<\/p>\n
With a little over a year under her belt as owner of Zuma Natural Foods, Kate Wall is now able to reflect on the twists, turns and people that led her to Mancos \u2013 and her new life.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are a lot of parts and pieces that went into everything, that has made those shifts happen,\u201d Wall said at a recent presentation she gave at Mancos Public Library, as part of the library\u2019s \u201cBusinesses in our Backyard\u201d series. \u201cBut just the fact that it all continues to come together and have synergy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her reflections revolve around the empowerment of change, of taking chances and searching for community. And, of course, on the importance of earthy, natural foods in her life.<\/p>\n
Wall grew up in Minnesota, the daughter of a pastor and a social worker and the granddaughter of farmers \u2013 all of whom influenced her future proclivities. She spent a lot of time working with the disabled community growing up, which has been a constant thread throughout her life.<\/p>\n
But it was a trip to Guatemala after high school that led her to the natural foods world.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the things I was really aware of in Guatemala is how horrible our food system is to people living in poverty. \u2026 I got a huge education just from being immersed in a country where food is grown,\u201d said.<\/p>\n
When she returned to Minnesota, she turned to farming, which she did for 16 years, along with working at a food cooperative. Her roots were deeply entrenched there \u2013 her ancestors had immigrated to the area before Minnesota was even a state.<\/p>\n
All of which made it more monumental when parts of her life unraveled a few years ago, she said. She made the decision to leave a long-term relationship, and after struggling with the politics of the food cooperative, severed ties with that organization as well.<\/p>\n
She spent a few months \u201cin hiding,\u201d she said, until, with a little help from some friends, she packed up her Toyota Camry and left Northfield, Minnesota, not quite sure of her direction, beyond a general desire to reach the ocean.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were two things I was clear about,\u201d Wall said. \u201cOne, I was not going to be a farmer again, and two, I was not going to work in natural retail foods.\u201d<\/p>\n
But she never made it to the ocean. And Mancos residents know how that food retail commitment worked out.<\/p>\n
She stopped by Mancos in the summer of 2017 to visit her friend Sarah Allen, owner of the Painted Turtle Studio, and slowly became more involved in the community, especially in the \u201cRosa Belongs Here<\/a>\u201d campaign in support of Rosa Sabido, an undocumented immigrant who has been living in sanctuary at Mancos United Methodist Church since June 2017.<\/p>\n \u201cI remember being at the press conference and just being floored by the number of people there,\u201d Wall said. \u201cAnd how people really were like, \u2018Listen, a member of our community is about to be deported, and instead we\u2019re going to take her here and keep her here because she\u2019s a member of our community, and she deserves sanctuary.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n