My name is Chasejamison Akilah Manar-Spears, aka Dzifa, and I am one of the co-founders of Roots Collective. My commitment to this work blossomed from my personal stand that LOVE should be a guiding force towards a sustainably liberated earth.
I understand and appreciate that everyone has their own definition of love. To clarify, this is my own definition:
Liberation of the mind, body, and spirit through compassionate and authentic leadership
Operation based on equity and collectivity
Validation and valuing our differences, and the truth of all life everywhere
Elevation above the status quo with an expectation of reciprocity
With these values in mind, I aligned with an amazing team of advocates, organizers, and creatives. I met them all on the beach; while living in Ghana for about a year, we decided to come together for the promotion of indigenous environmentalism, empowering employment, and community based leadership. We envisioned a global collective of holistic revolutionaries, manifesting jobs that enlighten and sustain their local communities.
This is how Roots Collective was born: through friends that came together as a family, to clean the beach, host workshops, and actually do something about the major issue of plastic in this world. According to a study from the Environmental Research Letters, about 28,000 tons of plastic are are wasted per year in Ghana alone, and 88% of that is improperly wasted. After a few cleanups we realized that just picking up some of these tons would not be enough. We progressed through months of organizing, and decided to transform the plastic pollution we had collected into fashionable bags and accessories. Led by my beautiful sister Shantal, by the end of summer 2019 we had our prototypes prepared!
Since then, we have been working together towards a non-toxic future. A future with reciprocity between all living beings, connectedness flowing through humankind, and generational blessings for the beautiful people of Ghana who inspired this work.
You can follow our journey on Instagram (@rootscollectivegh) and Facebook (Roots Collective GH)!
-Chasejamison Akilah Manar-Spears
Co-founder of Roots Collective GH
