Fort Negrita Blog

"necessity is the mother of invention!" is what i would hear my haitian-mother proudly announce at least twice a day while staying in haiti. haiti, the first free republic of the western world, is no stranger to necessity, and so, the phrase was often exclaimed when witnessing the innovative approaches people used for everyday needs. take my friend, ishmael,  who designed and engineered his own toy car from a motor oil bottle, bottle caps, straws, and some party string. i was impressed to see ishmael running between lush banana trees and tall coffee bean trees pulling his toy car along. with limited access to...

arranging a meeting that everyone can make can be a hassle in a communal home, however, staying on top of routine house meetings can maintain organization and limit conflict. at orange moon, we have a monthly house meeting to discuss updates/repairs to the physical house, important dates around or in proximity to the house, requests to modify a house agreement, conflicts that may have come up, etc. what i learned after holding meetings for about a year and a half is that everyone must come to the meeting with an objective that EVERYONE WINS. this is something i did not always...

DONATE HERE: https://ent55.com/ it was only a matter of time before fort negrita manifested in international spaces and fort negrita is pleased to support TWO GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL  PROJECTS this summer! we need your support, by making a tax deductible donation. FIRST, we are collaborating with Ariana Marshall of @de_lab_outside to support farm advancements and resiliency projects at Eden Organic Farm. we are also hosting the first ever pad party outside of the US in Leogane, Haiti, where women will have an opportunity to learn how to make their own reusable menstrual pads. one a personal note, this amazing work is...

the trash collectors. the farmers. the person that made your latte. the bus driver. the water specialist that unclogs our baby wipes from sewage pipes. the cashier. the valet. the person that cleans up the kid throw up on aisle #2. custodians of the earth are people doing the work required to maintain this highly-sterilized and homogenized society. it is the work that most of us are unwilling to do. i first came across this concept when thinking of indigenous people that rely closely on the earth's resources for livelihood. the smallest change in wind or temperature can devastate the natural...

i think i've talked much about the nuisances of the 'start' of the 21st century zero waste scene, that i will not use this post to cry over spilled milk. however, i am in a space to share about my recent battle with maintaining the rigidness of zero waste. the radical idea that you can fail in this zero waste practice, get back up, and charge forward in a rubbish-free fiery. this picture explains it all. by day i write scholarly articles on the geographies of waste and by night i slang menstrual pads (and other reusable alternatives). all along...