We are each other’s harvest; we are each other’s business; we are each other’s magnitude and bond.
Gwendolyn Brooks
Tender Greetings Beloved Community,
Late summer carries its own quiet wisdom. The fields are full, seeds are ripening, and the work of harvest begins to take shape. This season reminds us that abundance is not something we create alone, but the result of steady care, shared labor, and relationships rooted in trust. As we witness the fullness of what this land can offer, we are grateful for the community that continues to grow alongside it.
As we move through the final stretch of the growing season, we invite you to join us on the land. There are just eight Community Work & Learn days remaining this year—an opportunity to support the farm, connect with fellow community members, and get your hands in the soil. We also hope you’ll join us for Maíz Mi Raíz: Cocina de Maíz this September, where we’ll celebrate the gifts of the milpa through ancestral recipes, shared harvest, and bilingual learning rooted in the traditions of corn. We hope you’ll join us as we continue learning, harvesting, and growing together. There’s still so much of the season to share
May your breath be your anchor.
With love and solidarity,
Briana, callie, Ceci, Cheryl, Christina, Crysta, Danielle, Hana’, Hillary, Jaz, Jonah, Leah, Maya, O’den, Ren, Ria, Shay, Taína, and Winter
 Community Work & LearnAugust 11, 2026 10:00 am – 3:30 pm | August 25, 2026 10:00 am – 3:30 pm | Volunteer at Soul Fire Farm to learn about some of our farming practices while supporting our work and getting your hands on the land. Each One, Teach One. Many Hands Make Light Work. Register |
 Soul Fire Farm Family Fun DayAugust 29, 2026 12:00 pm – 3:00 pm | Join us for an afternoon of fun activities to connect to land and nature. Children of all ages and their caregivers are welcome. Register here |
 Farm TourAugust 29, 2026 3:30 pm – 5:00 pm | Learn more about 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. Register here |
As a thick haze remade the sun into an orange orb, health alerts rolled in, reminding us to “stay indoors and close the windows.”
Canadian forests were on fire, exasperated by record-breaking high temperatures that dried out the forest floor and turned it to tinder. We were in the middle of a farmer training immersion program, 25 growers engaged in ”hands-on-the-land,” bringing in the harvest to feed hundreds of waiting community members—The plants are outside. The soil is outside. The farmworkers are, by definition, outside. As an educational farm, we have the relative privilege of being able to flex our schedules in harsh atmospheric conditions, pivoting to indoor tasks for a time. We have KN95 masks on hand for everyone and – thanks to the site team – two buildings with whole-space HEPA filters and A/C. This is not the reality for most farmworkers, who cannot heed the public advisories to stay indoors. Climate catastrophe is upon us, but it’s not too late to mitigate the most dire projections. May the forest fires ignite a fire within us to act in defense of Mother Earth, the farmworkers, Indigenous communities, all beings impacted by the blaze, and all future generations counting on us.
Community Work & Learns
If you’ve been looking for an opportunity to support our work and get your hands in the dirt, register for an upcoming Community Work & Learn. We only have 8 Community farm days remaining for this season. Click on the dates below to register. Tickets are available 6 weeks before each program.
Our next Farm Tour is scheduled for Saturday, August 29th.
Register here to learn more about 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.
Ancestral Wilderness Skills 3D
Saturday – October 17th, 2026
Registration open! Get your tickets: here!
Usher in the wisdom of the ancestors during our full-day Ancestral Wilderness Skills weekend Skillshare! Want to learn to build a fire in the woods, how to forage for edible plants? How about diving into the magic of mushrooms? This 3D is an opportunity to equip yourself with tangible survival and preparedness skills alongside other BIPOC folks in your community! What could be better?
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Maíz Mi Raíz: Cocina de Maíz
Sábado – 19 de Septiembre, 2026
¡Inscripción abierta! Consigue tus entradas: aquí¡
Acompáñenos en la milpa y en la cocina para Cocina de Maíz, un taller participativo enfocado en la cocina del maíz y en los frutos de la milpa. MariChuy y Yiyi Mendoza nos guiarán en la preparación y cocción de platos ancestrales a base de masa, así como de otros platos y salsas, utilizando ingredientes listos para cosechar de la milpa que sembramos juntes en mayo. Este programa bilingüe (español-inglés) es el evento final de nuestra serie Maíz Mi Raíz, dedicada a celebrar el maíz.
Inscríbase aquí para un recorrido por la granja después del taller, a las 3:30 p. m. hasta las 5 p.m.
Maíz Mi Raíz: Cocina de Maíz
Saturday – September 19, 2026
Registration open! Get your tickets: here!
Join us in the milpa and the kitchen for Cocina de Maíz, a participatory workshop on cooking with corn and the gifts of the Milpa. MariChuy and Yiyi Mendoza will guide participants through making and cooking ancestral dishes with masa and also making different dishes/salsas with what is ready to harvest in the milpa we planted together in May. This bilingual (ESP-ENG) program is the final in our Maíz Mi Raíz series centering corn.
Participants can also register here for a Spanish-first Farm Tour following the workshop 3:30 – 5 PM.
Braiding Seeds Fellowship alumni Sienna Viette, D’Real Graham, Zel Taylor and Angie Comeaux (also a BSF co-director) are sharing their experiences of tending both land and communities in a new digital StoryMap.
“Rooted Resilience: How farmers of color are reshaping the food system with their communities” was produced collaboratively with Community Voices for Action, a storytelling project from the AAMC Center for Health Justice. The project shares the stories of communities from across the United States, including their experiences with environmental injustice and the work they are doing to create healthier environments for everyone. Rooted Resilience shares powerful narratives of the ways that Black and Indigenous farmers and growers are helping to expand food access, strengthen local food systems and translate systemic challenges into community-level resilience. Lush paintings of plant kin by Soul Fire Farm alum Alexandra Antoine and photographs by Braiding Seeds alumni bring life to the map and highlight the deep relationships each farmer has with the non-human inhabitants of the land.
On July 31st, Braiding Seeds Fellowship will be opening up applications for our sixth cohort of BIPOC farmers and land stewards in the Northeast and Southeast US who are cultivating community and more resilient food futures! The application, updated FAQs and important dates will be posted to the BSF website.
In moments of uncertainty, our shared humanity asks us to pay attention — to listen, to witness, and to stand together when a person’s life and dignity may be at risk.
We invite our community to learn more about the case of Konstantin Rudnev and to take part in a humanitarian campaign calling for respect for due process, humane treatment, and fundamental human rights.
An updated Call to Action is now available, including a revised complaint letter that reflects the latest developments in the legal proceedings. If you would like to help, please use the new materials when contacting the relevant authorities.
Full letter templates and detailed instructions: https://shorturl.at/GZk5y
We also encourage everyone to read and share this recent analysis examining the latest developments in the case. It explains concerns that prosecutors sought to challenge the house arrest order through a cassation appeal despite allegedly lacking the legal authority to do so, raising broader questions about adherence to due process and the rule of law.
In addition, a new scholarly volume bringing together the research of ten independent scholars will be released in full in late August–early September. Bitter Winter has begun publishing the chapters as a series. The research examines Konstantin Rudnev’s life, the allegations made against him and his spiritual community, and the wider social and legal context surrounding the case. The authors also explore broader issues concerning the treatment of minority spiritual movements, Indigenous traditions, land defenders, and political dissidents.
The first chapter can be read here.
Every voice helps bring greater public awareness to the importance of due process, humane treatment, and respect for the dignity and rights of every individual.
SHARING NOT HOARDING Part II
There is so much acute need in our community that we will continue to use our platform to uplift the initiatives of our international partner organizations. Capitalism would have us competing for scraps and believing resources are scarce. We refuse. In the spirit of ubuntu and mutual aid, we are committed to sharing what we have with others in the Black and Brown farmer ecosystem, even in hard times.
This month, please make a donation of any size to:
- Water Access for Rural Farmers in Ghana: We have been in relationship with farmers in the Manya Krobo district of Ghana for over 20 years. They are facing climate-induced drought and digging new wells to keep their crops thriving.
- Support Black Yard Farm Collective: Ashanti Williams of Black Yard Farm Collective in upstate NY is seeking operating support to bring in this year’s harvest. Can you donate $36 to this incredible Black woman farmer?
- Advocate for Mapuche Land Defenders in Argentina, by signing this petition calling for the resignation of Prosecutor Fernando Arrigo, and by donating to the cause.
The Homelands PowWow Returns!
October 4–5, 2026 • Shakespeare & Company • Lenox, MA
Join our friends from the Mohican Nation for dancing, drumming, storytelling, crafting, visiting artisan vendors, and enjoying delicious food. There are opportunities for volunteering and sponsorship. Learn more at: www.HomelandsPowWow.org
We are calling on our community to join the Soil Keeper network by becoming a recurring donor.
A recurring gift to Soul Fire Farm is a practice of stewardship and long-term investment in the futures we are trying to build together.
For over fifteen years, Soul Fire Farm has cultivated food sovereignty, trained thousands of Black and Brown growers, stewarded ancestral farming knowledge, and nourished communities facing food apartheid.
But this moment asks something new of all of us.
Today, this work faces increasing uncertainty as funding for racial justice and community-led food systems becomes more volatile.
Today, over 175 recurring donors – our Soil Keepers, provide the steady nourishment that helps Soul Fire Farm remain rooted through changing seasons. These are the people helping ensure this work can continue not only today, but for generations to come.
Because this work cannot survive on urgency alone.
It needs steady hands.
Steady hearts.
Steady roots.
Being a Soil Keeper is a commitment to tending the conditions that allow communities, movements, and futures to flourish.