Kel Smith (they/she) is a community organiser and writer based in Guelph, Ontario dedicated to exploring post-capitalist possibilities and the intersection of deep ecology with localized practices.
Kel struggles to best understand the ways in which our current cultural narrative filters perspectives and colour our lives, and attempts to find ways to deconstruct those narratives which contribute to systems of oppression including colonial based racial capitalism. Through writing, dialogue, and community gathering, Kel hopes to explore new ways with low barriers to entry that might engage people into more resilient community-based living.
A long time unschooling parent, Kel also explores the realm of youth liberation as a catalyst into understanding how oppression begins within the nuclear family relationships and becomes modeled in the modern education system we call school.
Kel is currently working at Ignatius Jesuit Centre as the Community Manager. They also volunteer with the Art of Soil Collective, the Guelph Tool Library, and sit on the Guelph Food System Resiliency Table. In their spare time, they enjoy facilitating Snack Potluck Art Swaps and other ad hoc gatherings across Guelph, mending clothes, growing food, and writing lots and lots of zines.
Hashtags: #anarchism #anticapitalism #capitalistrealism #colonialism #community #consumerism #decolonisation #directaction #diy #ecology #education #gardening #grassroots #infrastructure #liberation #mentalhealth #mutualaid #natureconnection #oppression #parenting #postcapitalism #relocalisation #unschooling #youth #zines
Contact: kel@kelsmith.ca
CV: Download (PDF)