NORTHEAST FARMERS OF COLOR LAND TRUST 2022–2023 Years in Review
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table of contents
4 Letter from the Collective 6 Values and Principles 8 Collective Leadership 10 Sibling and Allied Partners 12 NEFOC Programs Land Network Services Policy, Climate Justice, & Advocacy Reparations Black Land Stewardship Cultivation Relationships & Reciprocity Community Conservation
26 Organizational Highlights Thetford Church Land NYS AGM Wildseed Digital Kitchen
30 Media Mentions 32 Financial Statements 33 Gratitude and Acknowledgments 34 Donors and Sponsors NEFOC ANNUAL REPORT
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Letter from the Collective n
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When the seeds of The Northeast Farmers of Color Land Trust were first tended, called upon in ceremony, and birthed in 2019, we were a tiny cluster, representing our interlaced communities and carrying forward the medicine bundle of our converging cultures. Today, almost five years later, that bundle contains our magnitude, and continues to act as our blueprint towards food and land sovereignty, solidarity, and liberation for the communities we belong to and are accountable to, including our more-than-human kin..
From our inception, we have faced the daunting task of responding and organizing in real time to the reverberations of this unsettled arc of time, as we simultaneously built the foundation of our land trust; global pandemic, climate crisis induced extreme weather events, racial and cultural reckonings, housing insecurity, crop loss, and broadening scarcity magnify the historical and present day wounds we carry, and the relentless demands of the here and now. Within this adhocracy, we have consistently leaned upon our more-than-human relatives' resilience strategies, Indigenous cosmology, and our shared cultural instructions and technologies as a compass for how we work, reimagine, and remediate the symptoms of late stage capitalism, Western imperialism, racial injustice, colonized soil, and climate crisis. From that original tiny cluster, we have bloomed into an ever emerging collective of positively-tangled rhizomes and roots. We now move as a team of fifteen farmers, ecologists, gardeners, herbalists, astrologists, scientists, artists, librarians, storytellers, educators, parents, and mediators who knit and careen our many branches of community together, rooted in our tenets of care, respect, responsibility, and radical hospitality. It is with this web of history and context in mind, that we savor in a feeling of awe and gratitude as we reflect and celebrate the unfurling growth of 2022-2023, cultivated in partnership and community. Together, we rise with a feeling of purpose and clarity towards meeting 2024, fortified and ready to take one more bend around the river of sky.
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Values and Principles “The heart of justice is truth telling, seeing ourselves and the world the way it is rather than the way we want it to be. More than ever before we, as a society, need to renew a commitment to truth telling.” —bell hooks
ANCESTORS ACROSS THE GENERATIONS We steward the land for past and future generations
RIGHT RELATIONSHIP
KINCENTRIC CONNECTION WITH LAND
We honor and prioritize working together in regenerative, non-extractive relationships
We are the land and the land is us
LIBERATION THROUGH VISION AND ACTION
RADICAL EQUITY AND INCLUSION Language justice, disability justice, and inclusive spaces are essential to the work of land sovereignty and liberation
We commit to envisioning and acting to realize liberatory futures of food and land sovereignty
CLIMATE STEWARDSHIP AND REGENERATIVE LAND CARE We root in our ancestors’ approach to land care as sacred practice of climate stewardship
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MUTUAL SUPPORT AND ACCOUNTABILITY We believe cooperative—rather than individual or private land stewardship and transformative justice approaches are key to ensuring the future well being of land and our communities
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COLLECTIVE LEADERSHIP Collective leadership is an essential, non-negotiable living virtue for our team, acting as a guiding light for our beliefs, vision, values, and principles. Our work together is firmly grounded in the Land Justice movement and deeply informed by the traditional governance ways of our collective cultural backgrounds.
Because of this, we believe in embodying an ethos of decentralization, choosing to uplift a shared decision-making process within our collective. Through embracing an evolving horizontal leadership approach, we are offered the ability to reach outside of our own personal echo chambers, serving to cultivate a more holistic, kin-centric understanding of the multifaceted challenges the communities we represent face related to food sovereignty, climate crisis, and structural racism. In a landscape where power imbalances and systemic inequalities often underpin land ownership and distribution, our collective leadership model offers a means to challenge existing, long standing imperial persuasion, working to empower our communities to actively participate in decision-making processes that directly impact their land and personhood rights. Through the strength of collective leadership, our work as a land trust endeavors toward building sustainable, culturally relevant, and equitable land governance systems that prioritize the rights and needs of our more-than-human and human communities’ physical and spiritual wellbeing.
"If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together." —African Proverb
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Ailin Lu (She/They), Vision Aide; Community Conservation Program Astrid Castillo (She/Her), Relationships and Reciprocity Coordinator Christine Hutchinson (She/Her), Black Land Stewardship Cultivation Program Co-director Gaby Pereyra (Ella/She), Land Network Services Co-Director Hyperion Çacatzin Yvaire (Ha/Li/He), Community Conservation Program Co-director John Steven Deloatch Giraldo (JD) (All Pronouns), Member & President, Board of Directors Keely Curliss (She/They), Member & Secretary, Board of Directors Kenya Lazuli (She/They), Co-Director of Reparations Rosa Rodriguez (She/Ella), Land Network Services Coordinator
Larisa “Lala” Jacobson (All Pronouns), Climate Justice & Advocacy Co-Director Mandana Boushee (Joon/She), Water Bearer; Relationships and Reciprocity Program Rafael Aponte (He/Him), Member & Treasurer, Board of Directors Robert Chang (He/Him), Policy & Advocacy Co-Director Saka Gupta (They/Them), Government Grant Manager Shingai Kagunda (She/They), Writer in Residence & Literary Curator, Every Town Stephanie Morningstar (She/Her), Relationships and Reciprocity Program Co-Director Ysanet Batista (She/Ella), Land Network Services Coordinator
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Sibling and Allied Partners So much of how we move, learn, and grow as an organization is guided by our more-than-human relatives' ways of being and teachings. These relationships are one of our greatest, most revered cultural inheritances.
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From our elder, Corn, we have learned the importance of interconnection and kinship. Corn doesn’t have a showy flower to attract pollinators. Rather than relying solely on themselves for their continuity, they work together in collaboration and community. Their silk tassels and pollen dance with the wind, swaying in cooperation to create healthy seed and future generations. It is with the spirit of Corn in mind and heart that we meet and dance with our sibling organizations and allied partners within the Land Justice ecosystem. Our relationships and collaborations are essential and sacred to our shared work and endurance, but more than that, we see our sibling and allied partners as vital and cherished members of our extended family. Our relations and work together are a symbol of our shared evolution, reinforcing the values that braid us together, and ultimately bestow a sense of belonging and sustainability within our collaborative ecosystem.
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SIBLING ORGANIZATIONS
ALLIED PARTNERS
African Alliance of Rhode Island
Agrarian Trust
Agri-cultura Cooperative
Chester Agricultural Center
Black and Arab Migrant Solidarity Alliance
Cooperative Development Institute
Black Dirt Farm Collective
Cultivating Community Earth Law Center
Black Farmer Fund
Cultivemos
Black Farmers United of New York State
Department of Integrative and Global Studies at Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Bomazeen Land Trust Braiding Seeds Fellowship Buffalo Freedom Gardens Buffalo Go Green Urban Fruits & Veggies Center for Whole Communities Conscious Homestead Vt Cooperative Funders of the Northeast Corbin Hill Food Project Ct Bipoc Food Network Farm School NYC Food for the Spirit Heal Food Alliance In Living Color Kitchen Table Advisors Kunsikeya Tamakoce La Semilla Food Center Land Peace Foundation National Black Food and Justice Alliance
Earth Law Trust Firstlight Learning Journey Harvard Law Transactional Clinic Henry P. Kendall Foundation Kalliopeia Foundation Maine Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network (FRSAN-ME) National Young Farmers Coalition NESAWG New School—Environmental Policy and Sustainability Management Novo Foundation Nuns & Nones OPENTeams Pasa Sustainable Agriculture Rafi-USA Seeding Power Vermont
Operation Spring Plant
Suffolk Law Human Rights and Indigenous People's Clinic
Racial Equity & Justice
Suffolk Law Transactional Clinic
Soul Fire Farm
Vermont Land Trust
Southern New England Farmers of Color Collaborative
Vermont Law School Center for Agriculture and Food Systems
Uprooted and Rising Vermont Releaf Collective Wildseed Community Farm and Healing Village
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NEFOC PROGRAMS t i n u m “ The com
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—Malidoma Patrice Somé
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Within our current system, we are weaving relationships, developing models, and implementing tools that facilitate mutual responsibility between the Land and her people. From the individual to the collective, our current work embraces the complex reality of implementing land tenure models, supporting agricultural entrepreneurs, as well as mapping and developing market opportunities for our Network members that feed our communities and nurture the land.
land network services
The Land Network Services Program is a means to enhance the relationship between people and the Land in the Northeast.
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The Land Network Services Program advances NEFOC’s vision for farmland access, regenerative agriculture, and human habitat, supporting BIPOC land stewards and our communities by linking farmers to equitable ground leases, facilitating Northeastern land reparations, as well as ensuring NEFOC Network members have access to trainings, business planning, education, market, and financial resources to make a thriving life on land.
THE LAND NETWORK PROGRAM OFFERS:
r Led or co-led more than ten workshops, skillshares, and courses
r Holistic technical assistance for Network members
r Welcomed three new members to the team: Rosa Rodríguez, Saka Gupta and Ysanet Bautista
r Training opportunities about farming, agricultural entrepreneurship, land tenure models r NEFOC Emergency Relief Fund, which shifted to NEFOC Climate Crisis Fund in summer 2023 r NEFOC Network Mycelia Fortification Stipend
HIGHLIGHTS AND CELEBRATIONS! r The growth of the Network: we are 640 members and counting! r Hosted five events in the Northeast funded by the NEFOC Mycelia Fortification Stipend r Redistributed more than $45,000 to more than 25 Network Members who had emergencies due to climate crisis or other events r Supported the lease process of eight network members r Supported land stewards in the deed acquisition of 27 acres of land r Hosted La Beca Braiding Seeds en español, an inaugural fellowship cohort for Spanishspeaking farmers r Hosted a virtual Meet & Greet event with members in April 2023
r Developed the Holistic Technical Approach to provide services to our Network members r Co-developed a novel research framework, “For us, By us”, about reparative and sustainable food and land systems. r Developed new partnerships across the Northeast with sibling and allied organizations working on mental health opportunities for farm employees r Served as a Steering Committee member of the Southern New England Farmers of Color Collaborative r Hosted Steph Willey as NEFOC representative in the Co-op Navigator Fellowship organized by CFNE r Co-partnering in the USDA Office of Urban Agriculture and Land, Capital, and Market Access Grant “For us, By us: Land Access and Non-extractive Capital Practices” r Co-administered with the Black Land Stewardship Cultivation Program for the Socially and Economically Disadvantaged Farmers Competitive Grant Program of NY Department of Agriculture and Markets r Participated in three radio interviews r Invited as speaker to ten panels and conferences r Co-published in Radical Hospitality organized by the Allied Media Conference
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Recognizing the disparate impact climate change has and will have on BIPOC land stewards, this program facilitates leadership, engagement, and collaborative policy development among and in support of our land steward network. Together we craft and promote NEFOC’s policy platform, calls to action with feedback from members, and forge climate justice links with other Black and Indigenous-led land trusts across Turtle Island.
policy, climate justice, & advocacy
The Policy, Climate Justice, and Advocacy Program advocates for relationships and policy supports that crystallize NEFOC’s purpose into collective action.
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Our work is rooted in NEFOC’s reparations, rematriation, and Indigenous reciprocity frameworks and in our ancestors’ approach to land care as sacred practice of climate stewardship. As we strive to ensure that considerations of structural racism and historical land and labor theft factor into state, regional, and national decision making, we demand investment in BIPOC-led training, research, and technical assistance programs and in policies that expand access to resources for current and aspiring land stewards. Policies beholden to the life of ecosystems must channel resources to the original land stewards and to our communities currently dispossessed of land, while creating pathways for BIPOC stewards to build livelihoods, communal wealth, and thriving land relationships across generations. Along with collaborators, we will continue to seed and grow a resource library of tools and resources related to policy, legal, stewardship practice, and other protections for ecosystems and their rights (also called Personhood or Rights of Nature).
HIGHLIGHTS AND CELEBRATIONS! r Advised on Farm Bill policy platforms for three national and regional coalitions r Supported NEFOC network members Amber Johnson, Ivette Ruiz, Rafael Aponte (also a NEFOC Board member, founding member, and farmer) to represent NEFOC at the Rally for Resilience: Farmer Rally for Climate Action in Washington, D.C. in March 2023 and join over 500 farmers and food system advocates and allies for a week of advocacy, organizing, and legislator meetings on making climate changerelated supports for BIPOC farmers a priority in the Farm Bill r Supported Federal legislative advocacy, including calls to action, sign on letters, and marker bills focused on land access, farm system reform, the rights of food and farm workers, and resources for farmer-tofarmer education programs r Advocated for improved crop insurance programs for small scale, specialty crop growers, and funding that prioritizes supports for BIPOC land stewards to build climate resilience on farms r Partnered in efforts coordinated by Black Farmers NYS and in collaboration with other partners, with the aim of ensuring that New York state approaches the historic multi-billion dollar investments of the 2022 Environmental Bond Act to best serve farmers and land stewards from our communities.
r Continued working with the Connecticut BIPOC Farmer Circle to foster cooperation, use of shared resources, and securing funding to support community building, education, and joint marketing r Advocated for continued and permanent funding for the USDA Office of Urban Agriculture and Land, Capital, and Market Access Grant programs as resources for the many urban and other current and aspiring farmers in our network r Participated in the national HEAL Food Alliance and its policy working group, advising as a reviewer on HEAL’s sustainable agriculture toolkit r Served on a panel speaking to leaders of departments of agriculture throughout the region at the Northeast Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NEASDA), raising awareness of the need to preserve funding for BIPOC farmer For Us, By Us programs r Shared lessons learned from the NY and CT Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives to inform the MA Department of Agriculture’s new DEI legislation r Collaborated with Food for the Spirit, Black Farmers United NYS, and Equity Advocates on a public narrative training for 35 farmers and food advocates r Participated in policy development and advocacy listening sessions, gatherings, working groups, testimonials, and other initiatives with hundreds of other stakeholders including fellow BIPOC land and food sovereignty advocates, sibling and allied coalition members, and decision makers on issues related to regenerative agriculture; heirs property rights; climate justice, resilience, and disaster relief; farmland conservation and restoration; regulations for utility scale energy on agricultural land; and more.
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In collaboration with the Relationships and Reciprocity program, we are building relational bridges between our communities with First Nations whose lands we currently occupy, leading to stronger BIPOC land relationships and cross-cultural partnerships, specifically focusing on Black and Indigenous solidarity.
reparations program
The Reparations Program at NEFOC is focused on land return and resource redistribution designed to serve the NEFOC network, members of the Vermont Releaf Collective, and other Black, Indigenous, and People of Color in the Northeast who have been harmed by settler colonialism and slavery.
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Although the Reparations program was founded in 2023, the Every Town project was created in 2020 based on a commitment to placing donated land in trust for permanent BIPOC access and stewardship. This project, combined with increased community engagement with the NEFOC Reparations Map and the receipt of the New Suns Community Center, revealed a need for the development of the Reparations program. Since the inception of Every Town we have relied on Holistic Technical Assistance from the Land Network Services program to support the operational work of the project. Every Town. The Every Town project is focused on placing at least one healthy piece of land from every town in Vermont in trust permanently for BIPOC access and stewardship. The right to exist on land has been stolen, originally from the Abenaki people here in what is now called Vermont, and from BIPOC communities everywhere. Every Town seeks to address this by creating an alternative approach to land access, finding Home, and mobilizing a network of safe, welcoming communities.
The Neighbors Network is a group of community members committed to antiracism and anti-oppression throughout our state that supports and centers BIPOC community members in Vermont. This network is committed to addressing white supremacy culture systemically, on the peer-to-peer level, individually and with the support of skilled facilitators. All Neighbors participate in a series of "onboarding" trainings and have seasonal network meetings to share strategies and peer-to-peer advice and relevant experience. Neighbors have the opportunity to participate in Community Skills trainings that are offered periodically and help us collectively build our base of capabilities to show up well and in our full, empowered selves to crisis situations.
HIGHLIGHTS AND CELEBRATIONS!
Land Matching Committee. The Land Matching Committee is made up of a group of BIPOC leaders tasked with creating guiding principles for developing an equitable process for matching land stewards with donated land. Under the guidance of the LMC, a rotating board of BIPOC network and community members will review proposals for land use and match the stewards with the land.
y Black Origins Storytelling: Roots & Routes
r Received our first land donation in December 2022 r Were interviewed for the VT Public Radio r Created the Liberation Library and tool library r Hosted a multitude of events, workshops, and skillshares at the New Suns Community Center including ~ r Black Futures Month weekly programming at the New Suns Community Center y Open House y Movie night y Valentine crafts
y Liberation Library Tool Drive r Neighbors Network gathering—50 attendees r Releaf Collective Community Dinner & Conversation—50 attendees r Safe Spaces weekly game nights—15 attendees r Soul Food Connection monthly dinners—20 attendees r Equinox Festival—70 attendees r Community Rollerskating—50 attendees r Thetford Elder Network monthly dinner—30 attendees r 2 carpentry classes using tools from the tool library—30 attendees r Writing for the Revolution—15 attendees r Basket Making Workshop—20 attendees
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The BLS program is intentionally starting with a blank slate in order to be diametrically opposed to programs that are designed in echo chambers that exclude the voices of the communities that are supposed to be impacted, are copy-pasted from elsewhere and expected to work, and are foisted upon communities that have expressed no desire for them. There are three distinct components thus far to the Black Land Stewardship Cultivation Program, with future, permanent programming being developed based largely on the outcome of the three temporary pilot projects.
black land stewardship cultivation
The Black Land Stewardship program is a nascent effort that meets current and aspiring Black farmers where they are, to help support and secure their place on Land.
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Black Farmers Learn is a scholarship program to support deepening of agriculture skills for Black farmers. It provides a small scholarship that respects different modalities of delivering education, not just college. Any structured program that provides training and learning is eligible for funding. Unearthings. Conversations that take place over meals with Black farmers about their experience in the places that they are, to better learn what supports currently exist, what's working, what's not working, what's missing, what the farmers need and ultimately what NEFOC can do to support Black farmers where they tend land. On The Way ~ The Helping Tour is an opportunity to get Black farmers, including inspiring farmers, out on Black-led farms to render a mutual aid of sorts. It’s a reciprocal system, where farmers and their projects receive support in completing projects and increasing the viability of the farm, while the farmers who are traveling are learning about the projects and practices happening on the various farms, and building community with the farmers and community members who show up to events. On The Way works to braid strands of relationships that should get really thick and tangled in a good way.
HIGHLIGHTS AND CELEBRATIONS! r We hosted 6 in-person Unearthings in 2022-2023 in Maine, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, at the BUGS conference and virtually in Massachusetts with 112 participants. r Submitted a successful proposal to administer a New York State-wide grant program for socially and economically disadvantaged farmers. The multimillion dollar LAND Project will utilize a community-led grant administration model that includes an advisory group of New York farmers and farmer advocates from across the state to fund agricultural needs that are often unfunded in existing grant programs. r With our partnerships with Black Farmer Fund, Black Farmers United NYS, Corbin Hill Food Project, Farm School NYC, and Soul Fire Farm, we engaged in an 18-month training to increase our organizations’ ability to provide technical assistance to farmers. We’re developing our governance structures, and are working to redistribute $50,000 to Black farmers.
r With the U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives, we are planning a series of workshops for 2024 to provide support for NEFOC network members who are in or looking to start cooperatives. r The BLS program represents NEFOC on the Diversity and Racial Equity Network, led by Assistant Commissioner of New York’s Department of Agriculture and Markets, to gather input and propose ideas to address a variety of priority opportunities, challenges, and concerns. r The Black Land Stewardship and Climate Justice and Advocacy programs collaborated with Food for the Spirit, Black Farmers United, and Equity Advocates to host a training on writing a personal narrative. Farmers and food actors who traveled to Albany, NY this winter crafted their own narratives to use as an advocacy tool. The BLS program worked with a video editor to compile a video series of several narratives developed by participants during this training. A participant screening was hosted in September and followed by a screening for Federal legislators as they weighed considerations for the new farm bill.
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The program plugs into NEFOC vision by fostering a radically equitable and deeply inclusive community of land-based practice that is mutually supportive and sustainable for future generations. The RR program is a vital part of NEFOC’s work to advance land sovereignty and food justice for Black, Indigenous, and Land Stewards of color in the Northeast region. The program's commitment to reciprocity, relationship building, and ancestral wisdom is helping to create a more just and sustainable food system for all.
relationships & reciprocity
The Relationships and Reciprocity (RR) program is a holistic approach to community building and land stewardship grounded in ancestral, relational, and transformational approaches.
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Over the past two years, the RR program has grown, welcoming our Water Bearer, Mandana Boushee, to shape and step into this essential arm of the program. The NEFOC Water Bearer Program is a storytelling and experience crafting initiative that creates and maintains containers for the historical memory, current lived experiences, and collectively envisioned futures of NEFOC. Rooted in deep community engagement, the program acts as the tender of the mycorrhizal network NEFOC is developing across the Northeastern region to advance land-based wealth redistribution, liberation, and justice.
THE RR PROGRAM IS GUIDED BY THE FOLLOWING PRINCIPLES: r Reciprocity and relational accountability are central to healthy land, whole kin, and community care. r Ecological restoration and intercultural re-storying of relationships are mutually critical for healing the land, our communities, and non-human kin. r The "most impacted" communities— those who have experienced systemic oppression, marginalization, colonial violence, land dispossession, environmental racism, food apartheid, and displacement from their homelands—are at the center of the work.
THE RR PROGRAM’S WORK ENCOMPASSES A WIDE RANGE OF ACTIVITIES, INCLUDING: r Development: The RR program is central to cultivating enduring resources with the Resourcers who nourish the work of the land trust and the communities and lands it serves. r Indigenous Reciprocity & Partnerships: The RR program builds relational bridges between NEFOC communities and First Nations whose lands they currently occupy, partnering through acts of consent and reciprocity leading to BIPOC land relationships and cross-cultural partnerships. r Communications: The RR program holds and tells multi-lingual stories, communicating to its networks, partners, and Resourcers about its work in the world. r Relational Bridging: We are creating convergences of community, such as the “We The Land” Convergence and Braided B.L.I.S.S., to build and heal relationships on land, with our collective ancestors for future generations.
HIGHLIGHTS AND CELEBRATIONS! r Relational Bridging: Completed development of Indigenous Relationships & Reciprocity protocol for land trust operations and curriculum development of training workshops for land-based organizations r Partnered with LIFE to advance equitable philanthropy in food systems. r Continued building relationships with 5 Indigenous nations. r Welcomed Astrid Castillo to the team as our Relationships and Reciprocity Coordinator r Co-created with staff and board members to retreat and develop our first Vision and Culture Guide. r Organizing a national BIPOC Land and Community Care Convergence: We the Land! that will take place in the Summer of 2024. r Convened our Indigenous Advisory “Supergroup” r Reparations Map: expanding the Reparations Map with new resources and a new website, transitioning to the Reparations Program r Biocultural Re-storyation: Creating new land stewardship planning approaches that incorporate Traditional Ecological Knowledge and human-non-human relationships for upcoming land transitions r Knowledge Mobilization: Mobilizing knowledge through speaking engagements, workshop facilitation, and new publications including a quarterly newsletter and pieces published in Writing the Land
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With Çaca’s guidance, we recognize that the principles and orientation of community conservation must be integrated into all of NEFOC’s work and will strive to ensure that each of our programs is imbued with the spirit of community-led and centered land relationship models, collective governance, and attention to and care for the agency of human and more-than-human beings that comprise our communities.
community conservation
On the recommendation of Hyperion Çacatzin Yvaire (Çaca), Co-Director of the Community Conservation program and one of the Land Trust’s first team members, the program will be transitioning this year while we reflect collectively on how to honor and sustain its original intentions and goals.
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More than ever, as NEFOC’s network members experience escalating and ongoing threats of violence and harassment, community safety and protection must also be a component of efforts to support life and livelihood in relationship with land. Likewise, as our members have expressed a need for toolkits and other tangible legal and material resources to support protections for Ecosystem Rights (also known as Personhood or Rights of Nature), we will continue the work of developing and advocating for those resources through the Climate Justice & Advocacy program.
In Çaca’s words, “The Community Conservation program has been a means to improve the world-making capacity of all our relations. We have focused on self-determined and autonomous planning, anti-imperial education, material and spatial intervention, realizing earth jurisprudence, and multispecies justice. Our work has been building ecologies that influence and sustain the culture of landbased workers who contribute to addressing climate change crises and conflicts. This is the work of preservation, defense, and actualizing wellness through gifted land stewardship; working to build a world where communities of color can sustain themselves through growing food and sharing agroecological knowledge, we hope to participate in the healing of generations of trauma from dehumanization, genocide, displacement, enslavement, and land loss.”
We honor and give thanks for the work of Çaca Yvaire and Ailin Lu, Vision Aide & Community Conservation Coordinator, in making this program what it has been, and for the development of the Soul of Stewardship Fellowship, which will be housed with another entity, and the Digital Kitchen’s online resource archive and community space.
The Community Conservation program has been a means to improve the worldmaking capacity of all our relations.
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Organizational Highlights our First land donation, the new suns community center The New Suns Community Center is NEFOC’s very first land donation! In December 2022, the North Thetford Church was donated by a congregation of elders who no longer wanted to hold the responsibility of maintaining the building. The church has been maintained meticulously and we have been fortunate and grateful to walk into a functional ready space and to meet our new neighbors who are thrilled to have us there breathing life back into this building. Since that time the building has begun its metamorphosis into a community center, gathering space, and skillshare hub. The center is home to the Liberation Libraries, offering tools, books and printed resources as well as art supplies on loan to NEFOC Network members and other BIPOC community members.
We have plans to create a mobile tool library that can go anywhere in the state, and to travel to work parties, skillshares, and land based projects. We currently partner with volunteer carpenters, organizers, and community members in the area who have knowledge, skills, and experience they share with anyone who wants to learn. Multigenerational stability in relationship with the land is one of our deepest priorities, as our heart song is making sure our community members can not only get on the land but stay on the land and thrive.
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digital kitchen Throughout the year, NEFOC offers a number of opportunities for our members to gather and share their expertise with one another. Between those events, the listserv operated as one of the primary ways for members to stay connected, until now! In an effort to offer additional ways for our network members to connect, NEFOC has created the Digital Kitchen, an online resource archive to strengthen our collective visioning. Things you can expect to find in the Digital Kitchen include ~ a seeking and offering bulletin, list of trusted service providers, farm related policy updates, media recommendations, event calendar, and more! In the spirit of stone soup, we hope that the Digital Kitchen can be a delicious and fortifying community space where we can show up to support one another. The Digital Kitchen will be hosted on the NEFOC website, and will be available to its listserv members and trusted partners starting in Spring of 2024.
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wildseed We celebrate the seeds of connection between NEFOC and WILDSEED Community Farm and Healing Village. Together, we are kindling a Land Relationship collaboration lit with shared history—some members of WILDSEED’s core collective, the Cambium Council, were also founding members of NEFOC—and aligned purpose. In the collective’s words, “WILDSEED Community Farm and Healing Village is a liberated zone for Black, Indigenous, and people of the global majority to practice interdependence and sovereignty together. Situated on 181 acres of land and water on
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Mohican, Munsee, Lenape, Schaghticoke territory in the mid-Hudson Valley, WILDSEED is a sacred space for change-makers and a site of belonging for people historically disenfranchised from land. WILDSEED serves as a sanctuary for humans to heal in partnership with nature, nourish our imaginations, and foster a deep sense of belonging to the earth. In all Land Relationship partnerships, NEFOC enacts three phases, integrating Ancestral, Cultural, Relational, and Transformational (Technical and Transactional) approaches to working together: 1) Capacity Building & Healing, 2) Initial Stages of Land Transition, and 3) Final Stages of Land Transfer.
Currently, we are in the Capacity Building & Healing phase with WILDSEED. In future phases, we intend to explore how best to honor existing and future reciprocal relationships with community members of the Indigenous nations who are the original stewards of the land and to engage models for supporting the land’s ecosystems and beings. As with each of the land relationship models that NEFOC fosters, our collaboration will center cross and intercultural solidarity, challenging the perceived incommensurability between Reparations and Rematriation, and in this case seeking to uplift WILDSEED’s stated values.
In Fall 2023, members of NEFOC and WILDSEED gathered at WILDSEED to make offerings to honor, listen to, and ask consent of the Land; connect with stories of the space and collective, and to share visions and next steps for the future. Rooting in relationships among the human and more-than-human beings of the land will be vital to the processes of developing a legal structure to protect the land in perpetuity, cultivating Indigenous consultation practices, initiating relevant land easements, growing governance structures, and renewing covenants with the land and ancestors.
advancing land sovereignty NEFOC is one of the few leading and nationally recognized BIPOC-led organizations dedicated to creating novel land access models for BIPOC farming communities in the Northeast region, by securing equitable access to land and resources and prioritizing honoring Indigenous sovereignty. The relational work of developing multi-sector partnerships with majority BIPOC-led organizations in the Northeast manifested in two unique opportunities for advancing Land sovereignty and access to resources in NY, CT, MA and RI.
In NY, our proposal Landing Access: Novel Directions (LAND) Project was awarded $4 million to support projects proposed by socially and economically disadvantaged farmers, funded by New York State Agriculture and Markets. In CT, RI, and MA we are partners in the “For us, By Us: Land Access and NoExtractive Capital Practices” project awarded $8.5 million by the USDA–Land, Capital, and Market Access Grant.
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Media Mentions 2022 JAN 13
The Need for Food Access, Security and Justice
MAR 10
Tracing Regenerative Farming to its Indigenous Roots
MAY 6
Hear First New Kathleen Hanna Song In Four Years On LAND Trust Benefit Album Kim Gordon, Kathleen Hanna & more appear on Land Trust benefit (stream a track) Hear Kathleen Hanna on New Song ‘Mirrorball’ From All-Star ‘Land Trust’ Benefit LP Kathleen Hanna Joins Erica Dawn Lyle and Vice Cooler for New Song “Mirrorball”: Listen
MAY 20
Kim Gordon, Erica Dawn Lyle, and Vice Cooler Share New Song: Listen Kim Gordon Seethes Against a Looming Housing Crisis on New Song ‘Debt Collector’
30
MAY 25
The Field Report: Food Companies Are Not Counting All of Their Greenhouse Gas Emissions
JUN 3
The Linda Lindas, Members of Bikini Kill Get a Backyard Mosh Pit Going in ‘Lost in Thought’ Video
JUN 6
Song You Need: Ninety seconds of explosive punk rock for a cause
AUG 30
Cooked: Can we change how we think about food, our planet and ourselves?
OCT 12
Erica Dawn Lyle mixes music and activism on her latest project
OCT 24
Our right to the land
NOV 28
Indigenous and Black Communities Find Common Cause for Land Justice
2023 MAR 9
A church in North Thetford is getting new life as a community center for people of color A church in North Thetford is getting new life as a community center for people of color
APR
Building Climate Resilience with State and Federal Farm Policy
APR 28
The Doctrine of Discovery still rules today. Catholics can help turn the page.
MAY 10
This Fund Is Investing $20 Million to Help Black Farmers Thrive
JUN 12
‘Underserved’ and first-generation CT farmers want access to more land. A federal bill could help.
JUL 7
State Agriculture Department Announces Program Administrators Chosen for two New Grant Programs: Socially and Economically Disadvantaged Farmers Grant Program and Beginning Farmers Grant Program
JUL 7
State Agriculture Department Announces Program Administrators Chosen for two New Grant Programs: Socially and Economically Disadvantaged Farmers Grant Program and Beginning Farmers Grant Program
JUL 20
Collective Reparations Fund established to support Black-led nonprofits
SEP 20
How Crop Insurance Prevents Some Farmers from Adapting to Climate Change
NEFOC ANNUAL REPORT
31
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS OCT 2021 – SEP 2023
expenses Fiscal sponsorship $333,921.95
Program Expenses $381,595.72 Contract Services $408,761.29
$2,688,314 Total
Payroll $1,549,035.04
Grant making $15,000 Traveling, Training, Office Expenses $71,193.39
resources
69.5% Grants
32
30.5%
Contributions
Gratitude and Acknowledgments
—Robin Wall Kimmerer
We extend our heartfelt gratitude to all of our donors, sponsors, and supporters, those of you who have continually uplifted and backed NEFOC’s work and vision. Your steadfast commitment has served as an essential investment in the communities we are a part of and advocate for, our on the ground organizing efforts, and has resourced us in expanding our reach and impact. With your meaningful contributions, we have been able to create, sustain, and implement critical programming and initiatives that are ultimately rooted in advancing the work of the Land Justice movement. We are immensely grateful for your continued belief in our vision and your dedication towards shaping a more just future.
NEFOC ANNUAL REPORT
33
Donors and sponsors QQ Q Aaron Lane-Davies
Brighid James
Eric Patel
Jessica Caven
Abbie Corse
Brit Ru
Erica Dawn Lyle
Jessica Van Oort
African Alliance of R.I
Bryton Moeller
Jill Rizzo
Al
Burlington Beer Company
Eva Westheimer and Daniel Grover Fund(Through Peace Development Fund)
Johanna Doren
Farm Aid
John Brown
Fedco Seeds
Jonah Fertig-Burd
Focus Fund
Jonalyn Burt
Genna Cherichello
Jonathan Thompson
Charlotte Vaughn
Grapevine Fund of Lunar Giving Circle
Jonathan Zuk
Chelsea Gazillo
HaleyLipps
Christina King
Hank Kastner
christina mei
Hannah Bogart
Community Involved
Hannah Epstein
Cooperative Fund of the Northeast
Hawthorne Valley Association
Corinne Bryson
Heinz Trebitz
Cristina Cosentino
Helen Linda
Dana Stevens
Hilary
David Daiute
Holly Antolini
David Howard
Holly L Antolini
Deborah Gordon-Brown
Honey Field Farm
Devon
Honeybee Fund of Common Counsel Foundation
Alana Thompson Alexander Schults Alicia Harvie Allison Brown Allison Patrick Allison Williams Alyssa Brymer Amanda Hutchinson Amy Guptill Anastacia Bolina Andrew Plotsky Angela DeFelice Angela Graveline Angela Levy Angelo Pisano Ann Lupton Anna Fadden Anne Richmond Anonymous Anonymous Anthony Wong Arlo Zwicker Aynsley Kirshenbaum Ben Meyers Berkshire Compost Berry Brook Farm
34
Caleb PC Schonfeld Cameron Carly Melchers Caroline Roszell Cedar Davidson
Devon Kelley-Yurdin Diane Sherman Earth Island Institute Edlin Choi Elizabeth Storrs Ellen Thomson
Black Farmer Fund
Elmina B. Sewall Foundation
Blair Sando
Emily Day
Bonny Tsang
Emily Ling
Brattleboro Development
Emma Schlam
Hyunhee Shin IM Holborn Foundation Jacob Israelow Jacqueline OdessGillett Janelle Manning Jason Valcourt Jen Burt Jerilyn McLean Jesse Lang
Jimmy Pickett
Joseph Wiswell Joy Stallings Juli Anna Herndon Julia Kosowsky Julianne Baroody Julie Daum Juno Lamb Kaitlyn Jozefiak Karen Leu Kate Adams Kate MacLean Katherine Baildon Katherine Golub katherine jaeger Katherine Peppard Katherine Tolman Kathryn Schmieding Katie Blais Katy Fazio Kayla Wieche Kelley McKenna Kelly Kelly Kerri Hilton Kristen Balschunat
QQQ Q Q Q Q Q QQQQQQQQQQQ Q Kristiana Elite Kristina Jutzi lady.macaroni
Marr Tikkun Fund at Amalgamated Charitable Foundation
Laszlo de Simon
Massachusetts Woodlands Institute
Laura
Mattea Kramer
Laura and Edward Cousineau
Matthew Cardarelli
Laura Greenwood Laurel Chen Leah Ruediger Lee Chirtel Leo Lindsay Gilmour Lisa Donahue Lisa Kalan Lissa Goldstein Liz Carollo Liz Corio Lizzy Cooper Lou Wass Louis Knolle Lyndsey Strahan M.L. Crofton-Atkins
Maya Rege-Colt Meaghin Kennedy Meghan Gallagher Michael Weiss Mike Rice Miriam Ashton Molly Donahue
Peter Kirn
Susanna Penfield
Preston Porter
Suzanne Atryzek
Public Health Council of the Upper Valley
Suzanne Cronkite
Rachael McCaskill Rachel Ephraim
Sydney Lea Sydney Leed
Rachel Katz
The G Moore Foundation
Rayna Burmeister
The Herbal Scoop
Rebecca Cariati
The Liminal Fund
Rebecca Straub
The Yarner
Reena Agarwal
Thetford Historical Society
Restoration, Equity and Justice
Town of Thetford
Rob Reiber
Tricia Avey
Myers Produce
Robert Rauschenberg Foundation
Trout Lily Forestry services
Nan Leaman
Rose Osburn
Natalia Zukerman
rosemari roast
Nate Bartlett
Rural Vermont
Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Upper Valley
Nathaniel Mich
Saka Gupta
National Young Farmers Coalition USDA-NIFA "Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network"
Sam Bonney
Molly Sauvain
Val Vermont Bean Crafters
Samantha Carroll
Vermont Community Foundation
Sarah Chase
Vermont Land Trust
Sarah Hodges
Victoria Liu
Sarah Howard
Victoria Ramos-Glew
Sarah Kanouse
Vincent Lopez
Sarah S
Walker Cammack
Sarah Seldin
Wepa Translations
Madeline Fifer
New York Health Foundation
Maida Ives
Nora Bond
Makoto Toyoda
Nora Revenaugh
Marcus Werner Hed
Nora Thompson
Margaret Cooley
Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont (NOFA-VT)
Sarah Suarez
WhyHunger
Sayer Palmer
Wild Pigment Project
Pamela Kravetz
Sean Tierney
William Green
Pamela Toschik
Select Seeds, Co.
Yamila Fournier
Marigo Farr
Pasa Sustainable Agriculture
Sophia Hampton
Yasmine Vera
Marlo
Patagonia
St. Michael's Episcopal Church
Zoë Miller
Marni Rice
Paul Franceschi
Sue Storer
Margi Calder Margot Weiss Maria Kennedy Maria Noel Groves
NEFOC ANNUAL REPORT
35
northeast farmers of color land trust C/O: Resist PO Box 301240 Boston, MA 02130 www.nefoclandtrust.org connect@nefoclandtrust.org Designed and illustrated by Isidor Studio (Mel Isidor & Zulay Holland)