Black Land Stewardship Program

Co-director: Christine Hutchinson hutch@nefoclandtrust.org

The Black Land Stewardship program is a nascent effort that meets farmers and aspiring farmers where they are. Secure land tenure is the goal of Black Land Stewardship, and success requires multiple components. Our interest is to learn the current conditions of the elements needed to ensure that Black farmers in the Northeast thrive so we may restore complete component functionality via advocacy and internal program development.

There are three distinct components thus far, and programming is being developed mainly based on the outcome of the following projects:

BLACK FARMERS LEARN

The Black Farmers Learn educational subsidy will pay tuition or registration fees of up to $500 for Black farmers or land stewards who wish to expand their knowledge or skills via a self-identified training program.  This program honors education from structured sources available to the public; this includes schools, farming institutions, land or agricultural collectives, and conferences or training that offer to deepen skills and increase farming capacity. As these members remain in our community, the knowledge gained will impact others, offering the benefits exponentially. Apply during the first week of every month!

ON THE WAY

“On the Way,” a video-documented helping tour, will build the Black agricultural community and provide education around and implementation of sustainable, regenerative farming practices among Black farmers and aspiring farmers in the northeast region of the United States. This tour will pool the operational needs of Black farms with the knowledge base and educational opportunities of Black farmers, bringing farmers together for skillshares that create and deepen relationships among Black farmers;  develop channels for spreading sustainable and regenerative practices; and increase viability for Black farms.

UNEARTHINGS

Unearthings are opportunities to meet with Black farmers in their states to identify their needs and desires, learn about what has worked well in their communities for the dual purposes of building community with and among them, and inform future Black Land Stewardship programming. These informal gatherings include free and structured conversation over a shared meal.