Our Mission
To support the next generation of South Asian* youth in creating a world of peace & justice — within their lives, their communities, and with their friends of all backgrounds.
KNOW YOUR ROOTS.
Know your history. Know where you come from. Where you come from shapes where you are headed.
Did you know that Banyan Trees drop baby roots from their branches? Those roots are pulled by gravity over many years, down into the soil. Then they become trunks, trees, and forests of their own! At The Banyan Tree, we treat our youth with the respect that our future forests deserve.
BRANCH OUT.
Explore your passions, self-expression and cultural expression. All parts of your identity and heritage are important.
Did you know there is a Banyan Tree in India that has a canopy of branches that spreads over 5 acres?! It even holds a Guinness World Record. At The Banyan Tree, we want our youth to explore far and wide through international trips, outdoor education, and more.
GROW TOGETHER.
Build lifelong friendships with the belief that every life is precious. Caring relationships and collective purpose are the foundation of people and communities.
Did you know the word “banyan" comes from “bania,” the Gujarati word for trader. The Portuguese saw people gathering and trading under these massive trees in India, and named the tree after the traders. Silly colonizers! Like The Banyan Tree, these beautiful trees were a place of shad and sanctuary for many people to gather and grow together.
*By South Asian, we mean people with an ancestor that originated from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Tibet, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Burma, Afghanistan, and the Maldives — including diasporas from the Caribbean, Fiji, Africa, and elsewhere. We know that the term “South Asian” doesn’t roll off the tongue quite like “Punjabi” or “Sri Lankan” or “Guyanese.” We use the term “South Asian” to communicate that we are a space for all of us with this shared history and culture.
Our Programs
We fulfill this mission through our camps, clubs, and classes based in Berkeley, CA, designed for the specific needs of:
Youth
Elementary & Middle School
Join our year-round classes and summer camps to build lifelong friendships, and learn about South Asian history/languages with fun, hands-on activities, in a secular, inclusive, equity-rooted setting
Teens
High School
Backpack in California, travel to South Asia, or join the year-round Seed Fellowship to learn about South Asian history/languages while exploring the world around you, building lifelong friends, discovering your passions, and giving back through volunteering
Adults
18+ years old
We know adults are just big kids, so we offer versions of our youth programs for adults through our adult summer camps, classes, and clubs, including our monthly Trivia Night, Book Club, Movie Night, Natural History Hikes, Political Action Circle, and more.
“The one who plants trees, knowing that he will never sit in their shade, has at least started to understand the meaning of life.”
Rabindranath Tagore
Our Programs
Each of our programs is designed around 6 key questions:
HISTORY & CULTURE
Who am I and where do I come from?
We let our youth discover their answer to this question by bringing South Asian diasporic history & culture to life through food, dance, music, art, and more. We tie everything to family histories and contemporary issues, so we can see how we are shaped by the past, and think critically about the present.
LANGUAGE
What have we lost through migration and what can we remix to regain?
Words create worlds. Losing a heritage language can is a deep source of grief for many. Yet acquiring a heritage language in a world where it is rarely spoken is hard. Our curriculum is designed specifically for diasporic learners of South Asian languages.
OUTDOOR EDUCATION
What is my relationship to indigenous land, people, and the earth?
Our participants learn about native plants, indigenous history and modern struggles in California, gardening/growing food, Ayurvedic cooking, and outdoor safety — so they can build a lifelong relationship with the earth, the land we live on, and respect for its indigenous stewards.
MEDIA & STORYTELLING
How do I want to use my voice?
We publish stories made by young South Asian voices in our digital magazine, Mausam Magazine. We want our young people to experience the power of using one’s voice across different mediums, and to tell stories they don’t see in the mainstream media today.
ORGANIZING & SERVING
What is my purpose and what is my responsibility?
We train teens to create a better world for the next generation, so they can find their unique purpose alongside responsibility. Our political organizing program is imbued with South Asian philosophies around service as one of life’s great purposes.
GROWTH & FRIENDSHIP
How do I develop unshakeable hope in an uncertain world?
We encourage our participants to take on challenges together that are at the edge of what they think they know how to do - whether that is working their first job at our summer camp, or backpacking for 5 days in the Sierras. Through taking on challenges together, they build lifelong friendships.