About Sarvodaya Institute

Sarvodaya Institute works and operates on unceded and occupied Tongva land (also known as Pomona, CA). We acknowledge and offer our deepest thanks to the Tongva people for the centuries of care and love they offered to this beautiful land we now call home. Our greatest hope is to learn from our indigenous family and return to the beautiful relationship between people and land we all deserve.

We are a nonprofit organization under the IRS Code Section 501(c)(3) with an EIN of: 82-3895964.

Our Mission

To uplift communities through transformative land-based work that heals people and Earth.

Our Intention

Sarvodaya Institute works towards the upliftment of all, recognizing that we are all part of one great life and that our individual healing is our collective healing. Our work starts in the garden, a place where we can recognize ourselves in the soil, plants, insects, animals, and each other. We recognize all of this Earth (including all people) as one garden, requiring care, nourishment and love.

We recognize colonial aggression against land-nourishing communities as the underlying cause of damage and destruction to our body, and are committed to the disassembly and decomposition of colonial power structures through all of our work. Through our work, we hope to spotlight, uplift, and support land-nourishing cultures, especially in our local Tongva/Pomona region.

Our Story

Sarvodaya Institute grew out of The Growing Home, a demonstration garden established in 2011 to show how the (sub)urban world can transition away from isolation and consumption and towards creativity, community, and connection.

Since then, our scope and our impact has expanded dramatically, as we have recognized the depths of trauma caused by centuries of domination, slavery and genocide here on Turtle Island (so-called U.S.) and across the globe. We now work to support people in remembering their role as caregivers and lovers of our collective EarthBody, through the practice of gardening and farming. We see this as crucial work in reclaiming our agency, dismantling colonial culture and building a culture based on healing and regeneration.

Come learn from us by visiting our demonstration gardens, coming by our Nursery, or attending any of our events and workshops. Learn with us monthly and support our work by becoming a Supporting Member. Members receive our Monthly Online Gardening Lesson for free with their membership.

Through our gardens we work towards the revitalization and healing of this Earth, recognizing that healing of people and soil as one life and body.

Our Logo

Our Rising Earth logo is visual representation of our name Sarvodaya, which means "upliftment of all".

In all we do, we aim to uplift and heal our beautiful body Earth as one living being, including all of the organisms that make up their being.

We see no separation among the organisms of this planet. Instead, we see organisms making organs, and organs fulfilling roles and functions. We work to fulfill our role individually and collectively and create space for others to remember and fill their roles.

Our Staff

Lauren Gibson
Farm Manager

Email Lauren

Hello! I’m Lauren Gibson, an earth dweller who loves learning and teaching about our plant relatives. While I was studying to become an educator, I began to listen and connect with the local ecology around me. I then decided I wanted to share with others the beautiful things the plants were teaching me. While earth is the real teacher, I hope to guide others into finding joy in connecting to place. Today I am walking the path to share that our relationship between self and the earth is reciprocal. My work is rooted in uplifting diversity and community, with the belief that as we collectively work to heal the earth, the earth heals us.

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Simonne Flores
Assistant Farm Manager

Email Simonne

Hi I'm Simonne. I've lived in SoCal my whole life and have been stewarding plants for about 10 years now. A professor shared with me that what we do with our lives often reflects what we loved to do as children, and for me that was playing in the soil of my grandma's garden in Boyle Heights.Between studying Plant Science at Cal Poly Pomona, caring for native plants at California Botanic Garden, and tending to elementary school gardens with Garden School Foundation, what I've come to learn is that the plants will often care for themselves and the challenge is organizing the relationships and systems alongside them.I am grateful to be at Sarvodaya Farms and within the thresholds of food sovereignty, environmental justice, and earthly education. Like the earth, it is at the thresholds where the most change can occur - where the river meets the soil and the mountains meet the sky. I look forward to learning alongside you sometime and am grateful for you being here :sunny:

Our Board

Evelyn Wu (she/her)
Chairperson of the Board

Evelyn has a decade of nonprofit and startup leadership experience building systems to scale marketing, technology, and teams in high-growth, fast-paced environments. She is currently a Program Manager at the UCLA Depression Grand Challenge, where she delivers evidence-based mental health programs to underserved communities. In her spare time, she enjoys playing taiko drums and planning the downfall of capitalism.

Arthi Radhakrishnan (she/her)
Board Member

Arthi is a longtime gardener and professional software engineer. She is passionate about decolonizing spaces that have long been antagonistic to people of color and women. She currently works at Community.com. For moments of joy, Arthi loves to cook fresh food, play with alpacas and goats, and going on hikes in the San Gabriels and Santa Monica Mountains.

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Jennifer Wong
Treasurer

Jen is an emergency nurse and long-time activist that has traveled the world in her work towards bringing justice and equality to strategically undervalued communities. She is also a board member of Refugee Health Alliance, and regularly travels to the US-Mexico border to provide medical aid to migrating people.

Jason Jia
Board Secretary

Jason studied engineering at Stanford University and then went to Harvard Law School, going on to practice corporate law and intellectual property litigation in Los Angeles. He's grateful to have an opportunity to advise Sarvodaya Institute on corporate governance issues and other legal matters to ensure that the organization continues its rewarding work.