Honoring Soil, Soul, and Society
Who We Are
The Taproot Community and Space
Taproot Sanctuary is located on the eastside of Waawiiyatanong/Detroit, the land of the Council of Three Fires( an Anishnaabe alliance of the Ojibwe, Ottawa and Potowatomi nations). Detroit also played a pivotal role in the Underground Railroad, known by its code-name Midnight. Our house was built over a hundred years ago in 1910 and has housed countless people and their dreams. When John Mathias and Deepti Reddy got married, even though they asked them not to, their family gave them money. They wanted to use the money to make an impact in the world, so while they were in graduate school when they bought the house to create an intentional spiritual community inspired by Catholic Worker Communities. When they left Detroit, Marcia stewarded the house as the then co-director of Cap Corps Midwest, a full time Franciscan volunteer program. In 2016, they moved out of the state for work and they gifted the house to us in 2016. Marcia and en co-founded Taproot Sanctuary because INSERT STUFF HERE. Together, through the love and power of their ancestors, spiritual traditions, and community, they are committed to living into the world we need for our children's children and the rest of creation to thrive.
Marcia and en
Marcia Lee, MA, ACC, CPC
Marcia holds a certification in Healing Centered Coaching through Blooming Willow and is an ACC through the International Coaching Federation certification. She holds a master degree in dispute resolution and has been a restorative justice practitioner for over 15 years. Marcia is a popular education facilitator, tai chi instructor, a Courage and Renewal retreat facilitator, and end of life doula. Marcia is the co-director of Healing by Choice!, a circle of women and gender non-conforming people of color health and healing practitioners. Healing by Choice! works with organizations and groups to integrate healing justice into their culture and holds healing spaces for our community. She co-founded, Taproot Sanctuary to live in ‘right relationship with ourselves, the earth, and our neighbors.’ She trains and coaches people to move their facilitation and teaching from in person to online with, PeoplesHub, an online movement school. Marcia loves learning, asking questions that open us to a different, visionary way of being, approaching life with curiosity and wonder, being a mama, and thinking that she tells good jokes.
en sawyer
I am a son, husband, father, vipassana meditator and citizen ecologist; my life practices are writing, cooking, taiko drumming, woodworking, mushroom growing, broom and spoon making, and farming. I aspire to live with discernment and according to the dictates of wisdom. My central questions in life are how to live gracefully and harmoniously on this earth, to laugh heartily, share openly and learn tirelessly. I’ve apprenticed in various trades, including woodworking, taiko/japanese folk performances, black smithing, ecological farming, permaculture design, boat building, and appropriate technology.
History
The neighborhood is primarily African American, with many homes in their third generation of family ownership. The community is a model of rootedness as some have been here for over 50 years, raising families and sustaining friendships. This block is also where many revolutionary minds and spirits came for conversations with Grace and Jimmy Boggs; their home is now the site of the Boggs Center. In and with this community we are exploring and experimenting with how to live a more integrated and interdependent relationship with all of creation..
Partners and Friends
Lead Smart Coaching, Healing by Choice!, Eitan Sussman, Ron, Singing Tree, The Center for Courage and Renewal, PeoplesHub, Iyengar Yoga Detroit, Brother Nature Produce, Free Market Detroit, and Radical Discipleship