Three hours north of the bustling city of New York, there is a safe haven for people and planet. Right off Route 2 in Petersburg, you’ll find Soul Fire Farm, a place where the soil is nourished, people are nurtured, and the love of community is palpable. In the land of the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of the Mohican Nation, a revival is occurring through the tangible practice of growing food - food that feeds the stomach and the soul.

Through Afro-indigenous food-growing practices, Soul Fire Farm is restoring 80 acres of land while harvesting fruits, natural medicine, vegetables, honey, and raising animals. The increased soil fertility creates wildlife habitat, including underground fungal networks that foster the exchange of nutrients between land, plant, animal, and human. These practices prioritize soil health and biodiversity, which in turn sequester carbon - an effective solution to the climate crisis.

Carbon is known as “the foundation of life” because it is found in all living things. On a global scale, it maintains the exchange of elements between humans, other animals, and plants. We breathe out carbon dioxide, and plants absorb it to carry out the crucial process of photosynthesis. To sustain life on Earth, we need carbon. More importantly, we need it back in the soil where it can contribute to the growth of living things, and away from the atmosphere where it currently is fueling climate change.

In centring African and Indigenous knowledge, Soul Fire Farm uplifts the traditions of various communities that have experimented with and mastered food production methods. These techniques demonstrate how tending to natural cycles makes for the most nutritious food.

Cover Cropping: Planting diverse plants ensures that the soil has necessary, life-giving nutrients, such as potassium and nitrogen. Cover cropping also prevents dry soil, since bare soil is more vulnerable to the sun’s heat due to the lack of shade and transpiration that plants provide.
Polyculture: Industrialized agriculture champions monocultures, where one crop is planted at a time, but this practice goes against the Earth’s preference for diversity. By planting multiple crops in one area, biodiversity is restored and the land is better for it.
Silvopasture: Combining reforestation and agriculture, silvopasture makes space for rest areas, crops, and pasture for farm animals. The animals, such as sheep, are an integral part of the system. As they forage on native grasses, they make room for different plants to bloom.
Seed keeping: The same way industrialized agriculture pushes for monocultures, it pushes for little seed variety. Through seed keeping, Soul Fire Farm keeps alive the traditions, history, and food of our ancestors, and this makes for the utmost nutrition in every harvest.

When we care for the soil, other species, and one another, we design pathways for cooperation, community, and generosity. When we act as stewards of the land, we generate abundance. These go against capitalist principles of scarcity, competition, and profit above all else (even others’ well-being), which unfortunately are the ones that most people are familiar with. To return to our roots, we need to reteach what has been forgotten.

Due to colonization and the oppressive systems that were developed as a result, many marginalized communities have lost their connection to the Earth. After centuries of harm and neglect, BIPOC communities now associate farming with forced labour, long hours, lack of autonomy, and lack of sovereignty. Indigenous peoples continue to be displaced from land they hold sacred, and the effects of slavery still affect the quality of life for African Americans. To heal these profound wounds, Soul Fire Farm shares the abundance they cultivate with local communities.

Through Solidarity Shares, a program where people without access to healthy food can enjoy the farm’s harvests for free, Soul Fire Farm turns capitalism on its head by exemplifying the benefits of the gift economy. Rather than prioritizing profit, the farm’s principles of sharing, love, and collaboration prioritize people and planet. Access to nutritious food contributes to physical, mental, and social well-being. We need food to sustain our bodies, but the act of taking care of ourselves and others goes deeper than full stomachs. Growing food provides a source of income for many, promotes community resilience, and stimulates creativity through different food-growing practices. Food is as important to individual health as it is to communal ties.

No matter where we live, we each have a network of friends and family that needs nourishment. With industrial agriculture pushing for higher yields at the expense of soils, animal welfare, and human health, we need to take it upon ourselves to transform the agricultural system. When we develop local, fresh, organic, and regenerative food systems, we nurture our bodies, the Earth, and our neighbours - both human and non-human. When health becomes a priority, we create room for joy and healing. The suffering inflicted on BIPOC communities across centuries is not the end of the story. Degraded soil doesn’t need to stay degraded - it can be restored, and so can we. All it takes is picking up a shovel.

It’s time to get our hands dirty.

Tania ROA

Tania is the Digital Communications Manager at Biodiversity for a Livable Climate, an environmental nonprofit that spreads awareness for the powerful potential of ecosystem restoration in climate change mitigation efforts. She is the co-founder and co-host of Closing the Gap, a social justice podcast that shares stories on the connections between today's global crises and their solutions. Tania graduated from Tufts University with a Master of Science in Animals and Public Policy, and through her writing and nature photography she emphasizes the importance of protecting both people and the planet. She loves to snorkel, hike, and travel.

Instagram: @nature_tania

Twitter: @tierra_tania

Food That Heals

Tania ROA