ABOUT FROM THE ROOTS
One garden. One conviction.
A growing community.
THE STORY
From The Roots did not begin with a plan. It began with a garden.
Poornima Magadevan — technologist, author, artist, and steward — started growing her own food as a personal practice. What began as curiosity became conviction: that the most powerful act of care available to any of us is to grow something, tend something, and share what we know.
The garden became Punarvana — a living practice of care, observation and sustenance. And from Punarvana, From The Roots grew. Because what was true in one garden needed to be true in many.
What started as a seed library and a simple offer of free seeds has grown into something broader — a community nonprofit bringing people together through nature, creativity, learning, connection, and well-being. Four programs. Hundreds of gardens. A growing network of partners, volunteers, and community members committed to building something lasting together.
WHAT WE BELIEVE
Nature connects us.
Growth — in the soil and in ourselves — begins when we slow down and pay attention. We believe time spent in nature is time spent becoming more human.
Creativity is for everyone.
Art, writing, and creative expression are not luxuries — they are ways of making sense of the world and sharing that sense with others. Every person deserves access to a creative life.
Learning never stops.
We believe in education that lives outside classrooms — in gardens, workshops, community spaces, and shared stories. Knowledge grows best when it is rooted in experience.
Connection is the foundation.
Community is not built by proximity alone. It is built through shared purpose, honest conversation, and showing up for each other. We create spaces where that happens.
Well-being is collective.
When individuals thrive, communities thrive. When communities thrive, individuals thrive. We tend both.
OUR PROGRAMS
From The Roots operates through four programs — each rooted in partnership and community.
Grow & Give — Nature, gardening and food growing
In partnership with Punarvana
Art for All — Visual arts and creative workshops
In partnership with Poorni's Artistry
Words Unbound — Creative writing and publishing support
In partnership with Living Words
Kindred Connections — Peer support and community well-being
A From The Roots program · Coming soon
THE GARDEN WHERE IT LIVES
Punarvana is Poornima's personal garden — the place where the mission of From the Roots is practised every day. It is a garden of observation, experimentation, and seasonal rhythm. What grows there informs what From The Roots shares with the community — from seed saving techniques to seasonal growing guidance.
The insights from Punarvana are shared through The Dialogue on poornimamagadevan.com — a quiet record of garden mornings and the living threads that connect food, culture and creativity.
THE FOUNDER
Poornima Magadevan is a technologist with more than two decades of industry experience, an author, an artist, and a steward based in the Pacific Northwest. She founded From The Roots out of a personal belief that communities become more resilient when people come together around shared purpose.
From The Roots is one expression of her broader practice — which spans her literary work under Living Words, her creative studio Poorni's Artistry, her heirloom seed and nursery venture Punarvana, and her technology ventures through StriveX Technologies.
THOSE WHO MAKE IT POSSIBLE
From The Roots is a 100% volunteer-led initiative. We are grateful to our program partners, seed donors, and community supporters who make the work possible.
From The Roots is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organisation. All donations are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law. EIN: 87-3664838
Program Partners
Punarvana — Grow & Give program
Poorni's Artistry — Art for All program
Living Words — Words Unbound program
Seed Donors Burpee Gardening · Osborne Quality Seeds · Hudson Seeds · Victory Seed Company · Ferry Morse · Hope Seeds Inc. · Sow True Seeds · and many other Seed Donors
Partner Organizations From the Roots is a registered seed hub with the Cooperative Gardens Commission. Learn More About CGC → coopgardens.com/