Follow Leah Penniman/ Soul Fire Farm
Farming While Black
Leah Penniman fell in love with farming when she was a teenager, became a farmer and food justice advocate, and with her husband founded Soul Fire Farm in Grafton, New York. The farm provides food in for those with limited access to fresh produce, and it’s a center for teaching and learning about farming and African/indigenous heritage for people of color. Leah’s new book, Farming While Black: Soul Fire Farm’s Practical Guide to Liberation on the Land, is a profound and wide-ranging exploration of everything from the practical details of how to start a farm to the rich history of African-heritage farming and healing traditions.
If you would like to buy the book, Chelsea Green is offering a discount code DTE30 at the online checkout.
Show Notes
2’22 how Leah discovered the positive side of Black history in agriculture
4’27 slavery, emancipation, land ownership, and institutional oppression of black farmers
6’16 participation in civil rights led to denial of benefits and services
7’26. research leading to this book–indigenous wisdom from the Caribbean to Africa
8’49 how Soul Fire Farm began
8’59 food apartheid in south Albany
10’40 how they improved the soil on the new farm
11’37 they grow over 100 different foods, including those with cultural significance
12’45 how the farm is a response to food deserts/food apartheid
14’14. does this work economically
15’44 farm work as skill-building, inspiration, and healing for urban youth
18’06 the positive effects of working outdoors for African heritage people
19’40 what happens to alumni of Soul Fire programs
21’11 changes in the people eating healthy food
22’35 passing land from older to younger farmers
24’25 urban farming for health and community
25’52 restoration of organic matter to the soil as part of healing from colonialism
26’24 indigenous history of corn/maize and what it’s become as a monocrop
28’44 the sense of joy permeating the book
29’49 leadership of black people throughout the history of farming
30’51 how the book has been received so far
31’35 do you still have time to farm?
32’30 the question of who grows our food, not just how it’s grown
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Episode 135 – Wolves in the West: Finding common ground
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Episode 134 – De-commodifying land: Challenging your inner capitalist
As land prices and development pressures rise, agrarians and land stewards have a hard time buying and staying on land. Neil Thapar and Mariela Cedeño talk about strategies to convert land from a commodity to what it really is––habitat, ecosystems, and where we grow our food.
Episode 133 – Healing Grounds: The enduring cultures of regenerative agriculture
In her new book Liz Carlisle explores rich food traditions from the Americas, Asia, and Africa that have survived and thrived in the U.S.—and how they are helping to restore land and climate, and bring about a more just and humane world.
Episode 132 – Innovative approaches to regeneration on a California ranch
TomKat Ranch manager Mark Biaggi talks about dealing with winter floods, summer droughts, and degraded landscapes––and the process of continual experimentation that leads to dramatic regeneration of damaged land.
Episode 131 – Giant bison, mammoths, and eagles: a deep history of the American continent
The land and its creatures looked very different when the first people arrived on this continent. Dan Flores‘ book Wild New World traces human impact up to the present––and the choices we’re looking at now.
Episode 130 – Sustainable development, climate mitigation, and biochar
For decades Brando Crespi has been working in communities damaged by extractive industries. He makes the case that biochar can and should be part of a global strategy do reverse climate change and grow more food with less water.
Episode 129 – Bringing dead land back to life: a filmmaker’s perspective
In 1995 John Liu began documenting the Loess Plateau in China, a landscape ruined by poor agriculture practices. Over decades he documented its return to vibrant life, and filmed many other restoration projects worldwide.
Episode 128 – Sustaining Southwest Agriculture
Gary Paul Nabhan knows how to grow food that’s healthy and profitable––even during times of drought and climate disruption.
Episode 127 – A vibrant pecan oasis in the desert
Coley Burgess didn’t intend to do regenerative agriculture, but a series of happy accidents led him down a path toward healthier trees, a herd of animals, virtually no chemical or tractor use––and a more enjoyable life for himself and his family.
Episode 126 – The food-housing nexus
Professor Phil Warsaw noticed that in urban Black and Latino neighborhoods the price of housing near grocery stores was higher––but the same wasn’t true in more affluent White neighborhoods. Why? And how can planners balance food access and gentrification?
Episode 125 – Leveling the growing field: promoting a fair farm system
Both big ag and small family farms have their problems…but what’s the alternative? We talk with agricultural journalist Sarah Mock about the some possible models.
Episode 124 – Big Team Farms––a new economic model?
Both big ag and small family farms have their problems…but what’s the alternative? We talk with agricultural journalist Sarah Mock about the some possible models.
Episode 123 – The USDA goes after a small sheep farm
Linda and Larry Faillace imported milk sheep following USDA guidelines and started a cheese making business in Vermont––only to have their animals confiscated and killed by the USDA under the pretext of a disease that sheep don’t get. Listen to find out why.
Episode 122 – Making your tax dollars work after fires and floods
New Mexico Congresswoman Teresa Leger Fernandez is working not only to help the people and businesses affected by fires and floods, but also to build back land that is more resilient. All of which is easier said than done.
Episode 121 – Place, Power, And Purpose: Pollinators On Western Landscapes
Bees and other pollinators are facing threats from industrialization and habitat fragmentation. Beekeeper, scientist, and indigenous teacher Melanie Kirby knows that bees are vital to the food we eat—and is showing the way forward.