We were lucky to catch up with Fabienne Polycarpe recently and have shared our conversation below.
Fabienne, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you share a story that illustrates an important or relevant lesson you learned in school
The most important lesson I learned didn’t come from a textbook, it came from living, from the stops, the starts, and the pivots that shaped me. For a long time, I thought stability meant having a steady paycheck and a clear path. What I know now is that stability comes from trusting yourself and showing up fully for every season of your life.
I went to Turner Tech High School for applied business and technology. Back then, I didn’t know what I wanted to do, I just knew I wanted to make money. I was working full-time while in school, and at 18, I got into airport security. That job changed everything. I was building teams, traveling to different states like Boston, Philadelphia, Orlando, and Tampa. We were young, making good money, and learning how to hustle smart. I got paid time and a half, plus I was working triple shifts and getting paid overtime hours with a per diem. My team and I would use our per diem to buy groceries together, cook, and save our daily funds.
Then life shifted. I got married and became a stay-at-home mom, which was a challenging period for me. To go from being independent to relying on someone else was depressing. I joined Mary Kay, and that’s where I learned how to set goals and lead. I became a Director in Qualification (DIQ), and that title meant something to me because it showed me I could build and inspire others.
Eventually, I left my marriage and had to reimagine everything. I moved to Atlanta to study interior design. That’s where the artist in me woke up. My art classes gave me life, even though interior design had structure, the creative side of me flourished. But life pulled me back to Miami to finalize my divorce. That was one of the hardest times my Blackness, my motherhood, and my decision to choose art were challenged every step of the way.
Miami art spaces became my safe haven. I was at Vagabond, sharing poetry, being around community greats like Marcus Blake. But as much as I loved it, poetry wasn’t paying bills. I got kicked out of art school because my grades weren’t up to par, so I went back to Miami Dade and studied construction management. That felt like the perfect balance of creativity with structure. I graduated, briefly went to FIU for my BA, but with a full-time job, three kids, and a new marriage, I couldn’t keep up. I pivoted again and earned my BA in Business Management.
I worked for four years at Terra Group, but right before the pandemic, I quit. I had just gone through a miscarriage, and that loss shifted everything in how I saw money, success, and purpose.
Then I had this dream. In it, I bought a house with my mom. We explored the property and found land next to it. My mom started praising, waving her hands, saying, “Mén ou beni, (your hands are blessed).” I woke up, went on Sunbiz, and said, I don’t know what this business is going to be, but it’s going to be called Mén Beni.
After giving birth to my daughter, Indigo, during the pandemic, I returned to school online to pursue a degree in Environmental Management and Sustainability. My original plan was to consult construction firms on reducing waste. But during those classes, George Floyd was murdered, and the rise of Black Lives Matter was everywhere. My professors? They acted like nothing was happening. That disconnection was the final straw for me.
That silence forced me to look at everything I’d been suppressing, the racism, the trauma, the weight of being a Black woman in spaces that refuse to see you. It was during that time I went through Queen Afua’s Sacred Woman program, a 12-week healing initiation. That journey opened me up. I started receiving downloads, visions of healing, and I realized the work I was meant to do wasn’t just about construction or consulting, it was about healing hands, healing land, and healing people.
Through all of this, school wasn’t just about what I learned in class. It was about the relationships I built. I made it my mission that my professors knew my name, my classmates remembered me, and I stayed connected with the ones who mattered. Those relationships became springboards for my ideas, provided feedback, and many of them remain in my life today.
The biggest lesson?
There is no straight path. Every delay, every pivot, every heartbreak was preparing me. My life hasn’t been perfect, by any means, but it’s been real. And every step has led me to this work with Mén Beni, to show up fully for my community, to heal, and to lead with the blessed hands my mother spoke over me in that dream.
Fabienne, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
For those who may not know me, my name is Fabienne “Fabi” Polycarpe. I am the founder of Mén Beni Gardening, Mén Beni Hair, the Fabi Girls art series, and the host of the Conversations in the Garden podcast. I am also the CEO of Mén Beni LLC, where we assist and mentor others in creating their nonprofits, encouraging them to step fully into their purpose with clarity and confidence.
Anything I give my time and energy to has to be spiritual in nature. I move with intention in every aspect of my life because I believe that without discipline and a clear starting point, the work cannot hold meaning. Everything I create is rooted in the belief that we can renew, reconnect, and reawaken, starting with ourselves and radiating out to our communities.
I have a saying, my blessings aren’t just for me, they’re blessings for everyone around me. This belief has been with me since childhood. I remember being a student at St. James Catholic School on a day when my mom forgot to give me lunch money. I went to school hungry, praying for a way to eat. During communion, I was the last one to walk up to receive the body of Christ, and as I returned to my seat, I spotted a $5 bill between the pews. No one else saw it. I picked it up, gave thanks, and praised God for the blessing left for me. At lunch, I didn’t just buy food for myself—I shared it with my friends. That experience taught me something powerful: when I exist in abundance, I share it. I don’t gatekeep. I move with empathy because I know what it feels like to need, and I honor those who have poured into me along my journey.
My path into this work wasn’t linear. I’ve worn many hats, airport security manager, stay-at-home mom, artist, construction manager, corporate professional, but through every pivot, I carried pieces of who I am: a healer, a creator, and an advocate. The turning point came after a miscarriage and a vivid dream where my mother praised over me, saying, “Mén ou beni (your hands are blessed).” That dream birthed Mén Beni, and with it, a deeper understanding that my purpose was to use my hands and voice to heal, build, and lead.
Through Mén Beni Gardening, I provide nature-based healing programs, environmental justice advocacy, and culturally rooted wellness experiences. We host events like Sip & Plant, Mind Full Sundays, and flagship initiatives like Manjé Avec Mwen (Eat with Me) and the TÉ NOU: The Earth is Ours Environmental Justice Summit. Our work addresses the deep disconnection people have from themselves, their land, and their communities. We create spaces where people, especially Black, Haitian, and Indigenous communities, can find safety, healing, and empowerment. With Mén Beni Hair, I carry forward my Haitian heritage through natural, intentional haircare products made with love, energy, and raw Haitian castor oil. These products don’t just style hair; they heal, nourish, and honor cultural traditions. Through my art, particularly the Fabi Girls, I tell stories of resilience, spirituality, and identity. These characters are pieces of my own healing journey, born from my lived experiences and cultural roots, and now they move through the world to inspire others as well as the gallery work that has opened doors for my work during Art Basel and Little Haiti Cultural Complex Art gallery.
What sets me apart is that everything I create is intentional and spiritually aligned. My programs aren’t just events, they’re immersive experiences. My products aren’t just items, they’re energy work. My art isn’t just visual, it’s medicine. I don’t just build businesses, I build bridges, between people, culture, and the environment. I’m most proud of how my work has touched lives, feeding hundreds of unhoused people with dignity, helping communities reclaim their relationship with the earth, inspiring women to heal, and mentoring others so they can build legacies of their own.
For potential clients, followers, and collaborators, I want you to know this: when you engage with my work, you’re not just supporting a brand, you’re joining a movement. Whether through gardening, haircare, art, or mentorship, my mission is to heal land and heal people. Every blessing I receive flows outward because I believe we rise together.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Yes, I have many instances in my journey that illustrate my resilience. Entrepreneurship has tested me in ways I couldn’t have imagined. There have been countless moments when I questioned if I would have to go back and get a job just to survive. But I operate my businesses with spirit at the forefront of everything I do. Before I make any request, I pray over it, I ask that doors open, that the right people cross my path, and that what is for me be good for the greater good of everyone involved.
People don’t often talk about the spiritual side of entrepreneurship, but for me, faith, beyond religion, in its purest form, has been my foundation. I constantly check in with my energy, my frequency, and the truth behind what I’m doing. At my lowest points, headhunters have reached out with high-paying offers, and I had to ask myself if that was my path. Every time, my spirit said no. Those jobs came with limitations and rules that would dim the freedom I’ve worked so hard to create.
I’ve learned to move with the seasons of my own being, slowing down in the winter to create and restore, then coming alive in the summer when everything in me feels activated. This freedom allows me to take a Zoom call while grounding in the garden or to choose the beach when my spirit needs it.
It hasn’t been easy. There are months when payments are delayed, when money is tight, when I’ve had to borrow and question everything, asking Spirit, “If this is the work you called me to do, why does it feel so hard?” But every single time I’ve reached that breaking point, something comes through, a blessing, an opportunity, a reminder that I am covered.
Resilience for me is not just pushing through, it’s knowing where you are and where your end goal is. Don’t worry about how it’s going to happen, overthinking the details can derail or discourage you from trusting. It’s trusting that when I show up fully and do the work, Spirit meets me where I am. And time and time again, that trust has carried me through.
We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.
Yes, it did, and it began with hair.
My first side hustle was deeply influenced by the women and community around me. I grew up in Little Haiti, where my mother owned a beauty salon for over 30 years. Watching her work taught me early about business, ownership, and the power of serving others. She also passed down natural hair care recipes and cultural practices that became the foundation of my products today.
In 2007, I met Sister Sherrie, owner of Kinky Locs, a salon that was more than a salon, it was a sacred community space. High vibrational conversations flowed about books, healing, and culture while music from Alice Smith, Adele, Jill Scott, The Roots, Hidden Beach, and jazz filled the air. Sister Sherrie became my mentor, teaching me how to interlock locs and showing me how to infuse love and intention into every touch. That skill became my anchor, providing income and purpose even when I wasn’t on a traditional path.
After completing Queen Afua’s Sacred Woman initiation in 2022, my approach to hair transformed. I began to see the work as a spiritual exchange, healing not just the hair but the crown chakra, the confidence, and the energy of my clients. When I started documenting the before-and-after transformations, creating intentional products, and hearing clients say, “You gave every loc love,” I knew this was more than a side hustle, this was sacred work.
This is how Mén Beni Hair was born, with the philosophy:
“We Honor and Affirm the Crown Chakra.”
As the business grew, I became more intentional about who I serve and how I protect my own energy. The physical demands of hair care led me to shift my focus to my natural product line, and we are now preparing for a powerful rebrand and relaunch in October.
But my journey didn’t stop there. My work with my nonprofit also grew out of the community. It began with my involvement in The Gem Culture with Rimidi, where I learned the impact of mentorship and cultural empowerment. These experiences shaped how I build programs and spaces today, spaces where people can heal, grow, and connect.
All of my businesses and art, Mén Beni Gardening, Mén Beni Hair, Fabi Girls, and my podcast Conversations in the Garden, have been poured into by community members, friends, and industry peers who saw my intention. This goes back to my prayers and my asking for the right people to be placed on my path.
I also have to credit and say their names where I am to the love and support of so many: Muce305 and Cacos Muce, Aya Spa’s Sharelle Hall, Forest Bath Miami’s Vanessa Yvette, Zhuzh Keesha Morisma, Joy from Co Space Miami, Sistrunk Seeds & Dunns Overtown Farm founder Chef Chrys Salmon, Aniola Pierre from You Are Heard Podcast, Ashley with Eat Well Exchange, and many others who have emotionally and spiritually invested in my journey.
What started as a side hustle became a healing business and legacy, sustained by faith, intention, and the community that continues to pour into me.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.menbeni.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/menbenigardening
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fabiennepolycarpe
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Conversationsinthegarden
- Other: Art: https://www.instagram.com/therealfabigirls
Haircare: https://www.instagram.com/menbenihair
Podcast: https://www.conversationsinthegardens.com
Image Credits
Photo Credit 1: Studio7Miami Photo Credit 2: Passion Ward Photo Credit 3-5 Studio7Miami Photo Credit 6: Podcast Guil Dormeus Photo Credit 7 & 8: Jojo Vital Herne