About Nawaya, LLC

We are a growing community of social artists of the diaspora, setting up headquarters on the edge of Cherokee, NC.

Support a People-of-Color-led
& cooperatively owned
village making initiative.

FOOD ART + CULTURE OASIS

fundraiser

Located in Tsalaguwetiyi
(Cherokee, East)

We are a social artist team committed to creative and pragmatic strategies which actualize thriving, sustainable, socially-just, and ecologically-responsible communities. We partner with others to develop regenerative pathways for racial equity, food sovereignty, and community economics. We deeply value cooperative systems, values-led strategies, and proactive care for Ecology.

We come with respect and gratitude to this land and the original people who have and do reside here.

It is our responsibility and honor to work for reconciliation, and to reframe our relationship with indigenous lands and communities here in the Blue Ridge Mountains

Our Founding Team

  • Alina Talyad

  • Darryl Finkton

  • Mike Talyad

  • Mario Piccolo

  • Catina Clarice Briscoe

  • Max Segovia

  • Brittany Edmondson

  • Ehdohlee C.S. Espinosa

Contribute to our solution-based efforts to empower ourselves to meet today’s challenges while living vibrantly, with care for each other and our Earth.

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Nawaya, LLC is a BIPOC-led regenerative real estate and community development enterprise focused on designing small-scale, values-aligned communities rooted in land stewardship, care, and cultural integrity. Nawaya develops place-based projects that integrate housing, food systems, creative enterprise, and cooperative economic models as practical alternatives to extractive development. Through pilot sites, consulting, and community design work, Nawaya demonstrates how land and infrastructure can be stewarded in ways that support long-term resilience, economic dignity, and shared prosperity.