Farming While Black

by Leah Penniman

  A typical summer farm share box is full of squash, greens, tomatoes, melons, and other colorful veggies. Photo by Larisa Jacobson.

  Emet poses with a farm-share box in front of the delivery van. Photo by Jonah Vitale-Wolff.

  Doorstep Delivery

  Lack of reliable transportation is the second most important barrier to good food access, after poverty.10 Like many farmers in our area, we first considered joining a farmers market as a way to distribute our produce. We did not realize at the time that transportation and cultural barriers made farmers markets all but inaccessible to the communities that we loved. Our South End neighbors told us that it was nearly impossible to walk a full mile with small children in tow to the nearest city bus stop, journey to the market where people look at them sideways for their dark skin, and carry all those expensive vegetables and tired children back home. It was more feasible to survive on pasta and sauce from the corner store.

  We decided to give doorstep delivery a try. Our first delivery vehicle was a beat-up diesel station wagon that fit 20 bags of food only if piled on top of the children, who were also delivery assistants. We now use an unrefrigerated 2005 Chevy Express half-ton all-wheel-drive cargo van that can hold up to 90 bushel boxes. We only offer doorstep delivery to families living in neighborhoods under food apartheid. People living in more privileged environments can join the program, but need to pick up their food from the back porch of someone in a targeted neighborhood. Through detailed spreadsheets and efficient route design, we are able to travel 40 minutes into Albany, make about 60 individual stops, and get back to the farm in under five hours. All told, this takes less time than working a farmers market stand, and there is no surplus crop to manage at the end. Our members tell us that doorstep delivery is the non-negotiable element of the Ujamaa Farm Share that makes it possible for them to participate.

  UPLIFT

  Food Hubs of the Black American South

  Black farmers have been organizing food hubs since 1973, beginning in Mississippi. The farmers used churches as hubs to combine, store, distribute, and market their produce. They would combine their harvest and load a truck with as much as 30,000 pounds (13,600 kg) of aggregated produce and ship it to churches in Chicago, Illinois. In 1981 the Indian Springs Farmers Cooperative Association of the Mississippi Association of Cooperatives was established to formalize these operations. They aggregated, processed, and distributed produce from more than 30 farmers in the area. They provided the cooler space, washing tubs, sorting tables, and other equipment to process produce for the farmers. Additionally, they offered the farmers training and education in cooperative management. At the time the project was called a packing shed, not a food hub, but the concept was the same.

  Black North Carolina dairy farmers Phillip and Dorathy Barker started their food hub in the early 1980s. They worked with 10 mostly Black farmers within a 50-mile (80 km) radius. Their enterprise, named Operation Spring Plant, provided aggregation, processing, packaging, grading, and marketing support to the farmers. It was part of the Federation of Southern Cooperatives. Operation Spring Plant sold the goods to schools, grocery stores, hotels, and community members. Additionally, the Barkers supported Black farmers in transitioning from conventional tobacco growing to organic food production.

  No analysis of food hubs and food systems can exist without acknowledging the pioneering work of southern Black farmers in general, and the Federation of Southern Cooperatives in particular.11

  Food Hubs

  The Food Hub Collaboration defines a regional food hub as “a business or organization that actively manages the aggregation, distribution, and marketing of source-identified food products primarily from local and regional producers to strengthen their ability to satisfy wholesale, retail, and institutional demands.” While food hubs can be dizzyingly complex, at their root the concept is lean. Ben Burkett of the Mississippi Association of Cooperatives explains, “I like the idea of a food hub. Get us farmers growing, and we know we have a place that’s going to buy it. That idea, that ain’t nothing new though.”

  One potential starting place for your food hub is to identify a market that would be difficult for you to satisfy on your own, but possible with the aggregated growing power of several farmers. For example, Soul Fire Farm was approached by a major cosmetics company with a request to grow herbs for a natural product line. We were also approached by a prison requesting hundreds of pounds of dried spices, a request that was more ethically complex. In both cases the quantity required by the potential wholesale market exceeded our growing capacity. As part of a food hub, instead of declining a customer, we could coordinate with other farmers to meet the demand. Consider that there are several potential wholesale markets in your community, including schools, universities, grocery stores, elder care facilities, and food processing companies. It is important to note that all of the participating farmers need to decide upon a uniform variety, growing method, and harvesting technique so that the finished product has the uniformity demanded by the wholesale customer.

  Another potential starting place for your food hub is to gather your farming community and work together to find a market for your existing crops. In 2009 Black social entrepreneur Dennis Derryck founded Corbin Hill Food Project, a 501(c)3 social enterprise with a mission to provide food to those who need it most. He, together with 10 social investors, raised $700,000 in equity with 72 percent coming from Black and Latinx people, and more than half coming from women, and purchased a 95-acre farm in Schoharie County, New York. Derryck observed that Schoharie County farmers had limited markets while the majority of NYC residents were ignored as customers by the so-called good food movement. Over its first four years, CHFP’s food hub increased aggregation of fresh produce from 4 farmers to 42. In the same period CHFP’s success was further exemplified by its ability to scale fivefold from 200 shareholders to 1,000, with 66 percent of produce going to people of color with household incomes less than 200 percent of the poverty line. Further, he is working to create micro food hubs to aggregate the products of Bronx community gardeners and turn them into value-added products like hot sauce.12

  Excepting its erasure of Black farmers’ contributions to food hubs, the United States Department of Agriculture published a useful and comprehensive primer for planning your food hub, called Regional Food Hub Resource Guide, which offers logistical advice for establishing your aggregation project.13

  UPLIFT

  Haitian Konbit Communal Labor Practice

  The Haitian communal labor practice of konbit originated in West Africa with the Dahomian practice of dokpwe. Pre-revolution, each enslaved adult was allotted a small plot of land for personal subsistence farming. All cultivation tasks had to be completed on Sundays, and a system of mutual cooperation developed to make efficient use of that limited time. Following independence, konbit continued within the structure of the extended family and was centered on the lakou (family compound). Konbit are semi-permanent organizations comprising men and women, typically 3 to 15 individuals who take turns hosting work events on their respective farms. Members of the konbit bring food and water to share, which is often supplemented by the host as a courtesy. Traditional foods are preferred: coffee and root vegetables for breakfast, and cornmeal with bean sauce and vegetables for lunch. As one member of Mouvman Inite Ti Peyizan Latibonit (The United Movement of Small Peasants in the Artibonite) explained, “Before in konbit we boiled yam, sweet potato, and had cornmeal or pitimi (millet). Spaghetti was never here! But now everyone leaves their food culture for spaghetti! [We still maintain our traditions].”14

  For particularly challenging tasks, like sugarcane harvest, the host may hire musicians. Singing is also a common means of passing the time and establishing a cadence by which to coordinate work. The members of a mutual aid konbit often plan far in advance to avoid conflicts in scheduling and ensure that tasks are timed efficiently. For example, one member seeds in week one, the next in week two, and so on. Then, when harvesting, the c
rops are ready at one-week intervals.15

  Communal Labor Practices

  It’s 7:55 AM and the first eager volunteers roll tentatively into the driveway, where the farm collie, Rowe, greets them with eager wagging and sniffing. The agenda for the community konbit, or collective work party, is displayed in English and Spanish on a salvaged wooden easel. Each member of our farm team has prepared a project suitable for guests with various skill levels. I will be planting four beds of garlic and mulching them with straw. Larisa has 100-foot silage tarps ready to install over tired crop beds as a means to exhaust weeds and encourage biological tillage. Amani has benches arranged in a circle around a tall stack of crates, laden with garlic and maize that need to be processed. Jonah is ready to remove tomato and cucumber trellises, put away irrigation line, and generally organize the infrastructure before winter. Our youngest child, Emet, greets the visitors and invites them to sign a waiver and choose their preferred work team. People arrive throughout the morning, some having traveled four or more hours to be present with us on this sacred land. We speak, laugh, and labor together until midday when we gather in a wide gratitude circle, sometimes 90 people thick. Each person calls into the center one word that encompasses their thanks and everyone echoes it back to them—for instance, “Love,” then “LOVE!” We share an abundant and scrumptious potluck meal before heading on a tour of the farm. Lingerers help clean or make music or catch grasshoppers. All is complete by 4 PM.

  Inspired by the communal labor practices of my Haitian family, we harness the collective love and power of our community through monthly konbit work parties. Even before there was Soul Fire Farm, the hands of our extended community laid the foundation for what would emerge. We invited people to help raise the timber frame of the house, install the straw-bale walls, and apply the natural plasters. Together we cleared the field of brush and celebrated around a canopy-high bonfire. As our project matures, we find that a monthly konbit is a beautiful container for welcoming new friends into our space, reconnecting with alumni and friends, and getting necessary tasks done with joy. It took some time to settle on a model for konbit that was nurturing. Along the way, we made several mistakes that resulted in such outcomes as the accidental weeding of an entire crop of maize and rushing a guest to the hospital who was in anaphylactic shock. The following are some strategies that we now employ in operating our konbit.

  Volunteers at Soul Fire Farm’s konbit process garlic while sharing stories.

  Novice and Expert Tasks for Konbit

  Novice Tasks: Great for Konbit

  Crop processing. Cleaning garlic, shucking maize, shelling beans.

  Simple weeding. Removing weeds from crops that are much bigger than weeds or clearly distinct.

  Cleanup. Removing stones from pathways, taking down fencing, uninstalling irrigation line.

  Mulching. Laying down tarps or organic mulch to suppress weeds.

  Planting big seeds. Direct seeding of big-seeded crops like potatoes, garlic, or beans.

  Amendment spreading. Spreading limestone or rock dust. (Note that the host needs to create a grid of the area and measure out quantities in advance.)

  General harvesting. Harvesting “easy” crops like flowers, brussels sprouts, tomatoes, or greens.

  Expert Tasks: Workable for Konbit with Extra Support

  Detail harvesting. Harvesting crops that need to be counted, bunched, discerned, or forked out of the ground.

  Detail weeding. Weeding crops that are a similar size or appearance to the weeds, or weeding a polyculture.

  Planting small seeds. Planting seeds that are tiny and hard to see.

  Transplanting. Putting seedlings into the ground.

  Food preservation. Canning, fermenting, freezing, and drying the harvest while maintaining a sanitary work environment.

  Cutting firewood. Splitting firewood with a wood splitter, then stacking the wood in the woodshed.

  Fence repair. Clearing brush from the fence row, tightening wires, and baiting the fence.

  Work Task Selection

  It is important to select work tasks that are manageable for guests who may have limited farm experience. This ensures that the tasks are done well and also reduces stress and disappointment for the host and the volunteers. We have found that thinking through each task in advance and laying out all the necessary tools and supplies is essential for flow. It is better not to have the host continually leaving the group to go fetch additional supplies. Assign a knowledgeable member of your team to facilitate and supervise each work project. For safety reasons, it is best to avoid asking guests to use tractors, power tools, chain saws, or other machinery. Potential konbit tasks are listed in the “Novice and Expert Tasks for Konbit” sidebar.

  Leah and Amani tend the beans during konbit at Soul Fire Farm. Photo by Neshima Vitale-Penniman.

  Food and Accommodations

  When we started hosting monthly konbit work parties, attendance would average 20 and consist mostly of close friends and family. Currently, we host over 80 people at each konbit, many of whom are first-time visitors to the farm. We share lunch together potluck-style, asking each person to bring food to share. We supplement these generous offerings with a giant pot of chili and rice. One of the work teams heads inside about an hour before the meal to heat up and set out the lunch. We generally do not host people overnight before or after the konbit, as it would mean no family time or downtime for the farm team. We have, however, compiled a list of affordable local accommodations for people traveling from out of town.

  Safety

  As the host of the konbit, you are responsible for the health and safety of your volunteers. People accustomed to city life may not know how to navigate the particular risks of farmwork. With each close call we have added to the safety information that we share when people arrive. Currently, we advise people on ergonomic use of tools to avoid injury, keeping track of children near the pond, avoiding wasp nests, avoiding the electric fences, checking for ticks, staying hydrated, preventing allergic reactions, and wearing sunscreen. We also emphasize the importance of wearing protective clothing that is suitable for mud and rain, such as work gloves, rain boots, a waterproof jacket, and a clean change of pants. We make sure that there is a fueled vehicle ready to transport someone to emergency care if needed. If you decide to welcome strangers to your konbit, you may want to have them sign a liability waiver indicating that they are aware of the inherent risks in farm labor and will not take legal action against you if they are injured.

  Reciprocity and Appreciation

  In Haiti the farmers say, “Sonje lapli ki leve mayi ou,” which means, “Remember the rain that made your corn grow.” The sacred law of reciprocity binds us in a circle with those who contribute to our lives and our projects. At Soul Fire Farm we honor this reciprocity first by saying words of thanks to those who gather at konbit. When other farmers in our network put out a call for collective work, we respond in turn. We also host a volunteer appreciation lunch each winter for those who have made an enduring commitment to our project.

  Writing Your Farm Business Plan

  Nikki Giovanni reminds us that “Style has a profound meaning to Black Americans. If we can’t drive, we will invent walks and the world will envy the dexterity of our feet. If we can’t have ham, we will boil chitterlings; if we are given rotten peaches, we will make cobblers; if given scraps, we will make quilts; take away our drums, and we will clap our hands. We prove the human spirit will prevail. We will take what we have to make what we need. We need confidence in our knowledge of who we are.”16 We always begin our business planning sessions with a conversation on this prophetic quotation.

  As survivors of racial trauma, we often limit our imagination of what is possible. Babalawo Enroue Halfkenny explains that we carry a great fear of confronting the no that might destroy us. So we create a safe box in which to exist, pre-settling for a life that is much smaller than our capacity. Our internalized oppression is so powerful that the oppressor no
longer needs to act. The prison of our own skewed sense of inadequacy, of not deserving, of not being enough, is all that is required to keep us in bondage.

  The first step in writing a business plan, which is really a plan for the tangible love you want to manifest in the world, is to imagine widely what is possible. We invite you to light a candle, call upon your ancestors, close your eyes, and dream into your biggest visions. The following are specific considerations that we found useful in creating a mission-driven business plan.17

  Business Planning Resources

  Growing Farms: Successful Whole Farm Management Planning Book, published by Oregon State University Extension Service

  SCORE Business Plan Resources

  AgPlan

  Whole Farm Planning: Ecological Imperatives, Personal Values, and Economics by Elizabeth Henderson and Karl North, published by Chelsea Green

  Exploring the Small Farm Dream: A Decision-Making Workbook, published by the New Entry Sustainable Farming Project