ROOTS: What We Believe

Cambium Collective believes that to grow a just and equitable world, we need approaches to change that lead to the actual transformation of ourselves, the places that we work, and the communities where we live. In this moment where continued social violence is paired with the ever growing urgency of climate change, Cambium Collective offers a range of services & processes that are grounded in our understandings of power and healing that enable us to nurture transformation--for our systems and for ourselves.

Together, we are guided by the following values:

Integrity: We continuously strive for greater alignment between our values and how we use our power to engage with the world, both internally and externally.
Collective Liberation: Recognizing that all struggles for liberation are interconnected and that pulling at one thread of oppression eventually pulls at all the others.
Regeneration: Returning to our inherent wholeness, including reconnection with the earth. Recognizing that the systems of domination that oppress humans are the same systems of domination that exploit the land, and that reconnection with the earth is a vital part of engaging our full humanity.
Interdependence and Relational Organizing: Understanding that our survival and thriving is dependent upon being in right relationship with each other. Relationships are the bedrock of our collective power.
Respect of Spirituality: We acknowledge the Divine, and honor the myriad ways of choosing to engage (or not engage) with it. We believe that everyone has the right to their own relationship with divinity, and valuing the learning that can come from the many ways of relating to the non-material world. We respect those with and without personal relationships to faith.
Racial & Economic Justice: We commit to co-creating a world where racial hierarchies are eliminated and Black people, Indigenous people, and all people of color have the dignity, resources, power, and self-determination to fully thrive. We understand that in a fundamentally Anti-Black society, Pro-Blackness is necessary for racial justice. We also understand that poverty is engineered by a system that values profit over people, and that class solidarity is necessary for the solutions we seek.
Disability Justice: We commit to creating accessible spaces for all people, regardless of ability; integrating accessibility and care into our facilitation and organizational practices, including being transparent about our own experiences with disability. Understanding that disability comes for us all, and that all of us benefit from a more accessible, less disabling world.
Gender Justice: We commit to transforming power relationships, and challenging the systems that make gender a barrier to thriving. Creating spaces where societal designations of gender do not determine our ability to thrive in the world. Developing practices where power relationships are visible and altered to provide for the safety and well-being of folks of all genders, including trans, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming folks.

These core beliefs form the roots of the way that we are building our collective, working with each other, our work and the services that we provide:

Relationships are the foundation upon which we build our power together.
Conflict and feedback are nourishment for discovery and growth.
Change is inevitable. We can help shape that change.
To create a just & equitable world, structural, cultural, and personal transformation are essential.
The roots of systemic oppressions are interwoven and mutually reinforcing.
Moments of great change can occur quickly, but the work of sustaining and nurturing transformation takes long-term effort.
By resisting and transforming systems of oppression, we create spaces where living fully is possible.
We must nourish and resource the leadership, vision, presence, and creativity of those who have been most impacted by systems of oppression in order to be successful.
Clear is Kind.
If you wanna go fast, go alone. If you wanna go far, go Together.