Detroit's Taproot Sanctuary Honors the Earth and Deepens Community Roots Through The Little Things

by Mitchell Sasser | WeINSPIRE Reporter

Spirituality, right relationship with the Earth and our neighbors, and social justice; are the three roots that Taproot Sanctuary strives to deepen. En Sawyer is one of the co-founders of Taproot Sanctuary,  an “intentional community” in Detroit exploring ways of living more. For Sawyer, it looks like increasing the amount of self-reliance on the land, growing mushrooms, helping neighbors with woodworking, creating space for meditation, and sharing knowledge with people. 

While Sawyer lived in Japan, he realized he worked a job he didn’t want to work, earned money he didn’t want to earn, and lived a life he didn’t want to live. This revelation helped him start thinking of ways to “get out of this trap” and fundamentally reevaluate how he lived his life. 

“There were moments in my life where I felt fully alive and really connected,” Sawyer said. “I just realized part of the struggle is my isolation, not only from myself — I was feeling alienated from the life I was living, but also feeling alienated from the land, and feeling alienated from my capacity to live responsibly on this Earth.” 

Sawyer said since he felt so dependent on others, he started thinking of ways he could become independent. 

“My thinking was if I can grow most of my food, and if I can build most of the things I know that I need, I have more independence in that system,” Sawyer said. 

Mushrooms are one of the main resources that Taproot Sanctuary focuses on growing. While “not the easiest thing to do,” Sawyer believes it is a source of possibilities for both homegrown and community-grown protein and medicinal content.

One of the principles that Sawyer lives by is “there is no such thing as waste.” Sawyer said waste only exists because we miss the critical connections, opportunities, and cyclical relationships. He notes the comparison with mushrooms as one of the primary decomposers on Earth.  

“I feel like many of us go through our day not thinking anything about fungi, and mushrooms, but they are essential,” Sawyer said. “They are kind of like the interface of life and death which is essential on this planet — that which has form disintegrates, and then reconstitutes. I think it’s a very powerful organism on this earth that we depend upon regardless of whether we are conscious of that or not.”

At Taproot Sanctuary, environmental justice and social justice go hand-in-hand. Sawyer said environmental activists sometimes don’t realize the human component of their work, especially working within the cultural context of Detroit. 

Sawyer added that activism doesn’t always look like protests or going out into the streets. While operating on the policy level is crucial, Sawyer believes it’s also the “spaces in between,” like cultivating relationships with your neighbors, welcoming in new people, and having an inner dialogue with yourself.

Dig-it Detroit, a collection of primarily people of color families who are trying to get back onto nature’s grid, was also co-founded by Sawyer. Sawyer said “the grid” as we know it has only been around for 150 years, and it is important to help people move to a more renewable source of energy. 

“We live in this incredible cosmo’s that is raining down riches upon us every moment — the idea is how do we tap into this thing that’s greater than this small thing that is this historical blip,” Sawyer said. 

Taproot Sanctuary has only been around since 2016, and in Sawyer’s own words, is a “humble operation,” but he believes it is crucial to honor the small acts. 

“The future of planet-saving is gonna happen in thousands and thousands of tiny acts — sowing seeds, watering plants,” Sawyer said. “The more that we all take on that mantle of ‘these small actions are going to help sustain us into a more beautiful world,’ the more collaborative [we can be] and less burden we all have to carry.”