Act: Inspiration

Farming While Black: African Diasporic Wisdom for Farming and Food Justice, Leah Penniman

By Leah Penniman, originally published by Oxford Real Farming Conference

January 31, 2020

Soul Fire Farm

Some of our most cherished sustainable farming practices – from organic agriculture to the farm cooperative – have roots in African wisdom. Yet, Black farmers experience discrimination and marginalisation worldwide. Author, activist, farmer and founder of Soul Fire Farm in New York, Leah Penniman is committed to ending racism and injustice in our food system. Through programmes such as the Black-Indigenous Farmers Immersion, a sliding-scale farmshare delivery programme, and reparations work, Soul Fire Farm is part of an international network of farmers working to increase farmland stewardship by people of colour, restore Afro-indigneous farming practices, and end food apartheid. Watch Leah talk about this growing global movement and how ORFC delegates can contribute and help build a food system based on justice, dignity and abundance for all members of our community.

Leah Penniman

Leah Penniman is a Black Kreyol educator, farmer, author, and food justice activist who has been tending the soil for twenty years and organizing for an anti-racist food system for fifteen years. She currently serves as founding co-executive director of Soul Fire Farm in Grafton, New York, a people-of-color led project that works to dismantle racism in the food system. She has been recognized by the Soros Equality Fellowship, NYSHealth Emerging Innovator Awards, and Fulbright Distinguished Awards, among others. Her new book is Farming While Black: Soul Fire Farm’s Practical Guide to Liberation on the Land (Chelsea Green Publishing, November 2018). Find out more about Leah’s work at soulfirefarm.org and follow her @soulfirefarm on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Tags: Building resilient food and farming systems, environmental racism, food justice

Maritime ecosystem restoration

A New Wave of Collaboration for Our Oceans

By Ecosystem Restoration Communities Staff, Ecosystem Restoration Communities

In January, we launched a brand-new Marine Ecosystems Community of Practice – a collaborative initiative bringing together four Ecosystem Restoration Communities (ERCs) working at the frontlines of coastal and marine restoration.

April 3, 2026

French Agricultural Machinery Cooperative

The Ag Coop that Shares More than Machinery

By Pauline Petit, ARC2020

What if, instead of going into debt to invest in their farms, farmers came together to pool equipment? What if, instead of struggling to run a small farm alone, there was extra help at hand? What if new entrants could draw on the experience of more established farmers in their local area? It may sound too good to be true, but this is the reality with France’s network of Agricultural Machinery Cooperatives (CUMA).

April 3, 2026

Tughgoz Village, Ishakshim District, Tajikistan.

Preserving Local Seeds, Sustaining Rural Life

By Umed Qurbonbekov, Home Planet Fund

In Tughgoz village, located in the remote Ishkashim District of Tajikistan, agriculture is more than a livelihood — it is the foundation of daily life. Like many rural communities in the region, village residents rely on their land, local knowledge, and traditional seed varieties to sustain their families and protect their future.

April 2, 2026