WHO WE ARE
ASE Cooperative is not just another initiative, it's a movement for liberation grounded in the belief that the radical act of reclaiming our history and our knowledge is a vital part of the healing process. We are a decentralized community centric model, an answer to the timely call to build a world where community care, sustainable practices ARE the work.
What is ASE?
AṢE (Ah-Shay) is a Yoruba word meaning "so it is," "the power to make things happen," and "life force." It embodies the sacred energy that flows through all things—our intentions, our actions, and our collective movements toward liberation. ASE is the power of manifestation, the breath of our ancestors, and the affirmation of our resilience.
We channel this energy into our work—building pathways for food sovereignty, sustainability, and communal well-being. We invoke ASE in our kitchens, our gardens, our healing spaces, and our organizing efforts, knowing that our liberation is not just a vision but a reality we are actively creating.
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Fawohodie: A Symbol of Liberation
At ASE, we embrace the Fawohodie symbol—an Adinkra representation of freedom, emancipation, and independence—as a guiding principle in our work toward community care, food sovereignty, and Black and Brown reclamation. Rooted in the Akan tradition, Fawohodie speaks to the right to self-determination, a concept deeply embedded in our mission to reclaim and redefine relationships with land, food, and collective well-being.
Coming Up Next
Why Fawohodie Matters to Our Cooperative
By embracing Fawohodie, we collectively affirm that our work is more than food, it is a movement toward self-sufficiency, autonomy, and the restoration of our cultural inheritance. We honor the wisdom of our ancestors while forging new paths toward liberation, ensuring that future generations inherit a world where food is a right, not a privilege, and where our communities flourish on our own terms.
Community Care & Collective Liberation
Fawohodie reminds us that true liberation is communal. It thrives when we build sustainable systems that nourish and uplift each other. Our cooperative fosters spaces where knowledge, resources, and traditions are shared, ensuring access to healing, sustenance, and economic autonomy for our communities.
Food Sovereignty & Ancestral Reclamation
The fight for food justice is inseparable from the fight for freedom. As a cooperative, we recognize the historical disconnection of Black and Brown communities from land and food systems due to colonization, enslavement, and systemic oppression. Fawohodie calls us to reclaim ancestral agricultural practices, rebuild local food economies, and center Indigenous and African diasporic foodways as acts of resistance and self-determination.
Black & Brown Reclamation
In a world that often commodifies and erases our cultural knowledge, Fawohodie stands as a call to reclaim what is ours—our histories, our stories, our herbal and culinary traditions, and our ability to define our own futures. Our cooperative serves as a living, breathing manifestation of this reclamation, reinvesting power into the hands of our communities through education, resource-sharing, and mutual aid.
MEET THE CO-FOUNDERS
Alex Booker
A proud Madison native, Alex excels in fostering community through his work with the land. In addition to coordinating the Black Excellence life readiness cooking series, he also cultivates culturally significant crops at Firm Footing Farm, which he integrates into his culinary and herbalism workshops. Alex is committed to addressing the historical disconnection Black Americans have with the land. His overarching mission is to help individuals reconnect with their food systems and the land.
Charisse Daniels-Johnson
Charisse is a mother of 8, dedicated advocate for health equity, and a community organizer. Rooted in restorative practices, her approach emphasizes healing both people and the land through a deep connection to nature and conservation. Her expertise highlights the medicinal and culinary uses of herbs, blending ancestral knowledge with modern practices to inspire others to reconnect with food, nature, and ancestral wisdom. Charisse’s work bridges her knowledge of systems change with her passion for eco-justice and empowering communities through sustainable practices that restore ecosystems and nurture collective healing.
Sebastian Hassell
Sebastian is a dedicated Black Farmer and food-systems and community development professional with a Master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning (MURP). With a strong background in development and community engagement, Sebastian specializes in food systems planning, community-supported agriculture, and the cultivation of Southern and Diaspora crops. His passion lies in creating a more just and equitable world, particularly for the most marginalized communities. A visionary in the realm of food justice, Sebastian integrates his urban planning expertise with reconnecting communities to their heritage through the cultivation of crops that hold historical and nutritional value.
