The Vision.

Dream it.

Ummah Sustained K-8 school age respite site allowing for necessary routine maintenance breaks for homeschooling parents. Your child will be in an inclusive creative thinking space surrounded by caring professionals learning applicable life skills. Ummah Sustained is currently affiliated with WSU Master Gardening Outreach educators with background in Environmental Science, Outdoor Education, STEM, and Language Arts. Ummah Sustained and Black Star Line delivers a well rounded experience with all core curriculum’s focused on Afrocentric Stewardship and Sustainability. 

A group of homeschooling mothers’ commitment to breaking cycles of intergenerational trauma both caused and endured by their ancestors

Ummah Sustained aims to continue to grow as an Black Owned and operated farm. Providing generational legacy by way of Spiritual respite to our youth, as well food, skills and opportunity to our community.

Homeschooling course options:

-Certified  Jr Master Gardeners Program, Urban farming, Agu./Food Revolution, soil sustainability, Weather and Climate Curriculum and Community Stewards 

-Precolonial History

Conscious True US History Studies, Afrocentric world history, Emotional ABC’s, Improv, Art, LiveJournal

-Home Economics: Baking, Sewing, Loom Weaving, Basket Making, STEM Tinker Kits, Kiwi Kits, Biology Lab kits, Mystery Science Experiments 

-Language Arts: Arabic, French, English, Spanish, and American Sign Language 

-Global Citizen Travel Now available VR opportunities to visit sustainable farms and cultural centers.

What next for Modest Family Solutions;

Modest Family Solutions Youth Enrichment Services programming is to promote positive youth development by encouraging communities and agencies to build upon the positive assets of youth. Our mission to help youth transition from adolescence to adulthood through acquisition supportive relationships within Food Justice.

Build it.

Modest Family Solutions aims to secure food sovereignty by leading a social enterprise that optimizes green agriculture, economics and environmental impacts through initiatives including: zero-barriers tomorrow food, distributing culturally mindful content, land access, agroecology education, multi generation healing space and much more…

Economic Development Training 

• Halal Meat Poultry Processing

• Forklift Drivers Certification

• Warehouse Safety 

• Ag Biz Entrepreneurship 

• Cottage Food Production

• Indoor Ag

Food Justice Training

• Certified WSDA Producer  

• Hydroponic Producer 

• Permaculture Design Certification

• Trauma Informed Restorative Healing Circles

Youth Development Program ( 8-18)

• Jr. Master Gardener 

• Youth Agroecology Basics 

• Youth Entrepreneurial Empowerment- 4-H

We offer environmental education programs for children pre-K thru high school to build their comfort in the outdoors and provide them with opportunities to learn about the links between agriculture, conservation, and the environment.

To restore and sustain habitat. We carry out conservation projects and research to learn how humans can use land responsibly while protecting biodiversity.

Grow it.

Black Seed Agroecological Village and Farm was created in 2022 by Modest Family Solutions, a local nonprofit dedicated to building food sovereignty through afro-centric youth education, after it was awarded 10 acres of land by the national nonprofit Agrarian Trust. 

Now, Black Seed aspires to use the newly acquired land as a space where Black farmers and members of the Black community can learn, heal, and reconnect with nature. At the same time, Black Seed will benefit the Whidbey Island community at large, through providing it with access to healthy, affordable food.

“[Black Seed Farm] is about bringing people back to community, whether it’s going out, picking food in the day, and then having it for lunch or dinner. It’s about being able to roam but then also seeing your neighbor and being able to connect,” explained Adasha Turner, the founder of Black Seed, and executive director of Modest Family Solutions. 

Turner plans on transforming Black Seed’s 10 acres into a production farm, wellness retreat, and educational center. Black Seed Agroecology Farm and Village will become land for two acres of cropland, container farms, housing for staff and visitors, and a community center. 

After the necessary infrastructure is set in place, Black Seed will distribute part of the land to aspiring farmers, with a special emphasis on serving BIPOC farmers and members of the local refugee community. These farmers will benefit from access to Modest Family Solutions network of distribution centers, which disseminate healthy food at affordable rates to the residents of Whidbey Island.

Education and wellness will be another critical part of Black Seed’s mission. “Black folks have a really bad relationship with farming,” explained Turner, referring to the wide set of factors, including the legacy of American slavery and land dispossession, that have complicated many Black Americans’ relationship to agriculture. “Now that I’m working in food security, I’ve realized that we can’t afford to have that. We need to heal.” 

At Black Seed, this healing work will take place through educational programming that celebrates the rich farming traditions of Africa and the African diaspora, while confronting the history of slavery and racism in the United States. Black Seed will also offer a permaculture design course, where aspiring farmers can learn farming techniques that combine the best of perennial gardening and regenerative agriculture. At the same time, the farm will serve as a space for people to simply relax and reconnect with nature.

“I want to have lavender fields, meditation spaces outside, and to have people wake up, walk outside, and be able to enjoy a breath of fresh air,” said Turner.

Black Seed Agroecological Village and Farm is still in the beginning stages of development. As is the case with most new farming operations, there’s a lot of work that needs to be done before the farm can begin operating at full capacity. New fields need to be cultivated, perennials planted, and new buildings constructed. Turner is currently working with the Washington State Department of Agriculture to define water rights on the farm, and to identify the source of surface water that covers part of the land.

The work of Black Seed is more important now than ever. As land prices continue to increase and impede Black farmers’ ability to access land, Black Seed will provide a space where people can heal, learn, and gain firsthand experience growing food, all while stepping away from the stress of modern life. 

“It’s important to have those spaces where folks and cultures can come together, have conversations, and have healing moments,” said Turner. “We don’t have enough environments where we can stop and reset.”