To free ourselves we must feed ourselves!
Farming While Black Instagram Live Series is back!
(formerly Ask a Sista Farmer)
We invite you to watch episodes from Seasons 1 through 5 below!
FARMING WHILE BLACK INSTAGRAM LIVE
A program by @soulfirefarm (formerly Ask a Sista Farmer)
Are you ready to uproot racism and seed sovereignty in the food system? Every month, experienced Black farmers and food systems experts share their knowledge about agriculture, land tenure, markets, food policy, co-ops, cultural foods, and more. At the end of the show we have a GIVEAWAY to the person who wins our quiz!
Farming While Black – Season 5
- Episode 51: Farming While Black / Olivia Watkins, co-founder of the Black Farmer Fund (BFF), shares how BFF nurtures Black community wealth and health by investing in Black agricultural systems in the northeast – providing low interest notes and grants, financial education, and technical assistance. Listen to learn how the Black farming community can engage with impact investing.
- Episode 52: Farming While Black / Konda Mason, Cofounder & President of Jubilee Justice, Inc and Co-Founder & VP of Potlikker Capital. Konda shares about the reclamation of Afro-Indigenous heritage and expertise in rice production and about building wealth for BIPOC farmers that is reparative, regenerative, and non-extractive. Listen to learn about how and why Jubilee Justice farmers are growing climate resilient rice!
- Episode 53: Farming While Black / Joanna Dorsey and Nicole N’diaye of Black Farmers United-New York State (BFU-NYS) discuss bringing more Black farmers into agriculture and the Cannabis industry in NYS, BFU-NYS’s work to identify and advocate for the needs of Black farmers including through data collection, and training Black cultivators on farm safety. @Iamnicolendiaye @ramseyfamilymarketplace
Black Earth Wisdom – Season 4
- Episode 43: Black Earth Wisdom / Dr. Carolyn Finney and Baba Enroue Halfkenny speak about honoring the past, dreaming the future, and building relationships with earth, land, and ancestors.
- Episode 44: Black Earth Wisdom / Ayo Ngozi and Ibrahim Abdul-Matin speak about Earth kinship, stewardship lessons from our elders, and recovering decision-making and land-use strategies from our spiritual traditions.
- Episode 45: Black Earth Wisdom / Chris Hill and Yeye Luisah Teish speak about addressing climate change with equitable access to the outdoors.
- Episode 46: Black Earth Wisdom / Khadeem Thomas of EARTHseed Farm/Orchard and Sun People Sanctuary and Audrey Peterman talk to us about how there is an environmentalist in every one of us and applying permaculture principles to take care of the earth and each other.
- Episode 47: Black Earth Wisdom / Khaliah D. Pitts and Naima Penniman talk to us about applying lessons from nature.
- Episode 48: Black Earth Wisdom / LeeAnn Morrissette and B. Anderson talk to us about navigating heirs property and healing generational, land-based trauma.
- Episode 49: Black Earth Wisdom / James Edward Mills of Joy Trip Project and Teresa Baker of the In Solidarity Project talk to us about Black environmental history and access to the outdoors as a civil right.
- Episode 50: Black Earth Wisdom / Nicole Jackson and Taina Spicer talk to us about the healing power of the earth and putting themselves into experiences in nature that propel them into the presence, where joy exists.
Ask a Sista Farmer – Season 3
- Episode 34: Mama Dr. Muhjah Shakir, Nature’s Garden for Victory and Peace –Intergenerational collaboration, working with our ancestors like Dr. George Washington Carver, and holistic community development.
- Episode 35: Leslie Woodward, veteran chef and founder of Edenesque, discussing entrepreneurship, resilience, and innovation.
- Episode 36: Kimberly Haynie, founder of The Lavender Noir and formerly owner of RivahView Farms LLC. Fifth generation farmer sharing knowledge on bookkeeping, row crop farming, and navigating USDA to obtain loans.
- Episode 37: Beatrice Kamau of Multiple Harvest LLC–who has been beekeeping and specializing in growing crops that are popular with African immigrants–teaches us about connecting immigrant communities to “home foods” and shares the realities of urban farming and beekeeping.
- Episode 38: Nivek Anderson-Brown of Leaf and Bean Farm, a homesteader and micro vegetable farmer from Virginia. Nivek teaches us the ins and outs of homesteading for self-sufficiency, and talks about the journey from urban to rural life.
- Episode 39: Dreu VanHoose of VanHoose Hemp Co, Alabama, talks to us about sustainable affordable plant care, composting, crop planning, soil preparation, and running a hemp farm and business.
- Episode 40: Juliana Quaresma of Viva Acres in Trumansburg, NY, talks to us about shepherding and fiber farming.
- Episode 41: Mama AMMA of “Herbaceutikals not pharmaceuticals,” Redan, GA, talks to us about mycology, wholistic remedies, and organic gardening techniques.
- Episode 42: Ryan Beachem of Everbearing Lasagna, Wilmington, NC speaks about pasture rotation and livestock management, livestock breed selection and stocking rates, and no-till farming and composting.
Ask a Sista Farmer – Season 2
- Episode 19: Julialynne Walker, Bronzeville Agricademy –Developing urban growers, connecting African American growing traditions to today’s environment, and Diaspora foods for all
- Episode 20: Lytisha Wyatt & Alison Espinosa, Rootworker’s Croft –The human-animal bond, livestock health, tips for farming poultry, and navigating barriers to entry in the field
- Episode 21: Gloria Kilonzo-DuChaine, Asili Herbs and Botanica & Jovan Sage, Sage’s Larder –the alchemy of farming, herbs to support the collective wellbeing, and the science of composting
- Episode 22: Cecelia Miller, The CoffeeLady31 –Home provision and food preservation & Kiesha Cameron, High Hog Farm –fiber farming and natural dyes
- Episode 23: Dee Baptist, Fort Baptist Farm –Winter protection for plants, natural pest control and farming dahlia flowers
- Episode 24: April Jones, Pinehursrt Farmers Market & Skylar Mapes of EXAU Olive oil –Market planning
- Episode 25: Yemi Amu, Oko farms –Aquaponics
- Episode 26: Kuwa Jasiri Indomela, Authentic Creations Publishing Apothecary & Shanelle Donaldson West, Percussion Farm –Soil testing
- Episode 27: JamiQuan Rudd, Brunswick AgNCulture –Farming at multiple scales, from backyard to 50 acres, off-grid living, guerilla forestry, permaculture, and rural living
- Episode 28: Farmer Cee, Green Heffa Farms –Branding for a boutique farming business, using hemp as a gateway crop, and leveraging public and private funding
- Episode 29: Pandora Thomas, founder of EARTHseed Permaculture Center and Farm, Sonoma County CA & Black Permaculture Network –Benefits of applying ecological principles to social design and reconnecting humans to our non-human kin
- Episode 30: Karen Washington (Mama K), Rise & Root Farm & co-founder of Black Urban Growers –The transition from urban to rural farming, and advice for the next generation of Black and Brown farmers
- Episode 31: Dr. Gail Myers (Gardener Gail), Farms to Grow –Setting up a grassroots farmers market, creating a recycled landscape, and decolonizing the food system
- Episode 32: Amirah Mitchell, Seed Keeper. TrueLove Seeds –African heritage crops, seed growing, and seed stories.
- Episode 33: Ira Wallace, Southern Exposure Seed Exchange & author of The Timber Press guide to Vegetable Gardening in the South –Seed saving, year-round gardening, vegetable varieties from the African Diaspora.
Ask a Sista Farmer – Season 1
- Episode 1: Yemi Amu, Oko Farms
- Episode 2: Shanelle Donaldson, Percussion Farms
- Episode 3: Kirtrina Baxter, Soil Generation & Germain Jenkins, Fresh Future Farm
- Episode 4: Germain Jenkins, Fresh Future Farm –Soil remediation and container gardening
- Episode 5: JoVonna Johnson-Cooke, MaituFoods & Keisha Cameron, High Hog Farm –Planting by the moon, raising hens, and more
- Episode 6: Keisha Cameron, High Hog Farm –Compost, trees, pest management
- Episode 7: Raven Blake, Love Fed New haven –Mushrooms and urban gardens
- Episode 8: Tawana Williams, Cool Beans Green Living –Herbalism and wildcrafting
- Episode 9: Atiya Wells, Backyard Base Camp –Farming in relationship with nature
- Episode 10: Yemi Amu, Oko Farms –West African vegetables and heritage farming
- Episode 11: Christine Hutchinson, Pugh Farms Poultry –Poultry and pollinators
- Episode 12: Leah and Naima Penniman, Soul Fire Farm –Juneteenth broadcast on the herbs of Black freedom
- Episode 13: Alison Espinosa, Rootworker’s Croft –Herb propagation and sustainable harvest, preventative medicine for livestock
- Episode 14: Skyler Mapes, EXAU Olive Oil –Marketing, business operations, and breaking into the industry
- Episode 15: April Jones, Pinehurst Farmers Market & Cheryl Whilby, Schenectady Greenmarket and Soul Fire Farm –Starting and managing a farmers market
- Episode 16: Jacqueline Abena Smith, GrowAsis Urban Garden Consulting –Urban homesteading and the multiple functions of herbs and vegetables
- Episode 17: Rev Dele & Cecilia Miller –The sacred geometry of medicine gardens, and the cultivation of culinary, medicinal, and ornamental herbs
- Episode 18: Sta Maodzwa, a no-till farmer from Zimbabwe –Sustainable food production and restoring dignified access to food