Interview: Toyin Ajayi of Outdoorsy Black Women

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When Toyin Ajayi founded her social network Outdoorsy Black Women, she empowered women of color who embraced the great outdoors to engage with other like-minded adventurers in a space all their own. On the eve of her highly anticipated REI sponsored Wine & Waterfalls Retreat, she shared her journey and the importance of expanding Black culture.

What inspired you to launch your social network Outdoorsy Black Women?
Initially, I created a group on another platform because I saw other Black women needing a space to ask where it was safe for us to camp. At the time the 2020 Presidential election was about to happen and it was scary out there, a lot of us were on edge. As the group grew, I realized that there are so many Black women out here doing amazing things in the outdoors but, we didn’t have one place to find each other and connect. Being an outdoorsy Black woman myself, I wanted to create a space where we could see that representation and inspire each other.

When did your interest in the great outdoors first begin?
It started when I was a kid, maybe five or six. I used to garden with my aunt’s neighbor.

The social network you have built obviously focuses on Black women. Why is it so important to give a group its own dedicated platform?
Black women are unique, we go through so much and face challenges that aren’t always addressed in groups made for People Of Color (POC). You can be Black and a POC, but being a POC doesn’t always equal Black. With that said, I felt like we needed a space for us to be free to discuss our unique challenges, be inspired by each other and foster sisterhood. It’s been beautiful to see the support and positivity through-out the Outdoorsy Black Women community.

Have you faced any backlash from men for excluding them from participating?
(Laughing), I have but it’s something I was prepared for. There are so many outdoor spaces and plenty of places for those men to go. I’ve faced backlash from any person that the space isn’t for. I don’t think about it because at the end of the day I’m a Black woman and I’m riding for US!

What would you say has been the biggest hindrance in expanding the popularity of outdoor activities within our community?
This is tough. I would say representation, affordability and accessibility all play a big part. As Black people, we have a history with the outdoors that understandably fosters distrust. Many of us have been taught things by those that experienced terror and those stories are passed down. When you couple that distrust with lack of representation it’s not hard to see why we’re having to learn to be comfortable in the outdoors again. For certain outdoor activities I think we would try them but we’re somewhat priced out. When you look at things like skiing, golfing, or even RV-ing these are all leisurely activities and when a majority of us are still living paycheck to paycheck, you just don’t have the option to enjoy these things. You also have a large population of us living in urban areas, where we don’t always have access to green spaces, so I think all of these reasons play a part in some way.

You currently plan to travel the country in a RV to showcase Black-owned campgrounds, farms, and businesses. Do you feel these parts of Black culture are undervalued?
Honestly, I wouldn’t say they’re undervalued, I don’t think people know they exist enough. But as Outdoorsy Black Women grows, I hope to highlight more Black-owned businesses and support where I can.

Let’s talk about Wine & Waterfalls weekend retreat. What are some of the things attendees can expect?
I’m so excited about this! REI has been an amazing sponsor, we’ll be utilizing their glamping setups. During the weekend attendees will be doing a paint and sip, wine tastings all thanks to Ebony Wine & Spirits which is a Black woman-owned wine brand, vineyard tours, waterfall hike, outdoor movie night, yoga and more. This will definitely be a weekend to remember, and we’re making sure they leave with tons of swag!

You landed the support of the major retailer REI for your event, how did that happen?
Wow, it still feels surreal. My publicist is amazing and she did a lot of due diligence to make sure we could get a meeting setup with REI. Once we had a chance to sit down it was really dope to see how REI wanted to support different minority organizations. I appreciated that they were genuinely interested in helping provide accessibility and respected that Outdoorsy Black Women is for Black women. Wine & Waterfalls was one of the events I’d wanted to do anyway and when I mentioned it, REI fell in love with the concept. I think they really enjoyed that we were stepping outside of the box for what most deem to be “outdoorsy”. And the rest is history! I look forward to what the future has in store with Outdoorsy Black Women and REI.

After your event, what is next for Outdoorsy Black Women?
We’re going to continue to expand our chapters, the goal is to have at least 2 ambassadors in each state. We have more awesome events coming up such as Twerk n’ Trails in July and Sips and Saddles in August. We are also coordinating some outdoor education classes with REI that will be on the calendar for the community soon.

Be’n Original