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Farming can be lonely. Rural areas are spread out and sparsely populated. You can be out in the field all day and never see anyone. Some farmers love this solitude, but that doesn’t mean they don’t need community. If anything, it shows that farmers need to be intentional about building community, because there's no built-in block parties or office water coolers in rural life.
The benefits of having a community are massive. Communities provide access to shared knowledge and resources, not to mention purpose and emotional support.
But for some, rural communities aren’t accessible. Whether it’s because of race, language, politics, sexuality, or any number of other issues, farmers might feel unwelcome or unsafe. Unlike more densely populated areas, their alternatives may be limited. So how do you find community?
On this episode, we have 4 guests, each answering that question in a different way. Some are working to change communities from the inside, others are building new communities from the ground up. Join Wichie Artu (Magnetic Fields Farm – Athens, VT), Eustacio Mil Quino (Hudson Valley Farm Hub – Hurley, NY) along with Ashanti Williams and Arian Rivera (Black Yard Farm Collective – Sloanesville, NY) as we redefine community and rediscover what it means to belong.
Special thanks to Zamir Bridgman and Jackie Lamport on this episode.
Affinity Networks
· National Black Farmers Association
· National Latino Farmers and Ranchers
· Northeast Farmers of Color Network
Resources & Links:
· Black Yard Farm Collective Website
· Black Yard Farm Collective Instagram (@theblackyardfarm)
· Black Yard Farm Collective Twitter (@blackyardfarmco)
· Hudson Valley Farm Hub Website
· Hudson Valley Farm Hub Facebook
· Hudson Valley Farm Hub – Language Justice
· Wichie Artu State Senate Campaign
· The Importance of Community and Mental Health – National Alliance on Mental Illness
Feedback:
If you have questions about the show or topics you'd like discussed in future episodes, email our producer, andrew@lowerstreet.co