What is ReLeaf Recovery Garden?

Don’t judge each day by the harvest that you reap but by the seeds that you plant. Robert Louis Stevenson

I've been thinking about how to write this article way too much. I know it's about fear. This organization is one of my life’s dreams. I’m afraid people will think it's stupid. I’m afraid it will not attract the attention necessary for success. But I trust myself to choose the right path. Because I’m doing this out of love and compassion. I don’t just think it’s cool, or think it will make me look like a good person. I’m not doing it to attract attention or to be validated. I really and truly have a deep love for this project. 

For some background and context, if you haven’t already, go check out my post Blooming with Purpose. In that post I talk about how growing plants and my spiritual journey are woven together. You will need that information to fully grasp what I’m about to say next. 

The organization: ReLeaf is a virtual recovery garden. My dream is to share what I’ve learned on my healing journey with the person next to me, and then create an environment for them to share theirs with the next. Specifically, I want to propagate plants, with cuttings, seeds, or air layering, and then root those plants and send them to people who join the group. These people can be healing from trauma, grief, addiction, or whatever else life has thrown at them. I have no plans to gate-keep recovery - all paths are welcome. 

If you are struggling with substance use disorder, then I don’t care if you’re using 12 steps, harm reduction, or just plain old white knuckling. If you’re recovering from trauma, same deal - you can be using EMDR, talk therapy, hypnosis, or long walks in the park. And same with the length of your journey - you can be just starting out, 3 months, or 15 years down the road. If you identify as someone who is on a new healing journey, or some other life milestone, and you want to join the group, then you’re welcome. 

The journey: Once you have joined the group and identified yourself as a person starting on the road to recovery, I will send you a plant, some dirt, a pot, and some instructions on getting started. I will start with my trusty philodendron or pothos, because they are so easy to propagate and grow. Eventually we’ll get into some fun and strange plants, like my dragon’s tail. After you receive the plant, you will begin receiving reminders about once a month to take a picture of your plant and write a few sentences about your journey. After a year, the prompts will space out to more like once every 3 months. At that point you will also be asked if you feel comfortable propagating some cuttings and preparing to ship to someone as well. 

One important note: Everything will be totally anonymous by default. I do not want this to be about individuals at all. I want the focus to be on the plants, the healing, and about nature and humans healing and growing together. I want the site to become a storehouse of information about what’s working, and what’s not working, with growing plants and healing. 

The site: I should note that I am a tech enthusiast. Some might even say I’m obsessed. So I have determined that each picture that’s taken will be “minted” as an NFT, then connected to the organization through a smart contract. The information will “live” on the blockchain, and the website will connect to the images there. Each image will include the comment submitted about the person’s journey, and over time, site visitors will be able to click through several pictures, watching the plant and the person’s journey unfold. 

The site visitor will also be able to click through and see how one plant has touched several peoples’ lives, through nature (propagation) and humanity (sharing plants). Over time, plants will group into “family trees” and the deep weaving of nature and healing will extend out as far and as wide as the organization is able to grow. 

The MVP: The minimum viable product of this organization will be me running an email list and a website, sending reminders, collecting photos, minting NFTs, and linking them to the garden website. I will be turning on paid memberships so people can join and help me fund the plants, materials, the tech stack, and other features I have up my sleeve along the way. 

The Near Future: Now let’s dream into the future just a little bit, where there’s an app that keeps track of membership, new plant requests, time intervals and picture reminders, and mints NFTs and links to the site. Readers can visit the site to click on a plant and follow the journey of not just one person, but EVERY person who that plant has touched (by way of propagation). It becomes a beautiful family tree of people healing, and sharing, and teaching and learning about taking care of plants and taking care of themselves. 

The Long-term Plan: The fully developed organization will be a nonprofit organization, wrapped in a self-governing and fully transparent DAO (decentralized autonomous organization). Generally speaking, there will be 4 types of members. While I haven’t formally named them yet, it’s something like this: 

• Keepers: These are the folks that receive plants, take pictures, and write quick notes about healing journey ups and downs. 

• Mentors: These are the people who have experience with gardening, healing and meditation, or both. They will offer wisdom and knowledge to keepers through writing, videos, workshops, and other fun stuff.

• Free Supporters: These are website visitors of all forms - they may simply be stopping by to behold the expanding story of nature and people working together to heal. 

• Paid Supporters: These folks may have been affected by addiction or grief in their lives and for that reason they want to join as a paid member or purchase NFTs to help pay for materials and upkeep. 

Wrapping it up: As you can see, this is an embryonic idea. Many elements are still working, and some have not been fully formed yet. And I work a full-time job so I will need to be strategic about getting things done. But I have a house full of plants, I’m learning every day, and I’m already setting the stage for my first round of plants to be shipped out. Bring a friend, and let’s have fun!