We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Parthenia Myers . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Parthenia below.

Parthenia , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Was there a moment in your career that meaningfully altered your trajectory? If so, we’d love to hear the backstory.

The trajectory of my life changed after a spiritual journey to Ethiopia in the summer of 2006. I spent 5 weeks in a place called Shashemane. My cousin had moved to there 6 months prior and had the most beautiful front yard garden! There were eucalyptus trees all around the property and fresh herbs growing right outside our door. It was during this time that I learned the meaning of farm to table. I was able to go out daily, pick fresh vegetables and herbs and prepare a meal. That’s when it all clicked in my brain that this was how I wanted to live, in close communion with the Earth. In fact, this was the culture of the people of Ethiopia. Every yard I encountered had fruit trees and gardens. It was like stepping into the garden of Eden. I knew once I returned to the states I was going to learn how to grow food. Which is exactly what I did and my life has not been the same since!

Parthenia , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I come from a family of farmers and great land stewards. However, growing up I never took a real interest into the land. It wasn’t until the summer of 2006 when I traveled to Ethiopia that I caught the growing bug. It was actually a healing crisis in 2010 that threw me head first into growing as much food and herbs as I could possibly grow. It was during this time of deep healing that I developed a strong relationship with nature and realized how much the earth gives and how important it is that we take time daily to commune with her. Fast forward to 2013, I received a call from my cousin who is the executive director and founder of an organization called HABESHA Inc. He advised me of their urban agriculture certification program that they offer called HABESHA Works and said there is space for me to join. So I left my Ancestral island home and made my way to the city, Atlanta, Ga! I was so excited to connect with other black folks who also had a calling to the land. I connected with my tribe. Upon completion of the program and over the next 7 years I managed or co-managed many different farms and gardens throughout the city. Gaining skills and knowledge along the way. I also during this time had access to so much fresh food and herbs that I had to get creative in how I shared it with my community. I was already a chef, self taught, and so I would do pop ups selling Ethiopian food and herbal teas utilizing the fresh greens and wild foods that grew in our gardens. Those pop ups became a hit and very sought after. And with access to so many herbs it was time for me to study their uses and medicinal benefits, which I did and began to formulate different tea blends, salves, oils, tinctures and more. Let me also mention that in 2007 after returning from Ethiopia, I had a vision/dream of owning a cafe with a beautiful kitchen garden on the land and the space was called Mystic Roots. This is where my business name comes from. So in 2019 I made it official, registered my business and I’ve been doing my work under the banner of Mystic Roots since then. I see my business as a health and wellness brand that has developed organically over time to encompass everything that I utilized to heal and restore my soul to balance and harmony with our great Mother (nature). In 2020 when the disruption happened on the land (the pandemic) it was my clue to head back home to coastal Ga and to the country. I had completed a 7 year cycle. I made great connections and had hands on experience of growing an abundance of food. I knew that it was my training for the work that I’m currently doing. And the great project that we just kicked off the end of last year. In 2020 I introduced our Sacred Earth retreats to my community. The purpose of these retreats are to encourage a deep connection with the Earth, to share the rich history of the Gullah Geechee community in which I reside and to hold sacred space for black folks to gather, in nature for the purpose of our healing. During these retreats we offer high vibrational foods, historical tours, yoga and meditation, plant walks, sweat lodges and so much more! In 2021 after developing a relationship with the people and land of Historic Sapelo Island, a space opened up for me to live on the island full time. This was an unexpected dream come true. Here I am on a private barrier island off the coast of Georgia, living in the last intact coastal Gullah Geechee community, steeped in history and mystery and surrounded by nature. I had come home. And now we are embarking on my Ancestral assignment and birthing the Mystic Roots Medicinal Herb Farm and Apothecary here on Sapelo. The vision is a continuation from the initial vision back in 2007. We are creating a space that will overflow with healing herbs, fruit trees, flowers and vegetables. And in this space we will build a retreat home for our people who desire to come and be with nature and heal. We kicked off our fundraiser on black Friday November 2022 and we are actively raising the funds to see our vision to fruition. The work that I do, the food that I prepare, the herbal products that I create, and the retreats that I facilitate all stem from my own personal journey of healing and finding my way back to self. It is with great pleasure that I share these offerings with my people.

If you could go back in time, do you think you would have chosen a different profession or specialty?

I would choose this work over and over again! The interesting thing is that everyone in my family went to college. Well I had no idea what I wanted to do after graduation. I knew I didn’t want to waste my parents money and so I jumped out into the world and began working office jobs, mostly customer service. And so for me, life had to unfold in the ways that it did in order for me to find my calling. To find my passion. To find the thing that lit my soul on fire! And once I did, I never looked back. My business is my life’s work. And for that I’m extremely thankful.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

This is a very personal story that I’ve shared before. It’s also very pivotal in my life’s journey. I was in an abusive relationship and one day after being slapped in the face I knew I was done. I packed my belongings, jumped in my car, went to my job and quit, I bought a tent and drove straight to my Grandparents home and pitched it in the middle of my Grandfather’s Orchard. This began a deep journey into soul healing. Because I had time and I had already planted my first garden some years back, it became my full time “job” to tend to my Grandfather’s Orchard and to grow food in the raised beds that we created. Now mind you, my Grandfather had made his transition into the Ancestral realm back in 2007 and my Grandmother had a major stroke in 2009 and was no longer in the home. So it was myself and my cousins, who by then had returned from Ethiopia, who stewarded the homestead. My Grandfather’s Orchard was a mess and so was I and so the healing of the land happened simultaneously with my own personal healing. I could have given in and given up. Instead I surrendered to the flow of life and began to listen to the call of my Ancestors to come home.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.teenamysticroots.com
• Instagram: teena_myers
• Facebook: Teena Myers
• Other: https://gofund.me/31b4f8a8