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.
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
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
Related Articles
The restorative promise of agroecology: Farming for sovereignty and resilience in Malawi – Part II
By Thomas Shivers, Tom
In Malawi, farmers who have embraced agroecology are navigating the challenges of climate change, market pressures, and community needs.
April 7, 2026
The restorative promise of agroecology: Farming for sovereignty and resilience in Malawi
By Thomas Shivers, Tom
In Malawi, where agriculture is central to daily life, an internship with an agroecology organisation offers an inside look at farming practices that challenge industrial food systems and support food sovereignty.
April 6, 2026
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





