Flowers, Music, And Connection

SPEAKER_02 0:00

I feel like plants and flowers are very much like music. They are an equalizer. Everyone has some sort of experience with a flower. And when we can pull that together, it sort of softens our edges. And then we can then begin to find a little bit more connection with one another.

SPEAKER_03 0:19

Hi, and welcome to America's Healthiest City. I'm your host, Will Melton, and this is a channel RVA production. Today we are in Westbroad Studios at 316 Westbroad. And I am interviewing Natika Achalam, who is the owner of TrueGit Farm and Flower. We're going to get all into that in a minute. But if you're joining this program for the very first time, please check out America's HealthiestCity.com to learn about our 10-year community partnership to make Richmond, the entire region, the healthiest in America by 2033. We need everybody to be involved in this, and we know based on research that you can make this happen. But it takes academics, it takes businesses, it takes residents, it takes government institutions and many others, nonprofits as well, to move in the same direction and achieve the same goals at the same time. So you can learn about the social determinants of health in our blog there. You can learn about the ideas that have been left by others. You can leave your own ideas on our ideas board. And if you represent a nonprofit, a business, a government entity, or an academic institution, and you want to participate in this program, you can learn about what it takes to become an ambassador. It is totally free, and we will help you tell your story about how you're helping to make Richmond a healthier region. But without further ado, Natika, thank you so much for coming in. I'm so excited to see you. We had a really great conversation the other day, and we've started to work on a little project together. Um, but we might have to reserve that for another conversation. I start the show with everybody the

Natika’s Richmond Origin Story

SPEAKER_03 1:44

same way. Uh, and I actually don't know the answer to this question. Um, are you a native of Richmond or did you move here? And if so, what brought you?

SPEAKER_02 1:51

Thank you for having me, Will. I'm so excited to be here. And my answer is yes, and I came to Richmond to attend VCU from Hampton Roads.

SPEAKER_04 2:01

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 2:02

I've been here for such a long time that I feel as though Richmond is home. There's nowhere else that is more comfortable. I've spent more of my life here than I have anywhere else. So Richmond is definitely home. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 2:14

Well, I'm not from Hampton Roads, but I did move there in uh 2000, spent 15 years in Williamsburg. Um, so the peninsula, maybe not quite Hampton Roads. Not sure how we classify that.

SPEAKER_02 2:25

I think so.

SPEAKER_03 2:25

Uh I I'm I like not driving down 64 anymore to go to the peninsula. Not that it's not a little fighting all yes.

SPEAKER_02 2:34

It's it's a cute little jaunt to go to the beach or to Yorktown or some of the other little things, but it's nice to to be here. Richmond is such a central location. We have access to so many green spaces, including the beach, but also the mountains. So this I feel is a more neutral and central location for us to be. I love it here.

SPEAKER_03 2:52

So um and and Ditto, that I I feel the exact same way, and I believe um most of my guests do as well. Curious about something. You and I know each other from many years ago. I would say five plus years ago when I was going to Project Yoga Richmond and you were an instructor there. Um I will say, and this is not to flatter you, you were my favorite yoga instructor that I've ever had of all time. Uh, and so I truly miss those sessions. Uh, and I haven't been going to yoga, so uh I'll admit that to our listeners and to you. But um you're doing some different things now. Um we won't get into the business yet because I want to really stay focused on you. Um but you know, move here for VCU. You you stayed. This has now been the place that you've spent the most time. What is the magic that you have seen? Uh what's the evolution that you've seen? What is it that has really kept you locked in here and um building, you know, multiple businesses and doing lots of things?

SPEAKER_02 3:46

Wow. First of all, the compliment. Thank you so much. I come from a long lineage of what I feel are amazing yoga instructors, contemplative practice instructors, and to hear you say that about me is a testament to them. So they are, they've just poured into me and I continue the flow. Thank you for

Herbalism Roots And A Yoga Through Line

SPEAKER_02 4:05

that. Coming to VCU, living in Richmond, I studied anthropology with a particular bend towards how did our ancestors work with plants, particularly medicinal plants. How were they part of our lives? So after VCU, I moved to New Mexico to study herbal medicine and clinical herbalism there and with desert plants. I brought that back here with me and settled a family, got married, and so since then we have been in this particular region in Charlottesville, is where my husband is from. And so between the Central Virginia region, we've just grown roots and met some amazing people, built some really strong relationships, and that yoga and contemplative practice has been a part of everything. It's the through line that connects all the other threads in my quilt of diverse interests and passions that have brought me together to be who I am today. I think I collect all of these skills and interests, and it becomes part of my work. They don't just drop off, they are who I am, and I continue to layer on top of those.

SPEAKER_03 5:18

So I'm not a uh a religious um meditator, uh, but I certainly appreciate the value of it. Um I can remember a particular time that I was in the kitchen and I was filling up a glass of water, and for whatever reason, in that moment, I stopped thinking about everything, and I just watched the glass of water fill up. And whenever it was done, I realized what had happened. And it felt um there was some kind of endorphin for the fire. There was some kind of niceness that it was like, okay, wait a second, I just just focused for I mean, you know how long it takes to fill up a glass of water. Uh it's not that long. Um there's there's a lot there, and I think that our world now needs it more than ever. Um tell me a little bit about your time in um contemplative practice and um, you know, what's the arc sort of been for you maybe before you moved here, but also, you know, since you've learned what you've learned and been been back to Richmond.

Breath, Presence, And Stress Relief

SPEAKER_02 6:15

Right. Oh, that's an interesting question. I have had a very sort of meandering path with contemplative practice. I initially came into the study of yoga, which is more of an eight-limb path than it is solely with the one limb of asana, but that's how I started. That was the entry point. And now I understand why asana practice is so prevalent in our community. It as is an entry point to allowing our body to settle, helping us relieve a lot of stress and discomfort that we're experiencing, so that our mind can have just a little bit of space to take a pause, so that we can learn how to breathe and be a little bit more present, even if it's just one second, is longer than what we might have had before without even the realization that this sort of coming home into ourselves is a really strong practice.

SPEAKER_03 7:14

It's a busy world.

SPEAKER_02 7:16

More now than literally ever before, we have so many pieces of information coming to us from across the globe, and how we process it is really important. It can be very, very overwhelming, but with a contemplative practice, with some sort of tool that we have in our toolkit of coming back even just for a second to what is important in our lives, and that's individual to every person. But once you set that goal, how close can I get to it every single day? And what does it take to get to that place? And again, a very individual question and answer process. But I usually tell people that it starts with a breath, a conscious breath. We're all breathing all day, every day, but that's one of the processes in the body that we can also do voluntarily and involuntarily. So if you're really aware of it, then you really can make some changes in your stress levels and how you show up in the world for yourself.

SPEAKER_03 8:15

It's a great way to fall asleep too if you struggle to fall asleep.

SPEAKER_02 8:17

Just deep breaths, just yes, it is the deep relaxation of it all. Yeah. That's a good place to start.

SPEAKER_03 8:25

Well, um, I wish we could do a practice with our listeners here, but we want to keep them entertained and focused on substance. Um, I think that there is uh uh a meditative aspect to having conversations with other people. Um so um tell us a little bit about um the last couple of years and and what you've been working on and you know how are you uh showing up in the world and and getting out of it what you need.

True Grit’s Blend Of Plants And People

SPEAKER_02 8:51

Oh boy, it has been a choose your own adventure sort of pathway for me. If you'd asked me five or ten years ago, what did you think you're gonna be doing? I certainly would not have said this. It was nowhere on my periphery or my radar. And now here that I am, I'm so happy about it. Bringing yoga and mindfulness and facilitation, helping people feel better in the environment where they are, whether that's more grounded in themselves or grounded in their group, whether that's a workplace experience or a community experience. But now that has been layered on with the medicinal plants that we've been growing that help with making remedies for our clinical clients at True Grit. The last couple of years, we added on flower farming to the plethora of things that we're doing at our brand and umbrella, which is a very interesting thing. Flowers are fantastic. We always grew medicinal plants, and then we layered in native plants, and then we layered in some more of the ornamental plants. And how are we going to use those in the world? They are a tool that help us find connection. So the work of facilitation and bringing people together in groups is still present, but now we have another way to get there. I feel like plants and flowers are very much like music. They are an equalizer. Everyone has some sort of experience with a flower because they have been part of every single celebration or marked moment in our lives. And when we can pull that together, it sort of softens our edges. And then we can then begin to find a little bit more connection with one another. So sometimes that looks like conversation happening around a table where there are beautiful arrangements setting. Maybe you're doing something creative and your workplace for employee appreciation or something like that. So those are some of the pieces that we're doing at True Grit with our flowers and botanicals. And because we do everything in duality, we mix medicinal plants and edible plants in our floral designs that may show up in a hospitality space where that sparks conversation to for folks in the community to meet someone and talk to have a conversation with someone they might not have had before, but now you have a shared experience. And so that's the work that we're really, really most proud of right now.

SPEAKER_03 11:16

Well, I want to talk a lot about this. Um, I have a true affinity for flowers and I know a lot about how plants um impact our lives uh and on our proximity. Um, but I do have to take a break. And uh when we come back, we'll talk a little bit more about True Grip, Farm and Flower.

SPEAKER_00 11:32

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SPEAKER_03 11:47

Welcome back to America's Healthiest City, a channel RVA original production. If you're not familiar with channel RVA, please go to channelrva.com. It is uh Richmond's home for independent media creators. We're creating something special here. We're creating space, physical space here in Westbroad Studios, as well as uh space online for uh independent creators to create podcasts, to create content. And if you're a creator that's already making media, uh we would love to feature your content on channel RVA. So uh check that out. Uh, subscribe to our uh daily digest, you'll get invited to our free First Friday block parties and so much more. Uh, I'd talk about this all day if it weren't for having Natika Achalom in the studio from TrueGrit. Uh, we're talking about mindfulness and uh meditative practice and contemplative practice and uh mixing that into the physical world with uh with plants. I have read something recently, or maybe I watched something on YouTube, which we must take all this stuff with a grain of salt, but I'm sure that this was a scientist. I do watch a lot of science. Plants are conscious. Um, they are they're aware of their surroundings, they know what's happening in the world, uh, they interact with one another, animals, and it's a very fascinating thing when you have this awakening. Um, but it was about maybe 20 years ago when I first learned that just being in the physical proximity to plants, not necessarily even being outside, but being inside next to plants, can do a lot for our mental health. Um, so the fact that you're combining flowers with um, you know, uh mindfulness and and group activity is exciting to me. I want to spend some time talking about all the different things that you do um when it comes to this.

Building The Farm And What Grows

SPEAKER_03 13:31

But um first let's just start with uh the physical place. Let's start with the farm. Tell our listeners and viewers uh they can see a little bit about uh this arrangement here, but what's the space look like? What's it feel like when you're there? How did you come about uh building this farm? And and tell us all the things.

SPEAKER_02 13:48

Thank you. So exciting to think about the evolution of our farm. We are on disparate lands in some instances and working to stand up several acres of land that is only for our flowers and botanical pursuits. So we are moving some of our perennial plants from a plot of land slowly to our farm in the Northern Neck area in Reedville, and that is our farm home. That's where Trubrit Farm and Flower resides. We have grown medicinal plants in Goochland and here in Richmond, and eventually on the timing of what's best for the plants transition, everything will slowly begin to move there. And we have a medicinal element, we have our ornamental flowers, things like dahlia, and we have interesting grasses and ferns, we've got our low light plants like hydrangea and things that love our shade, some edibles, berries, and fruits. All of these things, not only are we able to eat them, but really they show up in a lot of our work. And so we blend these medicinal plants with the edible plants, with the natives and the things that we typically think of when you think of floral design or floristry, like the roses or dahlia, large sunflowers. So when folks have an arrangement in front of them, and you'll take a moment to look a little bit deeper, then you'll see some of the representation of the things that we grow on the farm, which is a huge diversity of elements, which we appreciate because we are able to work with things that grow locally that might not travel as well if we were flying those things in. But because we have fresh access to them, because our farm is less than two hours away, or everything that we work with is less than two hours away, then you have access to a lot of really cool things in design.

SPEAKER_03 15:44

So um you have access uh to the materials to make some amazing uh designs. Um tell us a little bit about how you connect

Bouquet Bars For Creativity And Teams

SPEAKER_03 15:53

with people and that. I know you have some subscriptions, but you also do a fence. And I'm sitting here thinking about um about a week ago when I went to the store and I saw the individual flowers, and I was like, oh, I'm gonna get this one, I'm gonna get that one, I'm gonna get that. And I went home and I made, you know, three floral arrangements. Uh I was hoping that my wife was gonna uh participate, uh, but she was on the phone, so she didn't and just made them all myself. Um but it is a very peaceful activity. So tell us more about how you help people uh and then we're gonna get you to come do this with our team.

SPEAKER_02 16:21

Yeah, sure. Oh, I'd love that. That'd be so fun. So I enjoy bringing a variety of botanicals, of all sorts of things, things that folks might not think of when you think of floral design, bringing those and allowing folks, inviting them, reminding them that they already have the agency to be creative, that all of us are creative. And so sometimes that looks like showing up with a bouquet bar, which is buckets and bowls of lots of different things and inspiring people to make something unique with maybe a little bit of guidance around floral design principles. And then that way you know the rules, and then we encourage you to break them so that you feel a little bit more free and creating whatever it is that you want. Um, sometimes it looks like we're working with the human resources department or people management team around some skill building for a particular department, and then we use the flowers and plants as a catalyst to help those folks get there. So creating something together now has strengthened our team building resolve. And then we are able to take that into the field. We maybe dissolved some of the rough edges that we may have had working with one another. So plants have a way of doing that, just being softer, zoning into the element of a particular stem or the texture of a leaf is contemplative and something that some folks are regularly doing, but also it's an invitation to maybe do something different and that helps to change the perspective of the brain. Then you take that into your work for the day and look at what comes up. So many more interesting things, and sometimes we're move able to move outside of whatever stiffness or stuck feelings we may have had around a creative project because we've changed our environment a little bit.

SPEAKER_03 18:11

I think that the aspect of design is um maybe in and of itself um meditative. You know, it forces you to focus and just long enough to, you know, kind of be be with that that medium. And and I've I'm a I've been an artist for my whole life, and I've not really realized it. It took me until 2023 to figure that out. Um but it has been um even before that, just the idea that you can kind of gather some things and and you know, you have a job to do. But plants, even before I got into designing floral arrangements, it was just the plants that would be on the patio. And eventually, you know, some of the leaves will die and you've got these scragglies in there and it doesn't look very good. And you know, I could sit there for 30 minutes just trimming all the little pieces just to make that whole bush look good or that whole plant look good. And and there's not really a you could have just left it there and it wouldn't have mattered. The plant would have still been fine, it would have been healthy and everything. You just would have just wouldn't have looked as good. Um and so as I think about this, you know, really the the greatest utility is the the the meditative aspect, it's the focus, it's the the piece of just being, you know, not so busy in the mind.

SPEAKER_02 19:27

That is a very huge part of it. And that symbiotic relationship, you being in relationship with the plant that you are pruning, that probably would have been fine, but it was certainly better because of your relationship that you had in that moment. And then you're receiving benefits from being so close to something that's also living and breathing and communicating, whether we speak the same language or not, the plant is giving us something and we are in turn giving something else. And if we can show up in that space within ourselves of wholeness and oneness and sort of let the other things drift away, it's there's something special that happens during those

Farewell Florals And Holding Grief

SPEAKER_02 20:06

spaces. And so I think about flowers a little bit differently than maybe some traditionally trained florists would. I think about the characteristics of the plant, the medicinal and emotional benefits of working with some of the plants. So, what is the essence of a plant that's going into an arrangement? And particularly I like doing farewell work, helping families and friends honor the life of someone, whether that's through a retirement or a home going. When I have an opportunity to consult with a family member, tell me about your loved one. And they then talk about whatever their life was like, and I'm able to pull something from that and equate that to a plant, something in nature. There's almost always something that this person loved or that they did that had a connection with the plant that we might be able to incorporate into their arrangement for their funeral. That work is where I really get into my zone because I'm thinking about the person, I'm thinking about the wishes that the family had and how can I pull all of that together. And in order for me to do a good job, means that I have to be in a good space for myself. So my practice being done first is important so that what I'm giving is full, whole, pure, and it feels really nice at the end of the day.

SPEAKER_03 21:28

I love that. I love that. I just came back from New Jersey. Uh, my grandmother's celebration of life was on uh Saturday, and we were uh we were at a Unitarian church, and it was said uh of her her husband that she designed the entire service herself some 30 years before. Because she was an educator, she did an exercise with her students on um I and there's like writing or obituary or whatever, but she did the exercise herself. And I one woman from the parish came up and said that uh she's like, you know, it's just amazing. She did all this and she said, I can I can imagine her, you know, designing her floral arrangements, but how could she have known what the season was? And uh, you know, it's a funny moment. But um but that's I think it's such a special thing to be able to do with people and to be able to um yeah, like there's a an extra layer there and and I'm gonna imagine there's a a processing of grief that happens and lots of other things.

SPEAKER_02 22:23

There is it is very special and it feels very intimate to be able to do that. I'm sorry about your grandmother, and hopefully you have nothing but amazing memories held with you.

SPEAKER_03 22:30

I do, I do.

unknown 22:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 22:32

You know, being trusted and honored to create things for other folks in memory, whether it is in memorandum or a transition in their life. You know, so creating things for for little kids too. So maybe you have a recital and you want to do something for your little person and bring them something and helping them create gives them a positive experience that they then take with them. We also love to encourage our clients to dry their flowers whenever possible so that way you have that to go along with you. You have a memory from not only the day, but then you have have a physical representation.

Sustainable Floristry And Drying Blooms

SPEAKER_02 23:10

If it's something that can be then planted again and recycled back into the earth, then we are able to talk about the full, the fullness and sustainable floristry, sustainable floral design and farming, which is something that we don't often think about. The floral industry is really quite dirty in the terms of green. There's a lot of waste, and a lot of people are working towards minimizing as much waste as we can. And talking about that more openly with our clients is one of the things that I really enjoy doing.

SPEAKER_03 23:42

There's a lot that you can do with uh dried flowers. I have a friend who she collects all kinds of things, not just flowers, but um mushrooms and different, you know, plants, and she makes uh resin jewelry. Oh, cool on social press and resin, and it's just uh so pretty. So um what's next? Well, as you look into the future uh for true grit farm and flower and and other endeavors, like what are you looking forward to in the next 12 to 24 months?

Give Them Their Flowers At 804 Day

SPEAKER_02 24:09

What I am being called to do, and more people are reaching out about our more group experiences. I'm actually really, really excited about participating in the 804 day here in Richmond. So we've been invited to flower one of the stages that the performers will be on, and we'll also be doing a storytelling activation, which is one of our newest initiatives called Give Them Their Flowers. And my business partner and husband, Joshua, is the brainchild of Give Them Their Flowers. There were several people in his life who have been monumental in helping him develop into the person and the creative that he is. And he said, I really want to do something for them. I really want to create an experience that honors them now while they're here to see it. And so that has been the seed that's been watered to make it a much larger experience and available to Richmond. So our hope is that folks will come to our booth at 804 Day and celebrate the people who are here, the unsung heroes in the community who are quietly doing the work of caring for us in so many different ways, whether it's a teacher, a mentor, a first responder, the person who lives in the alley across from you who did something nice, and you want to recognize them so that they know it. This storytelling component is something that I'm super excited about and plan to continue well beyond this first exhibit at 804 Day and across the city, so that lots of people have an opportunity to talk about their moments of appreciation and who else in their life has made an impact and be able to do it with something tangible. So that that mind, body, that heart creation, and maybe it's something that you take over to the person after you finished making your bouquet.

SPEAKER_03 25:55

Lovely. Well, I can't wait to see that. But we're gonna take a quick break, and when we come back, I want to spend some time talking about the future of Richmond, uh, which eight of four days is a perfect uh segue for. Um, but uh yeah, this is such a lovely conversation.

unknown 26:07

Cool.

SPEAKER_02 26:08

I agree. Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 26:09

So you've probably figured out by now that Richmond Water is on Westbrook Street. But where the heck else is it? You can find us online. We're at drinkrichmundwater.com, and there's lots of ways to engage with our website here. But if you come all the way down the bottom, that's where you will find the map of free refill stations across the city. Just open this Google map that we have here that you can submit to at any time, and you'll find these pink dots are the Richmond Water refill stations, of course, uh Broad Street, and then over at City Stadium. And then all of the little blue dots are other places that have water refill stations where you can get free water across Richmond City. Join us in making free water more accessible on drinkrichmundwater.com.

Richmond’s Future With Green Spaces

SPEAKER_03 26:55

Welcome back to America's Healthiest City, a channel RVA production. Uh, we are in the studio today at Westbroad Studios with Natika Achalam, the uh owner. And uh I'm I actually didn't even ask you the title. Are you the owner, co-owner? How do you Founder and Creative Director? Okay, founder and creative director of TrueGrit Farm and Flower. Uh, we're talking about all the lovely things that Flower has to do for us, uh, whether it is uh just something that we enjoyed ourselves or if it's something that brings us together with others, uh, connects us uh with the memories and uh meaningful moments in people's lives. Um, but uh for this program, we are working to make Richmond, the whole region, the healthiest in America by 2033. Uh, it starts with a belief that it's possible that we can do that. And then we get to work. We uh tell the stories of people in the region who are actually making a difference and actually working in small ways and in big to make the region healthier, uh, to inspire others who might not necessarily believe yet that it's possible. In the last couple of years that we've been doing this, I've seen remarkable transitions in this region. Uh, I believe it's possible, and I'm here with you all uh to make sure that we can do it together. Uh, Natika, as we wrap up our program today, um, we always end the last segment with um the future. Um, we hope to inspire folks to be a part of this and uh to recognize that uh we all have uh a job to do in this work. Um I will um just let you tell me um what you think the future of Richmond looks like and um what are you looking forward to, perhaps uh about the evolution that's happening here.

SPEAKER_02 28:33

If I had a magic wand and I could create Richmond in a likeness that I think would serve a big majority, would be lots of access to green space. And whether that's in your own particular space or something walkable in every single neighborhood that is clean, tidy, comfortable, where you actually have an opportunity to ground. So feeling like you want to lay out or take your shoes off and squish your toes in the grass or dig in the dirt or have a place to play that's safe and clean for all kids, starts with the youth, and but also all of us would be really, really helpful. More third spaces would be also something that I wave my magic wand over, places that are accessible for all of us to go and really find connection. We have such a diverse city. Sometimes it feels like we kind of get stuck in our little silos, but when we're able to break outside of that and cross-pollinate, it feels wonderful. And I know that folks enjoy it. You can see the joy and the growth that happens when we're learning from each other in instances when we weren't even sure what was gonna happen. So when we remove ourselves from a little bit of ego, I don't know everything, I'm not the arbiter of all things. Let me hear what you know. I'm sure there's so much in your brain that I have never even heard of, and I want to hear about it. So where can we go and be together in places that we weren't otherwise?

SPEAKER_03 30:05

So maybe I think, you know, there's there's a unique aspect to this because you have we're building a lot of stuff, right? We're building a lot of buildings, we're eliminating a lot of, you know, we'll underutilized green space, quite frankly, if you think about the Diamond District and things like that. Um, but we're right here and we're we're in Jackson Ward, and we know that uh many, many years ago they ripped apart to this neighborhood and put a highway here, and there's this proposal floating out there um to to put cap on the highway and to build a new park over top of it. And I just I I love the idea that we can be uh creating new green space um because we have uh ability to do it and and I think a responsibility. And the third spaces has been a uh a common theme lately on this show. You're you know the first person this year to to suggest that's something that we need to do. So what are some third spaces that you like since you said

Third Spaces That Make Us Whole

SPEAKER_03 30:57

it?

SPEAKER_02 30:57

Ooh, I love co-working spaces because a lot of my work is solitary. So I'm often, if my hands aren't in soil, then I am working on how to get more flowers and botanicals in folks' hands. Sometimes that looks like I'm by myself. So I love going to co-working spaces like Query. That one is wonderful. It's a lot of other creatives and writers in that space. Number 303, which used to be Common House, that's also a really cool space. It's so pretty and it feels comfortable to sit in there and you meet a lot of other people with all their social activities that they have happening. A good coffee shop is a wonderful friend of mine, plus also going to the parks. One of my favorite places in Richmond is going to Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden.

SPEAKER_03 31:41

I haven't been since they've opened up that new exhibit.

SPEAKER_02 31:44

It is, yes, go. It is a beautiful addition and just nice, nice breath of fresh air that they've breathed into the space. But I love taking meetings there. I'll just ask, can we do a walk and talk at Belle Isle or somewhere else outside of a brick and mortar so that we can then have some access to air, see something.

SPEAKER_03 32:05

So um I need you to tell me about Query because I um I do the channel RVA Daily Digest. And every s just about every single day there's an event there, and it's a reading or a writing workshop or something. Just it it speaks to me, and I'm like, where is this place? Is it far away? Like, you know, what what do they do there? So tell us about that place because I want to go check that out. I should I've been plugging their stuff a lot lately. Yes.

SPEAKER_02 32:31

Yes, you'll be very happy that you did. When you're finally able to make it, it's a fantastic place to be, and it is so welcoming, literally for everyone. There's just you walk in the door and you just feel so welcome. There's no judgment, and you're really entitled to creativity in the space. So Query is located at the bottom of Carytown on Cary Street, just across from Arthur Ash Boulevard, and it's in the building where Richmond Young Writers has existed for many, many years. The founder of Richmond Young Writers is also the founder of Quarry, Bird Cox. And she does work with juvenile justice, doing writing and taking that into spaces where they might not have access to this creativity. So she then boomerangs that back to us and provides these experiences all evening, almost every single evening, and lots of weekends, where there's a diversity of ways to connect with one another. And they're almost always small groups, usually 15 or so. So it's not very intimidating. And like I said, everyone is always very welcoming.

SPEAKER_03 33:33

Well, that's walkable to hear. And uh I one of my my questions for this segment is to ask you who's somebody I should bring into the the show to learn from. Uh she sounds like somebody we we should be talking to.

SPEAKER_02 33:44

You definitely should. She is a bright light and a wonderful spirit. You will be very happy that you invited her on.

SPEAKER_03 33:50

Well, since I asked, um, and since you'd offered before I challenged you with the question, uh who else should we be talking to that is uh leaving a light in Richmond?

SPEAKER_02 34:00

Well, I'm a little bit biased, but someone who I will always continue to champion because of their work in mental health and with youth and with creativity, the intersection of all of these things coming together is mighty Joshua. That's Joshua Achalam, who also happens to be my partner in life. But I really am an advocate for the work that he's doing in the community, not just in Richmond, but also globally. He supports a children's program in Kenya and helping those kids be well. But most of the work that he does here is in our community around helping folks be whole in their in their selves with their mental health, especially around young men, which is very, very needed. And he does that through the medium of music. Again, helping people find accessibility where they might have thought, I can't do that. That's not for me. Well, yes, it actually is. It's for everyone.

SPEAKER_03 34:50

Well, now that you suggested, he can't say no.

SPEAKER_02 34:52

So No, he won't say no.

SPEAKER_03 34:54

That's right. Great, great. Well, um, what else? You know, what else can be

More Play And Where To Find True Grit

SPEAKER_03 34:59

people be doing? You know, what's an idea that we can drop on our ideas board that might inspire somebody, a small way, a big way that we can make our uh little region the healthiest in America by 2033?

SPEAKER_02 35:10

I love botanical social experiences. So anything you compare a plant with with a little bit of fun, but I know that you and I have been talking about ways that we can get together and sort of team environments to do a little bit of play that mirrors things that we might have done at field day or when we were kids. So being a little bit more youthful, letting go of some of our rougher edges and a little bit of ego. We see ourselves buttoned up and I'm all of these things. Can we play more? So playfulness.

SPEAKER_03 35:39

Lovely. Uh tell folks where they can find you. Uh tell them your website and what they can find there and how so that everybody knows all the things that you make available. I just want to make sure all your services are clear.

SPEAKER_02 35:51

Thank you. Well, folks can find us on all the social medias at True Grit Farmflower. And our website is true grit.life.life. And you can find all of the offerings that we have there. So primarily we really love doing group experiences, working with corporations or organizations, nonprofits to help their people feel better. We really believe that when you are better as yourself, you show up better in your work, and then that ripples into all other aspects of our lives, and that makes us as a community much more whole and much more well. And we do farewell work. So we really love doing honoring people, but also memberships and subscriptions. So if there's a family, a household, a business that decides that they want to have something gorgeous that's available to welcome and greet their visitors in the space, then we provide subscriptions for those folks to be able to do that.

SPEAKER_03 36:50

Lovely. Lovely. Well, I was checking that out earlier today, and uh it's definitely something that I'm thinking about because um I do tend to keep fresh flowers at home as not all the time, but it's just it's a nice addition to have. And we've got lots of um, you know, not cut flowers, but just plants and things that are growing around the house, and we constantly are adding more things that probably don't have room for.

SPEAKER_02 37:12

But um, well, there's always room. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 37:15

Well, we need more plants around this uh studio. So um I I'd love to chat all day, um, but we are uh over time. And it doesn't matter anymore because we don't have a slotted segment, but uh we can go as long as we want. But I th just to honor your time, I want to say thank you for coming in today. Thank you for coming back into my world recently and and saying hi. And um I think that we're gonna have a lot of fun together. And and I know that my team is gonna enjoy the session that we plan. However, we make that happen, we are we're talking about doing uh like a uh cookout or barbecue before the end of the year. So maybe we'll compare some some social activity together with that.

SPEAKER_02 37:49

Oh, cool. I love it. Thank you for having me on. This has really been fun.

SPEAKER_03 37:53

Well, Natika Achalam uh from TrueGrit Farm and Flower, thank you so much for joining me. Uh as always, I enjoyed it. And um, we're gonna have you back here uh when the next evolution happens, because I know that while you might not be able to see, I'm sure it's right around the corner.

SPEAKER_02 38:08

Thank you. I appreciate you, Will. Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_03 38:11

This was America's Healthiest City. Please uh tune in at America's HealthiaCity.com, subscribe at channelrva.com, and you'll find out uh the next episode that we've got coming up. We're getting to about having uh one a week, and so we're back to our original cadence after a little sabbatical uh after last year. So uh thanks for joining us today. We'll see you next time.