Anuella Alexandre - A Green Community
Anuella Alexandre
Anuella Alexandre is the green goddess behind A Green Community, a community with an aim to eradicate food deserts and nature deficit disorder. Through her programs, Anuella is spreading the message of whole foods all while promoting sustainability through agriculture. Her goal is to spread knowledge while inspiring change far and wide to help make whole foods accessible to all communities.
Anuella has always had a love for all things natural and sustainable, and her passion for community, creativity, and healing drive everything that she does. Her heart and desire to give back to her community through sharing her knowledge of healthy, whole food, and healing plants is inspiring, and through her work she’s empowering others to make sustainable, healthy choices too.
I’m so inspired by Anuella and her passion and dedication to her community, and I know you’re going to connect with her desire to have a positive impact on her community. I’m so excited for you to learn more about Anuella, the non-profit community she’s building, her passion and dedication to her mission, and to follow along!
I'd love it if you'd introduce yourself, what you do, and what you're working on.
Hello, my name is Anuella (pronounced AN-way-LA). I am an advocate for living a plant based, sustainable lifestyle. I see myself as a pretty creative, driven, and spiritual person. I love being active in my community, meeting new faces, and having thought provoking conversations. I currently work as a contractor for many different schools and some private organizations through my company A Green Community. We partner up with Revolutionary Garden LLC to build unique, raised garden beds. In my Garden Science Program I teach children in grades K-12 about whole foods and where they come from while promoting sustainability through agriculture. Also, I absolutely love to use my knowledge of herbs and medicinal plants to make quality, healing products that I make available to all. This is something I love doing to help provide support for community gardens where they need them most. I am currently working on setting my company up as a non-profit organization so that I may offer my services to organizations and schools that want and need the information and hands on learning but cannot afford to fund their own garden projects. The goal is to spread knowledge while inspiring change far and wide to help make whole foods accessible to all communities.
How did you get started?
Although I have always had this love for all things natural and sustainable I spent a big chunk of my life using my knowledge only in private. In January 2017 I became racked with this feeling of wanting and needing to do something that fulfills me. I was feeling uneasy about where I was in life. This unease became the catalyst I needed to fall into my purpose. I did some DEEP soul searching and really started to listen to my heart. This was the first time in my life that I dared ask myself questions like “what makes you happy?”. For me this was tough to answer because it was habit to put other’s happiness before my own. I made a physical list of all the things I loved to do. At the top of my list was community involvement and second was helping people with my knowledge of healthy, whole food, and healing plants. So I decided that I would start a non-profit organization with a mission to empower the youth with knowledge and hands on experience to grow their own food. I wrote this goal of mine down in my manifestation journal and 1 year later I am doing just that!
What inspired the work that you're doing?
Growing up as a little farm girl from a little island by the name of Haiti it was ingrained in me to treat the earth with a certain respect. In my culture we have a deep understanding of how healing herbs and certain weeds can be. I used to loved working on the farm with my older sister and grandmother. Picking and eating cherry tomatoes here and there. Even in those early years I understood that the work we were doing was important and required a connection with nature. I never lost that connection with nature but it was dormant for a long time after I moved to the U.S. What really awakened it was meeting my grandmother again during my last year in high school and a career experience. I once worked as a counselor of sorts to Alaska Native girls that were dealing with significant trauma and/or mental health/behavioral issues. A group of 5 girls between the ages of 12 and 18 would live with me for 3-5 months while getting treatment. My work with the numerous young clients that came in and out of the program really inspired my advocacy for good nutrition for our youth. The correlation between good nutrition and exercise with the overall health of my clients (mental, physical, emotional) was undeniably related. I created a questionnaire for my girls to answer when they first entered my home so that I could better understand their eating habits. It came as of no surprise to me that all of them were addicted to highly processed foods/ junk food, refined sugar, an ungodly amount of carbs and starch, etc. So, I decided to create a whole foods lifestyle for them while they were living within the home accompanied by two trips to the gym per week. I saw each and every single girl that came and went improve, as much as they could give their circumstance, in every way possible. This experience sharpened my passion for healthy living like nothing else could. This was making a REAL difference!
What is your biggest passion? Do you feel like you're living your passion and purpose?
My biggest passion is serving my community. I like to think that all of the gifts God has gifted me with are meant to be used for the healing of my soul family and the people around me. I love to use my gifts in that way. My connection with nature is a gift I am choosing to focus on expanding so that I may be of great use to my community through garden therapy, seed starting workshops, community garden organizing, youth garden programs, etc. I believe if one is truly using the gifts that
God bestowed on them for the good of their fellow human they will never question if they are living in their purpose. You’ll feel it.
What is your joy blueprint? What lights you up, brings you joy, and makes you feel the most alive?
It brings me true joy to be able to live in my authenticity. I am a multilayered individual. There are so many sides to me. I remember when I was younger my friends called me a Chameleon. I could really vibe with any group of people. I have an instant love, understanding and respect for people in general. I love being active in my community. Through my interactions with people I’ve learned and became a better person within myself. I also find joy in nature, food, and sleep. If I could pack a picnic basket with food, go to the beach, eat, and then fall asleep under a nice umbrella every day; I would be living in a DREAM!
How do you live intentionally? Are there tools/resources/practices that you rely on to help you stay mindful and grounded?
Living my life with intent has always been the goal. I learned that life is continuous selfcare. From the food that I choose to put into my body to the thoughts I choose to think and the way I choose to feel. If the intentions are not positive these practices are useless.
Time and money are two tools I have been learning to appreciate and use wisely in the last year or so. I feel most secure when I use my time wisely. This is something I have been working on for quite some time. I’ve gotten better at managing time for sure. I’m a very ritualistic person. I love routines and predictability. So of course I have a pretty consistent morning and night routine. I like to wake up early, drink water, stretch, meditate, shower and go to my garden to charge up in my little piece of nature before tackling my day. At night I like to take a bath if I can while listening to a good podcast or reading a book. I pray and express gratitude, then go to sleep. No matter what kind of day I’ve had this routine never fails to clear my mind and relax my body. This way I can really sleep like baby.
What would your younger self think about what you're doing now?
This question pops up every now and again. Younger me would definitely be proud but at the same time surprised. Growing up I was more into the arts. I studied television production all 4 years of high school and really believed I would’ve pursued a career in media or design.
Do you have a go-to mantra or affirmation?
My favorite affirmation is “anything is possible for me”. Saying this to myself really helps reaffirm that there are literally no barriers that I cannot transcend. I put zero limits on my capabilities.
What is your biggest dream?
My biggest dream is to accomplish all the things that make me happy. Once upon a time I really believed it was necessary to choose one sensible thing -that you didn’t absolutely hate -to make a ‘respectable’ living. My views on the matter have changed since then. I think for creative beings like myself, sharing my gifts and ideas with the world around me is the best thing I could EVER do.
To learn more about Anuella you can connect with her on Instagram @thegreengoddessdiary @agreencommunity and @thethreeleafshop
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