No pride for some of us without liberation for all of us.
Marsha P. Johnson
Blessings beloved community,
We took a season of rest from Dec. 18th to Jan. 21st and we’re returning to the mission now restored! We hope that you too are arriving at the end of January feeling grounded, fortified, and full. Let’s not forget to bring collective tenderness to the soft, growing parts of ourselves, too.
Read on for upcoming opportunities to connect and important updates.
Changing of seasons
The spectrum of recycled time
Slow dancing with life and death forever
From the darkness light is born
Luminescence casts a shadow that prevails
Lost in the search for the future self
By peering into the past of self
Time is only here and now
Tomorrow reveals the future is on the horizon
Yesterday appears like a distant memory
Solstice in the void, timeless, and full.
— O’den Robertson, Site Coordinator
May your breath be your anchor.
With love and solidarity,
Briana, Brooke, Cheryl, Christina, Clara, Crysta, Danielle, Hana’, Hillary, Jonah, Leah, Maya, Naima, O’den, Ria, Shay, and Susuyu
Introducing Christina
Christina Mpilo, Senior Managing Director, (she/they) | Nature and community hold me. It’s been the inspiration and protagonist, the soundtrack to my life. How I relate to those around me. How I wish to show up in the world… much like a garden. Gardens require patience, grace, tenacity and courage. Courage to go fully through the seasons of who we are with passion, with hope… hope that the seeds we plant germinate and in showing us their potential, mirroring our potential back to us. Reminders that seasons of rest are required to create the fertile foundations needed to bloom again next season.
A third-generation farmer, naturalist, community activist, and budding Ecologist/Ethnobotanist; I learned at a young age that we aren’t separate from nature, but are in a beautiful symbiotic dance with it. Working in corporate settings utilizing the knowledge gained studying Human Resources and Business Administration, and feeling a call to combine this with my passion for nature I set out to sow my seeds. With stewardship and community care at the forefront of my upbringing, it was only natural that I would spend my formative years WWOOFing on various farms throughout the US, Central, and South America learning different organic, biodynamic, and indigenous farming practices. Upon returning to the midwest I started working with various nonprofit and grassroots organizations such as Grand Rapids Urban League, Greater Grand Rapids Foods Systems Council, and CO2 to name a few, educating and advocating for more equitable food systems throughout West Michigan. Realizing that to create an equitable food system we also have to create an equitable community around care, I started Sacred Heart and Womb Wellness LLC in 2013 providing Doula, Energetic, and Spiritual care to my community on a sliding scale so it’s accessible to all who seek it.
When I’m not frolicking through the woods, foraging, wading in rivers, ponds, and swamps; you can find me adventuring with my daughter.
Leah and Geraldine (SFF board member) complete a 400-mile bike ride across New York state. Notice that Emet’s got jokes!
Leah Returns from Sabbatical
“I am reintegrating at home after a 6-month Sabbatical that touched lands in Kenya, Tanzania, Peru, India, and the east and west coasts of Turtle Island. I am grateful to each of you for your encouragement and support to take this necessary pause, an unprecedented departure from the pace of the last 21 years. I am returning to work at Soul Fire Farm in good mental and physical health, with a renewed commitment to the land and her people, and a rootedness in my values and priorities. For some, a sabbatical can be a jolting reorientation to a new imperative. For me, sabbatical was by and large an affirmation. This Path I have chosen – committed to the earth, community, nonviolence, justice, simplicity, prayer, and service – is an aligned one for me. I am grateful to have the strength to carry on.”
Trivia Question: If you want to harvest 100 heads of lettuce every week from June through November, how many grams of seed do you need to order and what is your planting schedule?*
This is a typical crop planning question that the farm team needs to answer for all 120+ varieties of veggies that we grow on the farm. January is the season for inventory, planning, ordering, and integrating lessons from last year. Farming in the northeast provides a beautiful seasonal renewal opportunity to weave into deeper harmony with the land and her creatures. For example, this season, we are planning variety selection and timing to address issues with cabbage maggot and potato beetles, as well as refining how we grow plants for seedkeeping. You can learn more about crop planning in our LOL instructional video.
*Submit your answer here to be entered into a raffle for free seeds!
Farming While Black Instagram Live Series is back for Season 5!
(formerly Ask a Sista Farmer)
We are joined by Olivia Watkins, co-founder of the Black Farmer Fund (BFF) on Tuesday, February 6 at 4 PM ET. BFF nurtures Black community wealth and health by investing in Black agricultural systems in the northeast – providing low interest notes and grants, financial education, and technical assistance. Tune in to learn how the Black farming community can engage with impact investing. Learn more @blackfarmerfund
Farming While Black Instagram Live
A monthly program by @jonahsoulfirefarm-org
Past Episodes www.soulfirefarm.org/programs/fwb-instalive/
Are you ready to uproot racism and seed sovereignty in the food system? Every month, experienced Black farmers and food systems experts share their knowledge about agriculture, land tenure, markets, food policy, coops, cultural foods, and more. At the end of the show we have a GIVEAWAY to the person who wins our quiz. To free ourselves we must feed ourselves!
2024 FIRE Immersion Facilitators – Applications Welcome!
This summer, for the 10th year, a team of passionate and committed farmers will come together with participants from all over the region and country who are seeking to amplify the land-based skills needed to reclaim leadership as growers and food justice organizers in their communities. Soul Fire Farm is accepting applications for guest facilitators for the 2024 FIRE Season. Immersion 1 runs July 21 – 26 , Immersion 2 runs August 4 – 9, and Immersion 3 runs August 25 – 30.
FIRE (Farming In Relationship to Earth) is designed for aspiring, beginning, and intermediate growers of Black, Indigenous, and Latinx heritage to gain basic skills in regenerative farming in a culturally relevant, supportive, and joyful environment.
The position involves co-leading a team for each “hands on the land block,” leading or co-leading 3-4 workshops or classes, in addition to set up, clean up, and maintenance of the space and tools. A complete list of the responsibilities and commitments are linked here. The compensation is $2,136.35 plus a $200 travel stipend, 3 meals a day, and tent accommodations.
FIRE Alumni are welcome and encouraged to apply!
If you are interested, apply here by February 12, 2024 at 5pm EST. Thank you!
Hiring for 2024 Immersion Application Reader Position
Calling all Farming in Relationship to Earth (FIRE), BIPOC FIRE, and Farm to Table Immersion Alumni! We are looking for previous immersion participants to support the selection committee with first round application reading March 3 – April 18. If you are interested in being an application reader, please review the full position description and complete the application form by February 12th at 5pm EST.
Zel Hutcherson, the co-founder of @downbytheriverswga, is an alum from our first cohort.
We are pleased to share that alongside their community they were able to purchase their first plot of land to further their farm project. Zel started out with a plan that manifested in different ways and served a beautiful purpose. Their journey has been woven with important curves and bends that has led them to this monumental moment of land ownership! Zel has been pursuing this dream for 10 years and they are finally land owners. Their story is truly inspiring of the reality of farming for BIPOC folx — it’s non-linear and still worth each moment. Everything comes together at the right time.
Additionally, we recently graduated our second cohort from the fellowship program! These graduates are Angela Comeaux of Hvrvnrvcukwv Ueki-honecv Farms @hummingbirdsprings_farm, Tianna Rose Neal of Starlit Roots @starlitroots, Kristian Bailey of Orais Hand Farm @wheretheflowersmaybloom, Utē Petit of Popsie & Vivian’s Lowlands @swampbender, Samaria King of Junipers Gardens @junipersgarden_, Kessi Watters Kimball of Mawiomi Garden @mawiomi_garden, Dria Price of Justevia Teas @justeviateas, Demi Tucker of The Uyoga Farm @theuyogafarm, Amirah Mitchell of Sistah Seeds @sistahseeds, and Anik Elsi of Greenwealth Farm @greenwealthfarm. We are looking forward to a further enriched relationship with these incredible farmers as part of our alumni.
Happy new year! We are welcoming the year with some exciting news: the application period for POLLINATE! 2024 Is now OPEN!
POLLINATE! is a paid training program for queer, trans, Black, Indigenous and people of color (QTBIPOC) beginner farmers interested in cooperative business models that center equitable food access.
Check out the links below for the program description, application, and to register for our info session on Tuesday, January 9th from 6:30-7:30PM EST. You can also visit our website at rocksteadyfarm.com/pollinate to learn more about the program.
The application submission period will close on Friday, February 2nd at 11:59PM EST.
POLLINATE Program Description
POLLINATE Application
POLLINATE Info Session Registration
Farming While Black Screening and Panel w/ Leah Penniman
March 29, 2024 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Smithsonian Museum of Natural History 10th St. & Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20560
2024 DCEFF OFFICIAL SELECTION – Farming While Black – March 29th
The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History is a longtime partner of the Festival, and will be co-presenting FARMING WHILE BLACK on the evening of Friday, March 29 in their Baird Auditorium, which seats over 500.
- Soil Builds Prosperity From the Ground Up Yes! Magazine
- Schenectady Greenmarket exec honored for commitment to healthy food access for low-income residents Albany Business Review
- The Food System Is Having a Big-Screen Moment Civil Eats
The food system was built on the stolen land and stolen labor of Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian and people of color. Our ecosystem partners, Northeast Farmers of Color Network and National Black Food and Justice Alliance are claiming our sovereignty and calling for reparations of land and resources so that we can grow nourishing food and distribute it in our communities. The specific projects and resource needs of BIPOC land-based projects are listed on Northeast Farmers of Color Network and National Black Food and Justice Alliance’s respective maps linked above. We are so excited about these powerful opportunities for people to people solidarity.