Gratitude to the ancestors of past, present and future. The legacy we leave.

Welcome to Bees of the Indigo Bakersfield, Ca

About

The Bees of Indigo Sacred House centers earth learning, healing, and alterative sacred practice that reconnects us with the land, our ancestors, each other and ultimately empowers us towards personal & collective sovereignty. We believe in food security, equitable global sovereignty, ancestral connection, and creative healing practice that liberates the mind, body, and spirit. We believe in fostering learning environments that provide our clients, customers, partners, and the communities we work in with space to build together to unpack history, decolonize frameworks, encourage healthier practices, bridge generational understanding, celebrate our collective cultural differences and diversities, and embrace community empowerment perspectives through the practice of our sacred ancestral methods.

We believe in working as a team with organizations, creatives, business owners, and traditional or alternative schools to build upon sustainable short-term or long-term project opportunities that meet the needs of the communities we work side-by-side with. We believe in the process of building, planning, fundraising, and sustaining programs that prioritize community-based needs, such as employment, food security, creative entrepreneurship, mental health, spiritual alignment, and more. We strive to empower the communities we work with by working together to build innovative solutions to the challenges faced in our society.

At the Indigo House we provide regular community classes, host private workshops and offer space for creators to host their community center events, activities, retreats and sustainability initiatives.

There is a hosting fee. We ask that 20% of the hosting fee go towards our Sweet Cause Donation Fund that provides need-based resources and free classes for BIPOC under resourced communities in need.

About Ase' O Education Program

The powerful history of bottle trees originated in the Congo in the 9th century. It has deep roots in the Caribbean, the deep South of the U.S., and Egypt and Mesopotamia in 1600 BC. By tying them or hanging the bottles upside down, this ancient practice was used as talismans or juju to protect the home by warding off or catching evil spirits to allow the sun to rid them. During the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, this wealthy wisdom was carried with our ancestors during their enslavement and brought to the United States, especially South Carolina and Appalachia.

Later, the Europeans assumed our sacred tradition of Southern Plantains. Glass Bottle Trees or "Haint Trees" are still heavily practiced in Southern culture and found in the Carolinas, Georgia, Mississippi, and Louisiana. Traditionally, our ancestors used Crepe Myrtle and brass metal trees, which we can mostly see now.

Bottle colors are optional, but cobalt blue is often seen and associated with water and spirit. Inside the bottles, our ancestors filled them with special elixirs, oil spices, and blends with intentions placed at crossroad locations, in front of homes, backyards, and any meeting places.

We believe in the importance of mutual aid and collaboration, so we strive to plug in where needed, build together and with what we can offer that moves equitably. We use the approaches of education as activism, cultural arts as healing, community empowerment, and creative thinking that leads to better lives.

We utilize these approaches to exchange and promote community self-reliance against white supremacy, prejudice teachings, scarcity mindset, and other forms of oppression.

We believe communities thrive when their basic needs are met, including their sense of safety, belonging, creativity, purpose, exploration, social awareness, mental health and spiritual connection. In addition, resources are not always readily available to our communities, so we use creative fundraising to support gathering those resources. As each of us exchange and pour into ourselves and our communities, we collectively provide for our communities, giving each of us the autonomy and wisdom to sustain the needs of our communities.

We offer and partner with the other community members through fundraiser workshops, retreats, events, circles, community service opportunities, and exchange resources through skill development or volunteering for folks with constraints. No one will be turned away due to monetary difficulties.

Though we offer programming, we also call on the community to use the space to pour back into the community, themselves, and the sacred space with their tenderness and direction toward freedom.

Archive: Events

Thank you to our former space, Bakersfield!

Community Love
Cookout Fundraiser

Community Love Fundraiser

Bakersfield, CA

October 28, 2023

We want to thank our community collaborators,

Food sponsor, Community Interventions

Hygiene product donations, Now Alternative Soulutions (NAS)

Autumn Equinox Moon Bonfire

Bees of the Indigo Opening: Community Love Fundraiser October 2023

Donation Bin

Former Indigo Community Garden

Workshops

Our listed workshops are facilitated by our Founder, Educator, and Creativity-Instructional Coach, Jaee Sumter.

Jaee facilitates workshops in-person at the Indigo House, virtually via Zoom, and travels to you for group and individual sessions. Workshops can be long-term partnerships with organizations, instructions, and individuals or short-term for one day.

Individuals can facilitate paid in-person workshops at the Indigo House and virtually.