Mukethe Kawinzi
Shepherd in Pescadero, CA
Mukethe Kawinzi
Shepherd in Pescadero, CA
Mukethe Kawinzi has farmed in organic and sustainable agriculture with a focus on regenerative grazing, artisanal cheesemaking, and small ruminants for six years. She previously worked as a Program Manager with the Wholesome Wave Foundation, a Project Manager with the The Food Trust, and served on the Board of Directors for the Friends of Clark Park. Her commitment to healthy food access led her to serve on the Marketing, Events, and Outreach Committee for Mariposa Food Co-op as well as the Communications Committee for the Mayor's Food Policy Advisory Council. She is a graduate of Philadelphia's Citizen's Planning Institute.
Mukethe is the author of ‘touching grass’ (Porkbelly Press), ‘Koans to a Young Cowboi’ (Bottlecap Press), 'saanens, nubians, one lamancha' (Winner, Quarterly West Chapbook Contest), and 'rut' (Ghost City Press Summer Series). Her practice weaves blackness and queerness into the pastoral while shedding light on contemporary agricultural labor and celebrating the splendor of the natural world with play and pathos.
As a rancher, she has presented at Slow Food's Terra Madre, EcoFarm, and at the Culinary Institute of America. As a writer, she has been a featured reader at San Francisco's Litquake Festival, Poetry in the Parks, Flor y Canto, and Sundress Publication's Poetry in Pajamas.