Photo: Aleta Alston-Toure
Aleta Toure: Co-Founder, Activist, and Filmaker
This month we are spotlighting BSN member Aleta Toure with the Parable of the Sower Intentional Community Cooperative!
Aleta is a seasoned community organizer and graduate of the MIT Community Fellows Program with over three decades of experience working on community development and juvenile justice campaigns. In 2012, she served as Co-Director of the Free Marissa Now Movement, which raised awareness and over $100,000 in funds for Marissa Alexander’s legal fees to fight Marissa’s unjust conviction in a Florida stand your ground case. Aleta spoke at the Standing Our Ground UN hearing in Washington, DC. and through her work, her team was able to ultimately secure Marissa’s freedom.
Aleta has also served as Lead Administrator for the National Institute of Health’s
(NIH) National Children’s Study (NCS) in Macclenny, Florida, where she was a Battelle
Memorial Science Administrator. The Children's Study is one of 105 sites for the 21-year
research study under President Barack Obama. Aleta’s experience with authentic community engagement and outreach ensured the success of the project. To top off her breadth of experience, Ms. Toure has also worked on six (6) WGBH-TV/PBS Blackside Films (makers of Eyes on the Prize documentaries).
Pictured: Parable of the Sower International Community Cooperative Members
Parable of the Sower International Community Cooperative
Founded in 2016 in Oakland, CA, the Parable of the Sower Intentional Community (POTS) Cooperative is a worker-owned cooperative for black women and is comprised mostly of women with children. Their mission is to create intentional sustainable and inclusive communities that foster connection, empowerment, and resilience.
This village is centered on principles of justice, equity, and cooperation. With the structure of this co-op creates space for members to meet their needs through support from the others within the co-op, each of whom work 15 to 35 hours/week (if able-bodied).
One section of the village is for women and children and includes beloved partners or grandparents.
Another section is for elderly and disabled individuals.
A third part of the village serves as a retreat space, and their farm includes an organic vegetable garden, goats, chickens, and bees.
Through sustainable practices and conscious living, Parable of the Sower Intentional Community Cooperative (POTS) strives to create a model for ethical and regenerative living that promotes harmony with nature and enhances the well-being of all community members.
Thank you Sis Aleta for your continued dedication to building supportive & inclusive community spaces and contributions within the Parable of The Sower Coop! A special thanks for your leadership serving as an Industry House Leader for the Black Sustainability Network to ensure all who join your IH can learn from your experience and can exchange best practices as it relates to community development!
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