hay, digging ponds, building, etc.) which we enjoy but also know that it’s labor intensive. It’s helped us all appreciate hard work and not take things for granted. When we slaughter our own meat, it’s an animal we’ve raised from birth and loved. It brings an  appreciation for that meat that we’d never get from buying it, and it means that we eat a lot less meat! 

As a Black and Mexican family we are blessed to  own our own property and have the opportunity and knowledge to farm and homeschool our children. We get to see a lot of things come full circle here. Even with all our trial and error it’s nice to  know how much grass we need to scythe to have enough hay for the winter. It is comforting to know that the hard work of  canning and dehydrating in the summer can feed us through the cold months. We feel that, through this lifestyle, we continue to gain knowledge and experience that keep us grounded.

Homesteading has included a lot of trail and error, and we learned an immense amount from that. We’ve built, torn down, and moved many gardens, fences and structures. We’ve learned to be a lot more flexible with our vision and timetable. Sometimes we’ve had to slow down or stop when major things happen (like births or moving). We’ve also tried to decolonize our homesteading practices,  which includes studying the knowledge of our ancestors who were caretakers of the earth. We want to revitalize the earth, not deplete it.

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​I am Muti’ah Lennora Joyce Pierrot, as a native of St. Lucia with an ambitious mother coupled with an innovative father. I have always seen opportunity and have always been surrounded by service at an early age. I was, raised in a rural area of St. Lucia, in the town of Bexon. My grandparents were farmers and business owners, which instilled in me a hard work ethic.
Becoming Muslim at the age of nineteen was my introduction to the vastness of Africa as a continent. I studied Midwifery in the countries of Senegal and South Africa, specifically in the cities of Cape Town, Johannesburg and Pretoria. During the completion of Hajj, the pilgrimage at the Kaaba in Madina, Saudia Arabia, was the catalyst to assist me in understanding my purpose.
My current role as Founder and CEO of BABI-BIBS AND BLANKETS INTERNATIONAL along with Manager of the Special Collections at The Ford Motor Company Library/LRC at Tuskegee University, helped catalyze me stepping in the political race for the position of The City Tuskegee District 1 Council member.
 
The life-long learning skills and knowledge that I have gained throughout my didactic progression continues to be the motivating factor for me to become proficient in the field of preserving the history and the legacy of the Global Village. As an educator and business owner who looks at life experience as the building block to empathy. Starting at the grass-root, local level within my district for councilperson was what came to my soul.
 
I stepped out on faith and ran alongside two respected elder candidates who both are rooted in the community, the message that there are younger candidates that needs mentorship as our Village is growing into a new future of constant uncertain changes. I offered myself for service to my community and asked for endorsements on behalf of being the youngest political candidates for my district and the need to support our youth in all areas. My platform was based on the fundamental needs of our community

• Representation with Trusted Integrity 
• Informing the Citizens 
• Substantial Employment Opportunities
• Educational Economic Development
• Quality of Life

 
 
“The Win is in The Ability to Run”, is the foundation of my life. “Youth Guided & Elder Led” is the message of my campaign along with the message for our community. “A Change You Can See” is what we work on daily as a message of collaborative framework within our community. As I am fortunate enough to have a family that is active in supporting me, our work is getting done daily. Thank you to everyone who is a part of the growth in my Village and in all other communities.