Meet Desiree (anakoniwa) Vargas

We recently connected with Desiree (anakoniwa) Vargas and have shared our conversation below.

Desiree (Anakoniwa), so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?

My ancestors were extraordinarily creative weavers, healers, artists, navigators of the water, and cultivators of the land. I too can carry on their legacy as I weave my way into history, and plant seeds of healing and resilience for the next generations.
I have always felt I have a purpose-driven life ever since I was a young child. I have always had a lot of empathy and concern about the world around me and what I could do to help others. The life I have lived has not always been the easiest, but my culture, spirituality, and purpose has kept me aligned on my path. As a survivor of racial violence and gender-based violence, my whole life mission is to support others and also alchemize wounds, imbalance, injustice, and sickness into something more magical, truthful, wholesome, balanced, and strong. I am committed to fighting for my community to have access to what I feel is “our divine birthright” which is healing, freedom, sovereignty, healing, cultural continuation, earth stewardship, and wellness.
I have many beautiful things to be thankful for such as my family, my babies, my home, my tribe, my community, my friends, my job, and the many opportunities I have had that allow me to learn, explore, and enjoy life. I also have endured things that I did not deserve like living in a rural and racially homogenous community that was not safe for my family of color when we settled there. My house was shot and we were almost driven out of town as we were considered outsiders. I have been justice-impacted, raped, sexually assaulted, physically harmed, poverty impacted, lived with racial battle fatigue from racism, impacted by domestic violence and emotional abuse, have experienced miscarriage and family separation, and have endured many other forms of systemic and generational trauma.
Yet, I am not my trauma only, I am my healing. It takes one person in your family or community to be the change they wish to see and be the role model they wish they had. It took a lot of inner work and reflection for me to say to myself, “Although unfair things have happened, I refuse to let pain turn into me harming myself or others. I have learned from strong matriarchs that I have what it takes to care for my well-being and break generational traumas. I will live my purpose and my purpose will nourish myself and others around me. My purpose will serve as my guide for navigating hardships, making decisions, setting priorities, and focusing on my dreams.” When guided by a clear sense of purpose you will feel resilient, focused, and more satisfied. With purpose, I have been motivated to stay on my path even in tough circumstances. With purpose, I can align myself with others who live a purpose-driven life as well and we can support one another in accomplishing beautiful things. Many people who live life with purpose have done deep introspection, have built strong values, and pursued goals with positivity and great faith.
I found purpose in my passions, explorations, education, life experiences, sorrow, and joy. I am a multi-business owner, a DEIA educator, and consultant, an herbalist, a mother, a Higuayagua Taino tribal member, an auntie, a women’s circle facilitator, a food sovereignty advocate and worker, a gardener, a homeowner, licensed to practice massage therapy, a social justice advocate, and a graduate of an anthropology major. I have been given the opportunity to teach and speak to hundreds of youth and adults across the state, facilitate healing retreats, and connect people to their path of holistic wellness. I have made positive changes in my life and in the lives of others. I love supporting others to pursue their purpose through truth, wellness, and connection.
Life has many ups and downs and some things are outside of our control. The best thing I can encourage others to do is to cultivate tools of resilience, and healthy coping mechanisms, and dig deep into living for a purpose. If you are trying to find your purpose; ask yourself, what fills my cup? What makes me feel fulfilled? Do these fulfillments only serve myself or others too? Can I find the beautiful balance that supports both self and others? Many studies show that altruistic behavior such as volunteering, donating, or supporting others often leads to higher levels of happiness, life satisfaction, and even better physical health. There may be a spiritual and ecological reason for this. We are all interconnected. It is medicine for our spirits to love and be kind to others, but also that includes ourselves. If we can find a balance in pouring into ourselves and others we will find a purpose that is not draining, but fulfilling.
When you live with purpose and have values that nourish and support your purpose, no matter what rocks your life, is a distraction, or is happening in the world around you, being solid in your purpose and values will keep you grounded. We are all influenced by our families, culture, and community growing up. Additionally, we all are influenced by our experiences. Ultimately it is our job as human adults to take initiative and responsibility to journey inwards, reflect, adapt, and honor our purpose. Our purpose is our story and the legacy we leave behind when we dance our way back to the stars at the end of our lives. What is your purpose? What story will you weave into the fabric of life that connects the past, present, and future and is intertwined with the stories of everyone else on earth?

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I am a Taino-Boricua, Cape Verdean, and Portuguese mother of a toddler and expecting another on the way. I currently reside in Wabanaki territory – Maine. I work for a wonderful non-profit Presnete! Maine for the food and land sovereignty program while juggling motherhood, teaching at local universities, facilitating DEIA trainings and professional developments, consulting for my LLP – Equity Consulting and Education Firm, working at a small nonprofit – Racial Equity and Justice OrganizationI co-founded, volunteering for my tribe – Higuayagua, and building up my own holistic wellness business that I am working on launching slowly, but surely – Healing Roots. I am focused on supporting others through social justice, earth stewardship, and holistic wellness. I want to motivate other women who have also experiences loss and trauma to choose healthy pathways for living and joyful leading.
I am most excited to give birth, be a mama of two littles, and focus on my personal healing, growth, my little homestead, and multi-careers.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Three qualities that have been most impactful in my life journey have been truth, courage, and love. Without honing in on these values and seeking to deepen my relationship with what these powerful energies are I would not be here today. My advice is to listen to your intuition, connect deeply with yourself and the earth, cut out the noise from the world around you, and travel inward. Journey to find self-limiting beliefs, restrictions that make you inflexible, lies you have taught, destructive coping mechanisms, disruptions in your journey to love yourself and others, and trauma blocking your pathways to wellness and connection to the earth. Everyone can be radicalized by truth, courage, and love. These qualities can disrupt the status quo and power dynamics. These three qualities can be seen as vulnerable and authentic to a society that values being hardened and falsehood. These qualities require commitment internally and externally no matter what and no matter who is around to influence you.

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?

I am always looking for people to colloborate with. I believe the best way to care for ourselves and community is through partnership and working together. If you are someone who is a mompreneur, a DEIA educator, in the food sovereignty field, or wellness field; I would love to chat or find ways we can support one another and build community.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://equityconsultingeducation.com
• Instagram: Desiree.nicki
• Other: https://www.racialequityandjustice.org