Values
Our values apply to the whole OASIS ecosystem: humans and plants; community and earth.
Respect and Dignity
Every living being has the right to respect and dignity. OASIS upholds and empowers respectful relations and dignified lives. We uphold dignity of the person through a holistic understanding of mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being.
Diversity
Resilient systems are diverse. Healthy ecosystems are diverse. We know that beauty and wisdom are held within and between diverse living beings. OASIS enables diverse peoples to come together in mutual support and care. And for delicious recipes!
Community Well-Being
OASIS activates connected and friendly communities. As a model of mutual aid and support, OASIS operates from the understanding that individual and community health are tied together, along with the health of our environment and our planet; aligned with comprehensive understandings of wellbeing such as the Canadian Index of Wellbeing.
Environmental Care
“Here’s a lesson,” Chickasaw poet and storyteller Linda Hogan tells us, “what happens to the earth and what happens to people is the same thing.” OASIS helps people walk more softly on the earth without compromising a thriving lifestyle. OASIS aims to honours The Dish With One Spoon Wampum: a treaty between the Anishinaabe, Mississaugas and Haudenosaunee that bound them to share the territory and protect the land. Subsequent Indigenous Nations and peoples, Europeans and all newcomers, have been invited into this treaty in the spirit of peace, friendship and respect.
Innovation and Creativity
OASIS affirms and commits to the right of all people, and especially vulnerable communities, to take part in cultural life and to enjoy the benefits of scientific improvements (Article 15 of the International Covenant on Economic, Cultural, and Social Rights). OASIS aims to bring improvements in sustainable and urban agriculture together with innovative cultural and social organizational models.
OASIS particularly recognizes the importance of empowering children and youth to take leadership roles in their communities, climate change adaptation and mitigation.
Informed and Genuine Democratic Participation
The co-operative governance model ensures that every member of an OASIS Food Hub has a say in major decisions. Informed democracy is made possible through information distribution, and a strong commitment to education and training of Food Hub members, community, children and youth.
OASIS Food Hubs affirm the right of all people to genuine democratic participation, with particular support for the participation of women, elders, and children.
All of these values work towards the fulfillment of Universal Human Rights and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, in particular the right to adequate, healthy food for everyone.