July ’25 Love Notes

Land is the only thing God ain’t making no more of
Fannie Lou Hamer

Sweet Greetings Beloved Community

This month, we return to the knowing that our liberation lives in the land—in the calluses on our hands, in the rows we seed and harvest, in the quiet mornings when the soil speaks. Our people have always known land not as something to own, but as kin to be in right relationship with. We carry the legacy of those who refused to be separated from Earth, even when everything tried to sever that bond. Through our labor, our rituals, and our refusal to forget, we live that truth. The land is not separate from us—she is our comrade, our elder, our co-conspirator in liberation.

Come through this month for Community Work & Learn Day on August 12, where we get free together in the field. And don’t miss the Tour de la Granja, Cena y Música el 8 de agosto for a chance to listen, learn, and remember in deep relationship with Earth.

May your breath be your anchor.

With love and solidarity,

Briana, Cheryl, Christina, Clara, Crysta, Danielle, Hana’, Hillary, Jaz, Jey, Jonah, Leah, Maya, Naima, Neshima, O’den, Ria, Shay, Susuyu, and Winter

Khalil Gibran surmised, “Work is love made visible” and July on the farm embodies that devotional alignment to good effort.

We love the land and she loves us back, one-hundred-fold. In a common and well-practiced rhythm, farm team flows from gathering in the garlic, to irrigating the high tunnels, rotating the livestock to fresh pasture, transplanting collards, packing the CSA, trellising tomatoes, spraying protective clay on the cucurbits, and sharing it all during Hands-on-the-Land sessions with aspiring farmers. For several seasons now, the harvest has exceeded our wildest imaginings and we have been able to add solidarity share members mid-summer to share in the bounty.

How do we love on this land so deeply? It’s about a long-term relationship of deep knowing, making mistakes, dialing in our systems, and humbly adjusting. Systems like floating row covers and mulch (check out the Each-One-Teach-One reels series!) are simple and reliable ways to nourish the plants and soil, alongside our commitment to a plethora of Afro-Indigenous practices like raised beds, polycultures, and no-till. And we nourish ourselves as farmers as well, with shared leadership and ample time off! Recognizing that our communities and the land deserve our dedication, we approach our work with a commitment to quality, beauty, high standards, and proficiency. Proud of our soil-stained and calloused hands, we uplift the honor and dignity of labor.

Tour de la Granja y Cena en Español

con interpretación entre inglés y español // Farm Tour and Dinner in Spanish with interpretation between Spanish and English

8 de agosto, 3:30-6:30 PM // August 8, 3:30-6:30 PM

Acompáñanos en un recorrido guiado por la granja, seguido por una cena y música en vivo con Adriana Pericchi, Ceci Pineda y Li Sierra. En el espíritu del intercambio y la convivencia, reunimos a nuestra comunidad para una tarde de aprendizaje mutuo.

Join us for a farm tour followed by dinner and live music with Adriana Pericchi, Ceci Pineda y Li Sierra. In the spirit of intercambio y convivencia, we bring our community together for an evening of mutual learning.

¡Obtenga más información e inscríbase aquí! // Learn more and register here

An Herbalism & Somatic Wellness Workshop
Facilitated by Brooke Bridges & Crysta Bloom

This hands-on workshop is designed for medicine-makers who are ready to deepen their herbal knowledge and integrate holistic wellness practices into their work with plant medicine. Open to all levels of experience, this offering bridges foundational skills with embodied healing.

The participant will learn how to sustainably harvest herbs and craft medicinal tinctures, salves, and infusions that support a balanced nervous system. In addition, the workshop introduces cognitive and somatic healing practices that can be used alongside herbal remedies to address anxiety, depression, and nervous system dysregulation.

In a time when our collective sense of safety is being challenged, medicine makers are being called to approach their work from a holistic viewpoint—one that honors the whole person and centers emotional well-being as essential to physical healing. By integrating somatic and wellness practices into herbalism, the participant strengthens their capacity to offer care that is not only effective, but deeply compassionate and rooted in a commitment to collective healing and resilience. This workshop provides a grounded, integrative approach to plant medicine, supporting practitioners in bridging the wisdom of herbs with mind and body-based healing to support the well-being and resilience of our communities.

Each participant will leave with handmade herbal remedies and practical tools for supporting individual and collective resilience.

Learn more and register here.

Community Work & Learn

Sending gratitude to everyone who visited in July helping us run irrigation, harvest for the CSA, weed, and so much more!

Click on the links below to register for upcoming programs

8/12
9/2
9/16

Farm Tour

Come experience some of the plants, animals and humans that grow at Soul Fire Farm. We will guide you through the growing fields and agroforestry gardens, take you up close to the building projects, share whole-hearted stories, and answer your questions.

Our next tour will be on August 29th.

Sovereign: Reclaiming Black Land

In this podcast, rich in storytelling, history, and ritual, we explore what it means to be sovereign. With Black land at the center, this series brings together prominent activists, artists, weavers and the rising generation of Black land stewards. Crafting inspiring conversations that honor the past and create blueprints for the future.

Monthly IG Live series @soulfirefarm with audio later shared on podcast streaming platforms. Hosted by Clara AgborTabi and Crysta Bloom

Our next episode is titled Devoted Creatorship with Naima Penniman and Olka Baldeh on August 26th at 4pmEST. This episode explores the universal languages that connect us all—highlighting the vital roles of storytellers, creators, and weavers in advancing land sovereignty and liberation.

Listen to all the latest episodes here or watch previous IG Live shows @soulfirefarm

**On July 9, Braiding Seeds Fellowship alum, Dominique Villanueva, co-founder of Fountain Heights Farms, officially broke ground on the highly anticipated new project, Heart of the Farm.**

This vibrant addition to their main site will serve as a market and community kitchen—creating a central space for fresh food access, education, and neighborhood connection in Birmingham’s Fountain Heights community.

The groundbreaking marked a major milestone for the organization, which has long been a beacon of urban agriculture, food justice, and community empowerment. With Heart of the Farm, Fountain Heights Farms is taking a bold step toward expanding its impact by not only growing food but also offering opportunities for local entrepreneurs, skill trainings, youth education, and deeper community engagement.

Supporters were invited to celebrate the moment and be part of shaping the future of the space. The project represents not just a building, but a vision brought to life by years of dedication, partnership, perseverance through testing climates, and grassroots power. Keep an eye on Fountain Heights Farms as they continue to grow right from the Heart. We are deeply proud of them and this major achievement!

We are just back from the In Our Own Voices gala, deeply inspired by IOOV opening a new QTPOC center with transitional housing right in Albany.

They deserve all their flowers and we are humbled and honored to be included among their awardees. Standing up for LGBTQIA+ rights and dignity is ongoing, sacred, and necessary work. Everyone in our community deserves safety, visibility, and liberation – yet queer folks are nine times more likely to be victims of violent crimes than cis-het folks, and nearly half of queer folks have experienced workplace discrimination. Soul Fire’s efforts on gender justice are a small drop in the ocean of what is needed in this time, and we are always open to your ideas as to how we can do better. Here are our efforts at present

The majority of our staff, board, and facilitators are QTPOC.
We prioritize QTPOC aspiring farmers in our immersion training programs.
We require gender justice training for all cis people who attend our immersion training programs.
We create and teach curriculum around the “Queer Earth” affirming that queerness has always been natural and part of the plant and animal kingdoms. Mother Earth is soooo queer!
We provide free and low cost campus rentals to QTPOC groups to use for retreats, workshops, and healing.
During each immersion program, a trans staff person serves as support for trans attendees who need to talk to someone.
We advocate for QTPOC farmers in terms of policy, resources, and respect.
We work in solidarity with queer led sibling projects like Rock Steady Farm and Rise and Root Farm.

Even with these efforts, we have much to learn about dismantling internalized cis-het privilege in ourselves and our work

The Praxis series reflects on how our community can best put our values into action, sharing resources, ideas, and practice toward collective liberation. These will be shared each month in Love Notes and also on social media.

Alumni Spotlight: Naima Dhore [2021 FIRE 3]

When I participated in the SFF immersion program I had no idea how deeply it would shape my journey. As an alum and a co-facilitator, I gained not only a deeper understanding of food justice, but also the language and tools to bring that knowledge back to my community. That experience transformed how I show up in the local food movement. It helped me see the bigger picture and strengthened the connections I continue to hold with my SFF family and fellow alumni.

I’m a first generation farmer, community organizer and someone who deeply believes in the power of food to heal, connect, and build. My roots are in Somalia, but my work is grounded here in Minnesota, where I’m committed to creating a local food system that reflects the diversity, strength, and brilliance of our communities. Alongside my husband, we steward 20 acres just north of the Twin Cities. On our farm, we grow culturally relevant, nutrient-rich crops and open our land as a gathering place-where people can learn, share, and reconnect with traditional foodways.

Common Ground Film Big Picture Ranch
Seeds and SovereigntyFrom the Ground Up
Yoruba Prayers to Pay Homage to Plants, Soil, and Water Center for Humans and Nature
The Food Diplomat: How Ria Ibrahim Bridges Cultures and Cultivates Food Sovereignty Self-Centered Living

BIPOC-led farming organizations are under threat. Please consider donating to these trusted and vetted movement partners who are in need in these times. With your support, we can make an impact on the Black food system.

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