Hello Beautiful People! Today I wanted to write this blog just to tell you about two incredible black farms you should be down with if you live in the DMV who just had two really cool events these past weekends and who I can call family.
First I wanted to show love to Three Part Harmony Farm. Last weekend October 28th they had their 5th annual farm festival which was a lot of fun.
Three Part Harmony Farm is located on a 2-acre parcel in northeast Washington, DC. We grow mostly vegetables as well as fruit, herbs, cut-flowers and we have a greenhouse nursery operation that supplies local community and school gardens as well as two locally owned hardware stores. We are using sustainable practices, without chemical pesticides or herbicides. They have farm days, CSAs and sell their produce at local farmers markets in the DC area. Gail Taylor is the owner/ operator of Three Part Harmony Farm. Their mantra defines their core principles: Food as Medicine. Food as Culture. Food for our Future.
They donate produce to soup kitchens and food pantries that redistribute food to people in need. They also work on campaigns to create more equity in the food system.Three Part Harmony Farm has an active work exchange program where people can work in exchange for fresh produce from the farm. They’re committed to help grow new farms and farmers in DC, and to support Black and People of Color owned farms throughout the US. They collaborate with other like-minded enterprises to see our city thrive socially and economically.
They are also very accessible in the city by metro, bus, walking, bike, ect.
The Three Part Harmony Farm’s Fall Festival which I got there later in the day with some friends of mine was a lot of fun. They had community art projects with both the adults and kids making nature mandalas with found objects in nature. There was garlic planting as well which my friends got to do for the first time. There was food, a DJ, and a fire. Also the very knowledgeable herbalist Holly Poole-Kavana of Little Redbird Botanicals gave a plant and herb walk which was great. It was awesome to see all the families there on the land and just being so free on the land. Three Part Harmony Farm is a great asset to the fabric of DC.
The other farm I wanted to shoutout is Black Dirt Farm. Black Dirt Farm commits itself to produce nutrient and mineral-dense, high-quality, great tasting and soulfully-infused veggies, fruits, eggs, small-grains and protein through our dedication to our small-scale agroecological model of food production and ecosystem management. The Farm’s mission is support by; its commitment to construct a viable model of sustainable agriculture; to develop and participate in an alternative food system and society; and to actively contribute to the development of the agrarian community.
The farm name, Black DIRT, is created to: Bring an image of Black Dirt (which is healthy and biologically active soil) to the mind of the larger community; as well as remind the larger community that as a farmer and farm, the basic tenet of our jobs as food producers and as care-takers of the land, is our responsibility to the soil; one of the basic units in a healthy environment. To retain Black, in Black DIRT, is to pay homage to the black agrarian experience and to the totality of the agrarian struggle in the Americas. The farm is founded upon the diasporic struggle in the Americas and the U.S., and to work from the contributions that folks of color have made to agriculture and society at large.
Black Dirt Farm is a beautiful farm run by my sister and brother Aleya Fraser and Blain Snipstal. It is located on the Eastern Shore and is on the historic land of Araminata Ross aka Harriet Tubman. They sell produce at farmers markets, have Agro/Afroecology encounters on the farm, are a collective with other black/POC farms and farmer organizations on the East Coast and are part of the Seed Keepers Collective.
Last year they held their Agroecology Encounter on the farm and had held an Afroecology Encounter the year before with their second Afroecology Encounter this year in Durham, North Carolina.
Last night November 4th, Black Dirt Farm Collective held a beautiful fundraiser for the collective as it is important we support our people on the ground doing good things for the people. The Black Farmers Ball was held at the Emergence Community Arts Collective and was a whole lot of fun. They had food, drinks and a dance floor with a DJ. It was nice to see people I felt like I hadn’t seen in a long time and just hang out plus supporting people I love and really honor the work that they do.
So if your in the DMV or the East Coast and don’t know about these two incredible farms now you know and should go visit them and even volunteer.
http://threepartharmonyfarm.org/
https://www.facebook.com/pg/blackdirtfarmcollective
Well Till Next Time…Support Black Owned Farms & Black Farmers!
