Reflections from the Culture Roots Collective Interns
Words by Chala and Ila.
This summer, Culture Roots Collective hosted two interns from SOAS, University of London. The interns, Ila Rujula and Chala June, reflect on what it was like to work on this project.
Chala and Ila (far left and right) with Sareta and Idman of CRC and Stephanie of Sustain.
What was it like working at Culture Roots Collective and within Sustain? What did you enjoy?
Ila and Chala take part in a workshop at the Race Report. Credit: Byran Ferrol
Ila: Sustain is the biggest organisation I’ve ever worked with (I’ve mostly worked in small charities and social enterprises) and so I learned a lot from the processes and culture. I enjoyed getting to have both the depth of working in our small team on this project and the breadth of all the campaigns happening and meeting the wider team. My favourite thing was working alongside the team at Culture Roots Collective, both Sareta inside Sustain and Idman, Angelina and Theeb. I loved that we got to work with people who are a part of the broader ecosystem and felt really supported. I also feel so lucky that we got to work in a pair, I’ve learnt so much from Chala and working together has been a joy.
Chala: Interning at Sustain and working alongside Ila has been an absolute highlight of my summer. One of the things that I’ve valued the most about this experience was how much of an effort the entire team made to welcome and support us, no matter how busy they all were. As an international student, I came to Sustain hoping to gain not only work experience but meaningful connections with professionals who could help me better understand the landscape of British food and agriculture. Throughout this internship, I’ve been able to have some really meaningful chats with colleagues working across Sustain’s various campaigns, and I feel like I’ve learned so much in just a few short months.
What are the most valuable insights you’ve gained while interning on Culture Roots Collective?
Ila and Chala at the Sustain office.
Chala: This internship has given me a deep appreciation for how working in the charity sector pushes you to be both structured enough to plan and implement a campaign or project but scrappy enough to make the best of whatever resources are presently available. I think that being aware of how to strike that balance will serve me well in the next phase of my career. Through working on the Culture Roots Collective project, specifically, I’ve learned just how important it is to carve out intentional spaces for racialised and minoritised professionals to have their work be seen, valued, and celebrated.
Ila: I’ve learnt so much about the world of food and farming in the UK, the beautiful and the difficult sides of it, and as it is a space that I want to move more into, this has felt like an amazing induction. I think I’ve had an important insight into what working in this sector could be like for me and have learnt a lot from the experiences of others who we’ve met over these few months. Key learnings have been: the necessity for spaces of solidarity within food and farming; the complexity of moving towards liberation on this land; the amazing strength in folks already doing the work!
What is something you learned about yourself during this internship?
Ila: I’ve learnt a lot about the spaces and ways I want and need to work in. Especially about how to work in office spaces in neurodivergent friendly ways and how to balance my need to move and be outside. I feel like I’ve grown from these realisations and hopefully have a little more compassion for all of us navigating work. Getting to work on a project that supports food growers and people working with the land has opened my eyes to the many paths into these livelihoods and has made it feel a little more possible for me.
Chala: This internship has reminded me how much I actually love networking! I know that some people dread it or find it tedious – and it can be energetically draining at times – but I loved getting to tell people about the Culture Roots Collective project and learning about their work within the UK's food, farming, and environment ecosystem. I was incredibly grateful for all of the networking and professional development opportunities that Sareta built into the structure of the internship, and I got to meet some really incredible and inspiring people who I hope to see and work with again in the future.
What impact do you think you’ve had over these few months?
Chala: The most visible impact that I’ve had has definitely been revamping the CRC website and breathing new life into it. Getting to design a new page to host the 'Who Gets Seen On the Land? photo bank project and completely redesign the CRC resource library allowed me to tap into my creativity and visual communications skills in a fun and exciting way. I also think that sharing my unique perspectives as a Black American allowed for our team to have some very rich and nuanced discussions about the intersections of food and racial justice.
BPOC Groundswell gathering organised by CRC.
Ila: I think we’ve helped to shape and grow Culture Roots Collective’s presence; it feels like more people know about it and are interested in engaging. I hope our impact will be felt in nourishing the soil for future growth, both for the project itself and for the wider movement. It has been beautiful to see how the Directory has grown, and I learnt so much in creating a resource to support organisations to work with the people in the Collective. One amazing moment of impact was hosting a BPOC gathering at Groundswell and just seeing the people that Culture Roots Collective had convened.
What are your next steps? Tell us about something you’re excited for...
Ila: I still have two more years left of my degree and I’m hoping to use this time to focus more on ‘philosophies of land’ and the ways of relating to one another that will take us towards liberation. I’m excited to shape this learning and be able to use what I learn in service of the land and all of our kin. And really, I’m excited to spend as much time with the land as I can in these next years (and the rest of this life!). I’m hoping to be of service to my local community gardens and immerse myself more in permaculture and agroecological ways of growing food.
Chala: I’m excited to be completing my MA in the Anthropology of Food in September! I’m in the final stages of writing up my dissertation (an ethnographic study on Afro-Caribbean food and identity in London) and I cannot wait to share what I’ve learned in some way. Once my course is over, I’ll be looking for a job, ideally at the intersection of the cultural and charity sectors – feel free to reach out if you’ve got any leads! I am hoping to apply my research skills and insights as a food anthropologist, along with my passion for storytelling and place-making, in order to help shape and strengthen community spaces that empower marginalised voices. I would love to find work that allows me to support other Black, Brown, queer, trans, neurodivergent, and disabled people to speak truth to power by honouring the brilliance and resilience of their own stories – especially through the universal language of food.
View Ila and Chala’s profiles on the Culture Roots Collective directory to learn more about them and stay in touch:
Ila: culturerootscollective.com/people-directory/ila-rujula
Chala: culturerootscollective.com/people-directory/chala-june