DeepSummary
Mama Shu, also known as Shamayim Harris, is the founder and CEO of Avalon Village, an eco-village in Highland Park, a small suburb inside Detroit, Michigan. Her mission is to transform blight into beauty by creating a self-sustaining community with various entities such as parks, businesses, organizations, and communal spaces that foster peace and prosperity for its residents.
Mama Shu began her journey in 2007 by cleaning up a neglected block in Highland Park, where she was born. Over the years, she purchased properties, organized community efforts, and secured funding to build Avalon Village from the ground up. Today, the village owns 45 properties, making up 95% of the entire block.
Avalon Village boasts a range of entities, including Jacoby Ra Park, the Homework House, the Goddess Marketplace for women entrepreneurs, a STEM lab, a healing house, gardens, a basketball court, and more. Mama Shu's vision is to create a beautiful, safe, and nurturing environment where people can live, learn, and prosper.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- Mama Shu has transformed a neglected block in Highland Park, Detroit, into a thriving eco-village called Avalon Village, comprising various community spaces, businesses, and educational initiatives.
- Avalon Village's mission is to create a beautiful, safe, and nurturing environment that fosters healing, prosperity, and self-reliance for its residents.
- Through consistent action, community organizing, and securing resources, Mama Shu has built the village from the ground up, owning 45 properties and making up 95% of the block.
- The village features entities such as Jacoby Ra Park, the Homework House, the Goddess Marketplace, a STEM lab, a healing house, gardens, and a basketball court, among others.
- Mama Shu's holistic approach to community development embraces spiritual and cultural revitalization, aiming to restore balance and honor her departed loved ones.
- Her philosophy of local self-reliance emphasizes being a 'solutionist' and taking action to solve problems within one's community.
- Avalon Village's success is a testament to the transformative power of collective action, persistence, and community-driven initiatives.
- The village serves as an inspiration for others to embrace positive change and create nurturing spaces for personal and community growth.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “I believe that I should have eclectic coffee shops and, you know, a nice park to sit in and a space to put my dog and dog park and get, get training lessons in there, and a spot where you can have ice cream and somewhere where you can party at and the children can learn.“ by Mama Shoe
- “If someone doesn't understand or even just seek to understand what's going on and how it's happening and everything, that can be a limiting thing to them. I think that some people just openly embrace because they know they want change and they want to see something different, and they understand that somebody's actually doing it.“ by Mama Shoe
- “My job as a feminine entity on this planet is going to help to heal it, help to bring it back into balance, I would say. And so that is what my work is about, is about to helping to bring things back into balance.“ by Mama Shoe
- “Local self reliance means really being a solutionist, being able to solve the problems within an area that you think that you can actually do something about.“ by Mama Shoe
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Episode Information
Building Local Power
Institute for Local Self-Reliance
3/21/24