In this week’s episode of Spirit & Liberation, host Jeanette Charles-Márquez is joined by Iya Akilah Jaramogi—Paramount Chief of the Merikin Maroons of Trinidad & Tobago, cultural activist, reforestation pioneer, fire-fighter, and longtime Ifá practitioner. The Merikin Maroons are descendants of formerly enslaved Africans who gained freedom by serving alongside the British during the War of 1812 against the United States in the South. After their service, the Merikin Maroons were resettled in southern Trinidad between 1815 and 1816, where they established self-governing communities known as the “Company Villages.” Ever since, their maroon villages have become centers of over two centuries’ long spiritual practice and land stewardship. Building upon her ancestors’ journey, for over four decades, Iya Akilah has led visionary work at the intersection of environmental justice, ancestral memory, and spiritual practice. As founder and CEO of the Fondes Amandes Community Reforestation Project, she has cultivated a globally recognized model of community forestry grounded in balance, reciprocity, and the intersection of ancestral veneration and land sovereignty. This episode Iya Akilah elaborates on: Reforestation as a spiritual and ancestral practice, The legacy of Merikin Maroon resistance in Trinidad, And, how community-based land forestry challenges climate change, colonialism, and capitalism. This episode is an offering for everyone working to restore what colonization tried to erase—land and legacy.
Spirit & Liberation is a limited series podcast, brought to you by the Latinx Therapists Action Network, exploring the intersection of political struggle and sacred traditions.
Each episode brings you into conversation with organizers, spiritual practitioners, and healers committed to weaving ancestral wisdom into the fight for our collective liberation. This series explores how spirit moves through our movements—offering tools, stories, and truths for these times.
Links:
Latinx Therapists Action Network - http://ltan.org
Fondes Amandes Reforestation Project - https://www.facebook.com/facrp/ and https://www.instagram.com/fondesamandes_facrp/?hl=en