Climate Class : Soul Fire Farm
An early summer afternoon, Tracy (she/her), of Germantown Laundromat, and Alison (she/her), of BEST, headed out to tour Soul Fire Farm, a spot we’ve long been inspired by for their activism in the community and perspective on healing the land. Leah Penniman (Li*/Ya/She/He) and Brooke Bridges (she/her) showed our group all around the property they work -- about seven of the 80 acres of Stockbridge-Munsee land. Leah became invested in food justice after experiencing strained access to healthy and affordable options. Known as a “food desert,” this apartheid is a form of oppression not making headlines but very real in contributing to poor health specifically of the African and Native American communities typically victim to this segregation.
Truly, it seems Soul Fire Farm has thought of everything. From rituals of the land guiding their use to regenerative farming processes, solidarity shares, natural building, multiple different points of access to education and strengthening and growing of community, we were blown away. Read about just a few of the ways they are honoring the Land, People, and Climate in our Climate Class recap here, and check out our list below of things you can implement in your own life.
LAND
Originally stewarded by the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of the Mohican Nation (now in Wisconsin), Soul Fire Farm have created a seed exchange to maintain the lineage of native crops, and are working on a “cultural respect easement” allowing Mohican citizens to use the land for ceremonies and wildcrafting.
Only farming 7, and living on 1.5 of the 80 acres of land, they preserve natural habits in honor of the plants and animals there before us.
Land as a relative, not a commodity. Using divination tools from West Africa, Soul Fire Farm asks permission of the Land before making any major changes, along with practicing gratitude rituals to maintain a good relationship with the earth.
PEOPLE
In addition to working on a “cultural respect easement” which would allow Mohican citizens to use the land for ceremonies and wildcrafting, Soul Fire Farm offers Solidarity Shares meaning the food they produce (fruits, plant medicine, pasture-raised livestock, honey, mushrooms, veggies and preserves) are supplied at no cost to people living under food apartheid or impacted by state violence.
Soul Fire Farm is also big on community education. They’re constantly speaking on topics relating to uprooting racism in the food system and the intersection between Black Lives Matter and food justice, hosting farm tours and community farm days, and organizing youth programming.
They also offer Immersion Programs for Farming + Building Techniques for all levels of growers of Black, Indigenious and Latinx heritage, further amplifying and giving opportunity to those oppressed.
CLIMATE
About 50 million Americans are food insecure, meaning they do not have access to healthy or affordable food (often called food deserts). This lack of access results in disease highest among the communities that reside there. With Climate Change accelerating the rate of food shortages, these are the people who are affected first. Access is a form of resistance.
Soul Fire Farm practices regenerative agriculture, another solution for climate healing, for its ability to both sequester carbon dioxide in the soil and reduce emissions. Conventional agriculture (the dominant farming practice) releases carbon into the atmosphere by regular plowing + tilling. Additionally it poisons pollinators, birds, insects, and animal life with the herbicides, pesticides, and fungicides they spray on crops -- depleting the soil of all nutrients and causing soil erosion, water depletion, and infertile land. Conversely, Soul Fire Farm’s ancestral farming practices increase topsoil depth, sequester soil carbon, and increase biodiversity :
No Till Practice to keep carbon in the ground
Off-Season Cover Crops to protect the soil from erosion
Heritage Crops + Polyculture fields to ensure plant diversity
Compost and manure from rotating livestock to build soil fertility
Raised Beds to control water flow and increase root depth
Silvopasture technique to provide shade, food, and windbreaks for the sheep while also sequestering carbon through trees and grasslands.
Deeper Dive: Silvopasture
This regenerative agriculture technique helps avert further greenhouse emissions from one of the world’s most polluting sectors by sequestering carbon through both the trees + grasslands above ground and in the soil below - which helps counterbalance the methane emissions of the livestock. It also helps farmers and their livestock adapt to erratic weather and increased drought brought on by climate change by creating cooler microclimates, protection against wind, and water availability. The “Drawdown” Project lists Silvopasture among the top solutions for climate healing.
Soul Fire Farm inspires us to look at how we’re living our life in all areas, integrating practices and thoughtful solutions that honor the land, people and climate we benefit from.
Feeling Inspired? Give back to Soul Fire Farm and consider attending one of their upcoming Community Days or find a farm in your own area.
“Land is a RELATIVE, not a commodity” - Soul Fire Farm
PRESENTED BY:
BEST X GERMANTOWN LAUNDROMAT X LONG TRAIL SUSTAINABILITY