Mutual Roots Fund
The Mutual Roots Fund is the foundational stage of the Northeast Farmers of Color Land Trust (NEFOC) farmer pathway. This program is designed to nurture grassroots relationships, spark ideas, and grow collective momentum within our network of Black, Indigenous, and Brown land stewards.
Each year, NEFOC awards up to $2,000 to NEFOC members who have been active for at least one year. These stipends support joy-centered gatherings that strengthen community ties, deepen collaboration, and inspire shared projects rooted in mutual aid, healing, and liberation.
Eligibility: You must be a farmer of color and/or land stewards who are NEFOC Network Members in order to be eligible for this award. If you are not a NEFOC Network Member please use this link to register: https://tinyurl.com/m46jyy6d .
Land Steward: Someone who devotes a significant portion of their time to care for land in a way that is in sync with ecosystem restoration, climate healing, and cultural preservation.
Farmer: A person who is making the day-to-day operating decisions on a farm or spending half of their time cultivating the land.
Award Amount: Up to $2,000
Eligible expenses may include:
Food and meals for gatherings
Travel and lodging
Venue or space rental
Supplies, materials, or media tools
Childcare or interpretation services
Gatherings can take many forms—dinners, skill-shares, healing retreats, seed swaps, or visioning circles—and each must result in a shared output, such as a public event, mutual aid effort, digital zine, blog post, or other creative documentation.
Selection Process:
Applications will be reviewed by a community-based Selection Committee composed of NEFOC members, farmers, and mutual aid practitioners. The committee will prioritize proposals that:
Emphasize joy, connection, and collective care
Are rooted in community need and relationships
Lead to a shared outcome or creative expression
Are logistically sound and realistic given the timeline and budget
*The Mutual Roots Fund application is now closed. Check back soon for future opportunities.
MUTUAL ROOTS FUNDED PROJECTS 2025
Healing By Growing Farms - Healing Harvest Tasting & Farm Swap
Where: East Haven, CT
This gathering will reunite NEFOC members who have been in connection since the beginning of the year. Centered around healing and reflection, the day will offer shared practices that deepen relationships with one another and with the land, fostering stillness and collective care.
Connecticut Farmer's Festival
Where: Windsor CT
A celebration of the end of the growing season, this festival will feature local farmers selling their produce, a community meal sourced from regional farms, and a reggae concert performed by local artists. The event uplifts the farming community through food, music, and cultural exchange.
Liberation Table
Where: Craryville, NY
Liberation Table is a Juneteenth celebration honoring Black farmers, artists, and land stewards through curated wellness and cultural experiences. The gathering includes a tea party, Southern dinner, guided meditation, and performances that uplift joy, memory, and collective healing.
Rooted in Joy: A Gathering at the Patuxent River
Where: Marlboro, MD
This intimate gathering at Spice Creek invites NEFOC members to reconnect through a seasonal meal, storytelling, skill sharing, and quiet reflection by the water. The event explores partnering with the Patuxent Riverkeeper to reestablish cultural and historical relationships to the river.
Rooted in Reverence
Where: Newark, NJ
A land-rooted gathering designed to honor elder knowledge, ancestral practices, and community healing. Black and Indigenous farmers and cultural workers will gather to share food, stories, and visioning practices centered in liberation, reciprocity, and long-term connection to land.
Afro-Diasporic Ocean Festival
Where: Far Rockaway, NY
This festival celebrates Afro-Indigenous culture and environmental stewardship through Capoeira, Afro-diasporic music and dance, climate education, seed sharing, and family-centered activities. Photos and videos will document the spirit of joy, resilience, and relationship-building.
A Day of Joy: Veteran Wellness Gathering
Where: Turner, ME
This wellness-focused gathering is designed to bring veterans together through land-based healing and community connection. With activities promoting health, empowerment, and agricultural self-sufficiency, the event uplifts farming as a therapeutic path for veterans of color.
Block Party Weekend
Where: Millerton, NY
Led by Catalyst, Sweet Freedom, Rock Steady, and WILDSEED, this two-day cultural gathering offers panel discussions, communal meals, seed swaps, music, storytelling, and a celebratory campout. The weekend centers joy, interdependence, and radical Black/Brown farmer connection.
Roots and Renaissance
Where: Randolph, MA
A healing retreat for Black and Brown land stewards, herbalists, and farmers to nourish collective resilience. The event includes shared meals, cultural skill exchange, ancestral honoring, and strategy-building for food sovereignty, land justice, and mutual aid.
"A Vanderful Life" Visioning Sessions
Where: Newark, NJ, New York, NY, Millerton, NY & Virtual
This series of feedback and visioning sessions will engage NEFOC members in shaping "A Vanderful Life"—a mobile farming justice and art initiative for QTBIPOC land stewards. Participants will provide input to co-develop accountable and community-rooted strategies for mobile living and organizing.
Healing Harvest Tasting & Farm Swap
Where: East Haven, CT
A community event for NEFOC members, youth, and people of all abilities, featuring a shared dinner and farm goods swap. The gathering includes hands-on workshops on hydroponics, irrigation, and accessible farm design, and closes with storytelling and animal care activities.
Together We Own It: Community Outreach & Market Day
Where: Syracuse, NY
An interactive day of community outreach promoting cooperative economics and food justice. The event includes educational booths, face painting, planting workshops, games, and local vendors—all designed to inspire community ownership and eliminate food deserts.
MUTUAL ROOTS GATHERINGS
