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.
*The Mutual Roots Fund application is now closed. Check back soon for future opportunities.
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.
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 2026
-
An Earth Week gathering that brings together local artists, farmers, and families for an intergenerational exploration of sustainability and healing through fashion. Participants will engage in hands-on workshops using reclaimed textiles and plant-based dyes grown or foraged locally. Activities include natural dye demonstrations, weaving, storytelling circles, and discussions on land, waste, and regenerative design. The gathering centers creativity, environmental justice, and ancestral knowledge while transforming discarded materials into wearable art that carries cultural and ecological stories.
Date: 4/25/2026
Time: 9 AM - 1 PM
Location: 179 Broadway Newark NJ 07102 -
A BIPOC-led community build to construct a tiny home providing dignified housing for a Black person impacted by incarceration. Formerly incarcerated individuals, volunteers, builders, and land stewards will work side by side over multiple days, sharing meals and learning construction skills rooted in collective care. The gathering is both political and healing — addressing housing injustice while strengthening land-based relationships, skill-sharing, and mutual aid among participants.
Date: 5/1/2026
Time: 10 am - 5 PM
Location: 363 Blue Factory Rd, Averill Park, NY 12018 -
Hosted by the Unshackled Alchemy Land Project, this intergenerational gathering centers rest, herbal medicine-making, and community care for BIPOC participants. Attendees will prepare nourishing remedies, share seasonal food, and engage in restorative practices to prepare for the summer months. The event prioritizes slowing down, connection to land-based healing traditions, and strengthening community bonds through collective care and embodied learning.
Date: 5/9/2026
Time: 1 PM - 5 PM
Location: Ancram, NY -
A hands-on urban gardening workshop designed for Black growers of all experience levels. Participants will learn practical container gardening techniques suited for urban environments, explore the connection between small-space growing and food sovereignty, and exchange seeds in a facilitated seed share. The gathering will conclude with a communal meal, creating space for connection, knowledge exchange, and strengthening local networks of Black urban growers.
Date: 5/16/2026
Time: 1 PM - 3:30 PM
Location: 9 Graves Street, South Hadley MA, 01075Hosted by LUNR Collective
-
An open garden celebration marking the summer solstice through land-based learning and cultural expression. Activities include guided garden tours, yoga and movement sessions, family arts and crafts, natural dye workshops, herbal medicine bundle-making, seed and seedling giveaways, political education teach-ins, and live drumming and dance. The event invites community members of all ages to celebrate seasonal abundance while deepening connections to land, culture, and collective joy.
Date: 6/21/2026
Time: 12 PM - 6 PM
Location: 18-36 Willoughby Ave, Ridgewood, NY 11385 -
An inclusive, intergenerational cultural gathering centered on land connection, heritage, and creative expression. Community members will participate in guided farm tours, cooking traditional foods together, singing, dancing, storytelling, and cultural exchange activities. The gathering strengthens cross-generational relationships and honors the role of land and food in sustaining cultural identity and community cohesion.
Date: 7/25/2026
Time: 9 AM - 4PM
Location: 7691 Bridgeport Kirkville Rd, Kirkville, NY 13082 -
A three-part summer workshop series hosted at Sankofa Café combining urban agriculture education, community health conversations, and live garden demonstrations. Participants will gain practical growing skills while discussing nutrition, land access, and food justice. These gatherings aim to deepen community trust, increase food knowledge, and build sustained support for local urban agriculture initiatives.
Date: TBD
Time: TBD
Location: 2323 S Salina St, Syracuse, NY 13205 -
Nuestras Raíces will host monthly grower gatherings that build resilience through education, mutual aid, and cultural land stewardship practices. The series culminates in a vibrant Harvest Festival celebrating Latino heritage, traditional foods, music, and the season’s harvest. The project strengthens farmer networks while honoring cultural traditions rooted in land and food.
Date: TBD
Time: TBD
Location: 24 Jones Ferry Rd, Holyoke MA 01040
Hosted by Nuestras Raices Farm -
In partnership with AALV and UVM Extension, this field trip and skillshare will engage predominantly African immigrant, refugee, and asylum-seeking youth in hands-on learning about goat harvesting and animal stewardship. Youth participants will gain practical agricultural skills alongside NEFOC members, connecting cultural food traditions with land-based education and mentorship.
Date: 7/15/2026
Time: 11 AM - 3PM
Location: 990 Lost Meadow Rd. Corinth, VT 05039Hosted by Bottomless Well
-
Hosted at CAgrO Urban Farm, this gathering brings together Black and Brown growers, artists, and neighbors to plant culturally significant crops, share food, create art honoring Black farming history, and gather community input to shape the farm’s future. The event blends celebration, participatory planning, and cultural expression to strengthen local agricultural networks.
Date: 7/18/2026
Time: 11 AM - 3 PM
Location: 214 Kingsley St, Buffalo, NY 14208
Hosted by CAgrO Urban Farm -
We’re organizing a youth agritourism trip to Upstate NY, where interns will camp at Kingston Land Trust, join hands-on farm activities, tour local farms, and attend the county fair to learn about agriculture and sustainable practices.
Date: 8/4/2026 - 8/5/2026
Time: 5:30 AM - 8 PM
Location: Kingston Land Trust
80 Chapel St, Kingston, NY 12401 -
A youth agritourism experience in Upstate New York where interns will camp at Kingston Land Trust, participate in hands-on farm work, tour regional farms, and attend the county fair. The retreat introduces young people to agricultural careers and sustainable farming practices while building confidence, leadership, and peer connection through immersive land-based learning.
Date: 8/29/2026
Time: 3 PM - 6PM
Location: 38 Rose Terrace, Newark, NJ 07108 -
A welcoming harvest celebration marking a successful growing season and a new farm home. NEFOC members and Farmers of Color will gather to share food grown on the land, participate in guided tours, rest, and connect. The event centers gratitude, joy, and collective celebration while strengthening community ties.
Date: 9/19/2026
Time: 4 PM - 7 PM
Location: 53 Benton St, Hartford, CT 06114 -
A Black queer and trans-centered campout designed as a space of respite, imagination, and ancestral connection. Participants will camp, cook communal meals, swim, prepare herbal teas, and share stories around the fire. Rooted in land and water, the gathering offers rest, healing, and collective dreaming beyond systems of confinement.
Date: 9/18/2026 - 9/20/2026
Time: 5:30 PM - 3 PM
Location: 4872 NY-9G Germantown, NY 12526 -
An annual celebration of garlic as medicine, food, and cultural symbol. NEFOC members and local queer, trans, BIPOC, immigrant farmers gather for workshops, planting activities, shared meals, music, and storytelling. The event also raises mutual aid support for Palestinian and Sudanese farmers. Garlic Fest strengthens seasonal ritual, solidarity, and collective resilience as participants prepare garlic medicine for winter.
Date: 10/24/2026
Time: 11 AM - 4 PM
Location: 1989 County Route 11, Hillsdale, NY 12529
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.