NEFOC Network Monthly Co-Coordinator Update: August & September
Greetings Farmily!
Abundant harvest greetings! We’ve had an intense and abundant couple of months here at Northeast Farmers of Color Land Trust! We’d like to bring you up to speed, celebrate, commiserate, and connect. We’ve been busy working and connecting with Allied and Sibling organizations who are eager to partner on land access projects and co-develop toolkits, policy, and strategies that center the voices and needs of the BIPOC Farming community of the Northeast.
Celebrating our progress- Funding achieved!
Noyes Fund
We’re celebrating the funding of the first grant written by us, your humble Co-Coordinators! We’ve secured a one-year, $50,000 grant from the Jessie Smith Noyes Foundation. With this grant we aim to build capacity by allowing our Co-Coordinators to dedicate more time to working for the Land Trust. Additionally, this funding will allow us the operating budget to further progress in delivering a meaningfully co-created Indigenous Land Access Consultation Policy, which will uplift and promote Indigenous-led conservation strategies. This work will resituate Indigenous peoples as the original stewards of land in alliance with our Black and Brown relatives to recreate commons for hunting, harvesting, ceremony, and burial. Additionally, funding will provide for the acquisition and maintenance of land for farmers of color.
USDA 2501 Grant
We’re happy to announce the USDA has funded a partnership ($30,000 over 3 years) between NEFOC Land Trust and New Communities (Maine) through Cooperative Development Institute to organize three regional gatherings that bring together refugee and immigrant farmers from 2019-2022. Through these meetings farmers will be better connected to one another, sharing important lessons learned and will explore ways that they can cooperate across the region, particularly to increase the market and production of ethnic crops and to secure land access for their farms.
Governance: Thanking our Interim Council Electing our Board of Directors
We’re moving deeper into the development of the Land Trust and with that comes the election of our first Board of Directors! The Network voted for our inaugural Board of Directors to consist of 7 individuals. Our first Board members are: Nia Holley, Keely Curliss, Carmen Mouzon, Larisa Jacobson, Christine Hutchinson, John Deloatch, and Rafael Aponte! We’re beginning the Board’s term with a full-day in-person Board Retreat to build relationships on the land and dig into the intense work of building a land trust!
We would like to again thank our Interim Council for learning and growing with us. Special gratitude to Nia Holley, Keely Curliss, Carmen Mouzon, Larisa Jacobson, Christine Hutchinson, Ulum Pixan Athohil Suk’il (Bird Spirit), Neftali Duran, Diana Warwin, and Elizabeth O’Gilvie for advancing the land trust’s vision with us!
Summer Lovin’
We had a wonderful Summer NEFOC Network gathering at Soul Fire Farm! We created a sacred space of self care and healing, got to know each other, ate beautiful food lovingly made by Interim Council member Neftali Duran as well as Sirena (#besttamalesever!), Cristina Garcia, Katherine Chiu, Ria and many beautiful dishes brought by our network members. We left feeling full of hope, good food, and camaraderie! The next gathering will be in December, stay tuned for date, time, and location!
Network members enjoying Tamales at Soul Fire!
Your humble Co-Coordinators partaking of healing herbal footbaths and receiving healing from Network member Andraly Horn.
Our summer and early autumn also brought us all around the Northeast dropping knowledge on the public, specifically sharing our flagship workshop “5 Solutions to Land-Based Wealth Redistribution”. We travelled to the Omega Institute, the New England Women’s Herbal Conference, the New Moon Mycology Summit, and Groundswell Center for Local Food & Farming.
Upcoming:
presentations at Decolonizing Diet event in Buffalo, NY; Panelist at the Land Trust Alliance Rally in North Carolina; panelist at the National Farm Viability Conference in Red Wing, MN; keynotes and presentation of our “5 Solutions to Land-Based Wealth Redistribution” workshop at Resource Generation’s- Making Money Making Change conference, Biodynamic conference, Lake George, NY, Northeast Organic Farmer’s Association (NY & VT) winter meetings to name a few!
work with BOD and Harvard clinic to establish by-laws, BOD governance, incorporation, and not for profit status by June 2020
become a member of the Land Trust Alliance by Nov 2019
develop our first annual report
develop an annual fundraising program; continue developing resources via grants, fellowships, private donations & funds
co-develop Indigenous Consultation Strategy and Protocols with Indigenous stakeholders
sign option agreements with 2 potential land donors and 3 potential cultural respect easements by December 2019
establish volunteer roles for social media, network outreach, policy
build land access toolkit in with strategic partners
develop policy & position papers, articles, and Climate Statement re: land access/BIPOC farmers
develop media kit and formal communications strategy
develop quarterly update/newsletter/video for external stakeholders and supporters
develop NEFOC Farm Highlight and Reparations Map videos
develop survey for NEFOC Network Membership for By-laws membership criteria