Final report for EDS22-36
Project Information
USDA NASS Census (2017) estimated that of the 3,399,834 famers in the US, about 48,697 identified as Black, 79,198 as Native American, 25,310 as Asian, and 112,451 as Hispanic farmers. These represent BIPOC (Black Indigenous people and people of color) farming population numbers many who are alienated from the sustainable agriculture and organic movement - and benefits to their local farms, environments, food sovereignty, food systems, and communities. Often these populations are called underserved because they have lacked the same intentional access and have not benefited from support systems that enable thriving livelihoods, or increases in participation in land ownership, USDA programs or trainings, and financial support and resources that support growing resilient environments, local healthy food systems, and healthy communities, and well-being (Akerman, 2013).
The International Federation of Organic Agricultural Movements (IFOAM) is dedicated to training farmers around the world using a systems approach developed by the international organic farming community. The strategies incorporate the practices of Health, Ecology, Fairness and Care into today’s restricted-materials certified organic farming criteria, adding value and benefits to sustainable agriculture and sustainable organic agriculture food systems, with positive impacts in supporting healthy communities.
A central focus of Organic 3.0 is a system of organic farming centered around building communities, healthy people, and sustainability with greater economic stability and equality. This is an important message today and can help share the benefits of organic farming systems to every community.
In response to the needs of American BIPOC farmers, our Project developed a participatory, in-depth educational experience that values Black, Indigenous farmers and Farmers of Color and their communities as a welcomed culture with rich historic connections to the land. It values the critical role and voice of BIPOC farmers in organic agriculture and their critical role as essential service providers in local communities and the American sustainable agriculture marketplace.
The Organic for All Project’s participatory training and education efforts are designed to build capacity within the BIPOC community for farmers to grow healthy farming systems using organic-agroecology farm practices, and increase knowledge of organic certification and organic standards. We will implement participatory workshops with individuals and organizations— both on site and using distance-learning tools.
This SSARE Education Project would assist, equip, and empower BIPOC farmers, socially disadvantaged farmers, underserved small farmers and their communities in sustainable agriculture organic farming systems practices and alternative marketing strategies. We will incorporate integrated distance learning and hands-on trainings, with participatory relevant learning sessions with BIPOC farming communities in regions across the Southern United States, which will be made available throughout the country— benefiting farmers and society as a whole.
The Organic for All Project will equip, empower, and provide access with socially disadvantaged farmers, Black Indigenous farmers and farmers of color, underserved small farmers and their communities in specific critical areas, sustainable ag organic farming systems, and existing resources towards the goal of advancing sustainable agriculture in the Southern Region, by:
- Partnering and engaging with small farmers, socially disadvantaged farmer groups and BIPOC farmers and farmer organizations - to provide critical participatory learning experiences, hands-on trainings, and technical assistance; to increase in relevant areas, and farm sustainability/thrivability, support resilient organic livelihoods, sustainable ag organic farming practices, healthy food systems, healthy communities and wellbeing.
- Enabling BIPOC farmer participation and access to the organic marketplace.
- Partnering and engaging farmers with Community Collaborators and Land Grant Institutions.
- Extending the benefits of sustainable and organic farming systems, agroecology farm practices to: socially disadvantaged farmers and their communities, BIPOC farmers, underserved small farm populations, including all communities.
- Developing a narrative with video documentation, infographic resources and farmer’s own stories about what they learned and which practices of their own changed as a result of participating in the project.
- Providing an alternative pathway for engaging our target populations and their communities in sustainable ag organic farming practices to enable the benefits in all communities in the southern region.
Cooperators
- - Technical Advisor - Producer
- - Technical Advisor - Producer
- - Technical Advisor - Producer
- - Technical Advisor - Producer
- - Technical Advisor
- - Technical Advisor
- - Technical Advisor - Producer
- - Technical Advisor
- - Technical Advisor
- - Technical Advisor - Producer
- - Technical Advisor
- - Technical Advisor - Producer
- - Technical Advisor - Producer
Education
Approach to promote participatory relevant capacity strengthening sessions
The Organic For All project used a participatory sustainable development capacity strengthening approach to correct relationships and partnerships and engage underserved farmers in the development of their solution, change: The project involved underserved small farmers as active co-leaders in the development, implementation, and outreach of their intensive participatory learning sessions. Organic For All project held several dialogues with farmer co-leaders identifying small farm community needs, challenges, and their priorities with possible solutions to the needs. Underserved small farmer co-leaders voiced the focus of their participatory capacity strengthening learning session. From these discussions, data was gathered that laid the foundation for the relevant message(s) for the on-farmer’s farm learning and farmer facilitated tours: Generally, the non-formal education and training focused on issues and topics that were most relevant today to encourage joy, hope and success, wellbeing and quality of life.
Eight participatory learning sessions were created the topics included: Seed Saving to Promote Small Farm Resiliency, Culture, and Local Food Sovereignty; Agroecology and Indigenous Agriculture Pathways; Benefits of Organic Agriculture and Organic Certification; Strengthening resilience, Adderson’s Historic Black Farm and Organic Farmer Success; Tools for Organic and Sustainable Agriculture Small Farmers; Creative Farm Marketing that Connects with Your Community; Building Resilience through Organic Farming Practices; and Connecting Diverse Food Communities Across the Americas with Agroecology. Organic For All project developed farmer narratives of the participatory learning sessions in video and podcasts provided on the website (https://uacus.com/); and as PDF documents - Voice of the Farmer, and Planting Our Stories Back into Our Communities Report, attached.
Organic For All project shared information on the IFOAM principles of organic agriculture, agroecology-organic farming systems practices and benefits; and partnered with USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service, Georgia Grown Citrus, Regenerative Organic Certification, UGA Cooperative Extension, Ft Valley State University Cooperative Extension, McIntosh S.E.E.D., the Rodale Institute, and Terra Madre Americas Slow Food USA organizations to provide resources, technical assistance, additional relevant information, and outreach.
Educational & Outreach Activities
Using a wholistic participatory agroecology-organic farming systems approach, we brought Lola’s Organic Farm elephant garlic and specialty heirloom squash (recently certified Regenerative Organic Farm) and partnered with an on-site Terra Madre Americas executive chef to create a signature dish for participants at Terra Madre Americas.
The integration of a live cooking demonstration at our exhibition booth gave additional value to the “farm-to-table experience” and the connection to underserved small farmers/farmers, and the essential role of small farmers in our local communities.
While tasting our on-site chef-prepared dish, participants learned about agroecology-organic farming systems practices sustainable agriculture, seed saving, etc. and were able to take organic seed grown from Lola's heirloom squash and elephant garlic with them to plant in their own farm or garden spaces, to plant and grow.
People were amazed to receive free organic seeds from the food they just ate! In today’s world it is important for farmers, underserved small farmers, and consumers to have access to agroecology-organic farming systems sustainable agriculture practices - their benefits that enable wellbeing and resilience: healthy soils, clean environments, healthy food systems, nutritious healthy food sovereignty systems and healthy communities, Organic For All.
The Organic For All project has been successful in engaging underserved small farmers, identifying needs, and challenges and developing relevant participatory education, trainings, providing technical assistance and farmer facilitated on-farm learning farm tours. Organic For All project has been successful in sharing information, bridging awareness and encouraging farmers to change their practices; building alternative markets awareness, and promoting healthy organic food systems and indigenous agroecology-organic farming systems practice-benefits - that assert self-reliance, sustainability, thriveability and quality of life with small farmers and their communities.
Participation summary:
The Organic For All Project used a participatory capacity building approach to engage farmer dialogues, build relationships, identify needs, challenges; assist and equip small farmers and their communities in sustainable agricultural-organic farming systems practices and resilience strategies; and to empower and assert self-reliance and wellbeing with small farmers and their communities.
The Organic For All Project worked together with participant farmer-coleaders to develop their relevant message(s) to the community and to provide participatory education and networks. Coleader-farmer participants worked together with the project to disseminate information to the farming communities through emails and farmer to farmer word of mouth communication. Eight participatory intensive learning sessions were created, developed and held on-farmer’s farms where learning continued through farmer facilitated tours of their organic sustainable agriculture farm operations.
About 75 people participated in the on-farm capacity building learning sessions, about 45 of these were small farmer participants. Project’s community collaborators included representatives from USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service, Georgia Grown Citrus, Regenerative Organic Certification, UGA Cooperative Extension, Ft Valley State University Cooperative Extension, McIntosh S.E.E.D., and the Rodale Institute partnered to provide resources, technical assistance, and outreach; and collaborating-partner farmers and their farm space.
The Organic For All project has been successful in engaging underserved small farmers and their communities, identifying needs, and challenges and developing relevant participatory education, trainings, technical assistance and farmer facilitated on-farm learning farm tours. Organic For All project has been successful in sharing relevant messages, promoting healthy organic food systems, agroecology-organic farming systems practice-benefits to enable self-reliance, sustainability, thriveability, and quality of life with small farmers and their communities.
Eight participatory learning sessions were created. The topics included: Seed Saving to Promote Small Farm Resiliency, Culture, and Local Food Sovereignty; Agroecology and Indigenous Agriculture Pathways; Benefits of Organic Agriculture and Organic Certification; Strengthening resilience, Adderson’s Historic Black Farm and Organic Farmer Success; Tools for Organic and Sustainable Agriculture Small Farmers; Creative Farm Marketing that Connects with Your Community; Building Resilience through Organic Farming Practices; and Connecting Diverse Food Communities Across the Americas with Agroecology. Organic For All project developed farmer narratives of the participatory learning sessions in video and podcasts provided on the website (https://uacus.com/); and as PDF documents - Voice of the Farmer, and Planting Our Stories Back into Our Communities Report, attached.
Extending capacity building and outreach: About 160,000 people from around the world participated in the 2025 Terra Madre America’s Conference in Sacramento, CA where the Lola’s Organic Farm and the Organic For All Project participated as presenter-exhibitor in this event. Our collaboration and educational-outreach effort gave the project an opportunity on a national and international scale to share information on the project’s work to uplift the role and voice of underserved small farmers and strengthen capacity.
From the Organic For All presentation-exhibit booth we distributed hand-outs on IFOAM principles of organic agriculture and had valuable dialogues, one-on-one conversations with participants about the project’s work, along with lively discussions surrounding our on-farm practices and why we support agroecology-organic farming systems practices sustainable agriculture to enable healthy soils/farms, clean environments, healthy foods and communities. Visitors to our booth enjoyed a (continuous play) video we produced showcasing the training that our project provided to farmers in our Organic For All capacity strengthening learning sessions.
Using an integrated wholistic participatory agroecoclogy-organic farming systems approach, we brought Lola’s Organic Farm certified organic elephant garlic and specialty heirloom squash (recently also certified Regenerative Organic) to an underserved small farm to table learning experience at the 2025 Terra Madre Americas: We partnered with an on-site Terra Madre Americas executive chef to create a signature dish for participants - The integration of a live cooking demonstration at our exhibition booth gave additional value to the Organic For All message, farm-to-table experience connecting to agroecology-organic sustainable agriculture small farmers/underserved small farmer practices and organic seed saving.
This learning experience offered the public/consumer communities, farmers and gardeners an opportunity to learn about the Organic for All project, develop a closer relationship with their food, and possibly an appreciation for small farmers and the work that we do. Participants learned about local/national small farmers, agroecology-organic farming systems practices sustainable agriculture, seed saving, etc. and were provided free organic seed grown from Lola's heirloom squash and elephant garlic to plant in their own farm land and garden spaces, to plant and grow. Participants were amazed that the seeds were from our organic farm and that we were giving away, free organic seeds from the food they just ate!
In today’s world it is important for farmers, underserved small famers, and consumer communities to have access to information-assistance on indigenous agroecology-organic farming systems sustainable agriculture practices- and their benefits that enable wellbeing and resilience: healthy soils and farms, clean environments, healthy food systems, healthy food sovereignties and healthy communities for all of us, Organic For All.
Learning Outcomes
During the Organic For All project, underserved farmer participation was fundamental to building relationships and asserting relevant capacity building messages, information exchange, technical assistance, training solutions, and change: Farmers co-led and participated in the development of participatory efforts and outreach, engaged in dialogues, participatory development of intensive learning sessions and on-farm demonstrations to strengthen capacity with underserved farmers and their communities.
Organic For All project’s participatory on-farm learning sessions and overview are available via website to all farmers and their communities (local, national, and international).
Farmers participating in the on-farm learning sessions indicated a shift in awareness, knowledge gained, attitude, and skills gained that may affect their willingness to change.Several participant comments follow:
What did you learn/what new information did you learn today?
“I learned about the business side of organic farming and some of the adaptations organic farms can make in order to make a profit. I also learned about sustainable farming practices.”
“How to organic farm”
“The story of Brown Place Farm and how his farm became organic.
The benefits of organic.
The importance of soil health and soil testing.”
“Everything that I learned today was new information. I learned what chaff looked like, what threshing and winnowing were that creeping Charlie is edible, cooked, what arugula flowers look like, how lettuce grows seeds, how best to catalog good seeds and keep track of them year to year, how to tell if luffa seeds are likely to germinate and how to tests seeds for germination.”
"I learned about different project going on in this area around food security and food sovereignty."
"How to build a cost efficient cage"
"How to keep trees from freezing"
"I've learn different ways of planting and how to build a low tunnel..."
“Self-sufficiency, nixtamalization, sustainable wildlife habitats.”How will you use what you learned today?
“On my farm how to use organic practices”
“I plan to preplan and measure out my farming practice in order to ensure sustainability and produce quality.”
"I will use this information towards our on farming."
“I will continue to farm with my co farmers to make a better world”Which new farm practices do you intend to use?
“Seed saving”
“I would like to try separating crops by time instead of by space as a way to get more out of less space.”
“I am excited to explore “no-bed” farming to reduce pests.”
"I tend to do, take the information I have learned on how to use what we have/forage to feed people/grow food for others/not waste."
Project Outcomes
The Organic For All project used a participatory capacity building approach to engage alternative ways of knowing and learning. The capacity building approach engaged farmer dialogues, relationship building, to identify needs, challenges; and developed together relevant learning sessions to assist and equip small farmers and their communities in wellbeing, sustainable agricultural-organic farming systems practices and resilience strategies; to empower and assert self-reliance and success with small farmers and underserved small farmers and their communities.
The Organic For All project worked together with participant farmer-coleaders to develop their relevant message to the community and to provide participatory education and networks. Coleader-farmer participants worked together with the project to disseminate information to the farming communities through emails and farmer to farmer word of mouth communication. The participatory leaning sessions were held on-farmer’s farms where learning continued through farmer facilitated tours of their organic sustainable agriculture farm operations.
About 75 people participated in the project’s on-farm capacity building learning sessions, about 45 of these were underserved small farmer participants. Project’s community collaborators included representatives from McIntosh S.E.E.D, USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service, Georgia Grown Citrus, Regenerative Organic Certification, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension, Ft Valley State University Cooperative Extension, the Rodale Institute, and collaborating-partner farmers and their farm space.
Organic For All intensive on-farm learning sessions provided farmer-facilitated learning farm tours during the sessions; Developed eleven narrative video/podcasts where all farmers can have access to the learning sessions and co-leader farmer dialogues. Developed eight Voice of the Farmer newsletters were developed to give the farming community access to the learning experience; and the Planting our Stories Back into Our Communities, Organic For All overview document.
Organic For All project participated with Lola's Organic Farm and as collaborator/presenter-exhibitor with 2025 Terra Madre Americas. About 160,000 people from around the world participated in the 2025 Terra Madre America’s Conference in Sacramento, CA. This capacity building event gave us an opportunity on a national and international scale to promote the role of small farmers, agroecology-organic farming systems practices sustainable agriculture, and the benefits - we discussed the project, seed saving as a critical tool to promote small farm sustainability, and held an on-site executive chef organic live cooking demonstration, samples were provided. Lola’s Organic Farm is an official Terra Madre Slow Food Farm- Jennifer Taylor also participated as small farmer/speaker-panelist in the Slow Food Farm’s Agroecology Program held within the 2025 Terra Madre Americas Event.
Organic For All project outcomes included: Participation, Farmer-coleader/collaborator participation, farming community participation, and community collaborator participation; Creation of a participatory pathway forward that Engaged underserved farmers in an approach that gave value to their voice as respected knowledgeable leaders in community and coleaders of the outreach, Promoting relevant messages and successes, narrative documents and podcasts; and Access to specific relevant information, agroecology-organic farming systems sustainable agriculture practices, benefits, technical assistance, to promote underserved small farm resilience, sustainability, and wellbeing. Eight participatory learning sessions were created the topics included: Seed Saving to Promote Small Farm Resiliency, Culture, and Local Food Sovereignty; Agroecology and Indigenous Agriculture Pathways; Benefits of Organic Agriculture and Organic Certification; Strengthening resilience, Adderson’s Historic Black Farm and Organic Farmer Success; Tools for Organic and Sustainable Agriculture Small Farmers; Creative Farm Marketing that Connects with Your Community; Building Resilience through Organic Farming Practices; and Connecting Diverse Food Communities Across the Americas with Agroecology. Organic For All project developed farmer narratives of the participatory learning sessions in video and podcasts provided on the website (https://uacus.com/); and as PDF documents - Voice of the Farmer, and Planting Our Stories Back into Our Communities Report, attached.
Some participant comments follow:
What did you learn/what new information did you learn today?
“I learned about the business side of organic farming and some of the adaptations organic farms can make in order to make a profit. I also learned about sustainable farming practices.”
“How to organic farm”
“The story of Brown Place Farm and how his farm became organic.
The benefits of organic.
The importance of soil health and soil testing.”
“Everything that I learned today was new information. I learned what chaff looked like, what threshing and winnowing were that creeping Charlie is edible, cooked, what arugula flowers look like, how lettuce grows seeds, how best to catalog good seeds and keep track of them year to year, how to tell if luffa seeds are likely to germinate and how to tests seeds for germination.”
"I learned about different project going on in this area around food security and food sovereignty."
"How to build a cost efficient cage"
"How to keep trees from freezing"
"I've learn different ways of planting and how to build a low tunnel..."
“Self-sufficiency, nixtamalization, sustainable wildlife habitats.”
How will you use what you learned today?
“On my farm how to use organic practices”
“I plan to preplan and measure out my farming practice in order to ensure sustainability and produce quality.”
"I will use this information towards our on farming."
“I will continue to farm with my co 1farmers to make a better world”
Which new farm practices do you intend to use?
“Seed saving”
"I would like to try separating crops by time instead of by space as a way to get more out of less space.”
“I am excited to explore “no-bed” farming to reduce pests.”
"I tend to do, take the information I have learned on how to use what we have/forage to feed people/grow food for others/not waste."
The Organic For All project has been successful in engaging underserved small farmers, identifying needs, and challenges and developing relevant participatory education, trainings, providing technical assistance and farmer facilitated on-farm learning farm tours. Organic For All project has been successful in sharing information, bridging awareness and encouraging farmers to change their practices, building alternative markets and promoting healthy organic food systems and agroecology-organic farming systems practice-benefits; and building self-reliance, sustainability and thriveability with small farmers and their communities.
Organic For All is a relevant participatory capacity strengthening project focused on uplifting the voices of underserved small farmers, small farmers and their communities towards participatory solutions that assert quality of life, healthy food sovereignties, clean environments, and healthy communities through specific relevant areas and indigenous agroecology-organic farming systems practices that enable wellbeing and resilience for all. This initiative supported by IFOAM-NA works to build local knowledge, resources and networks, create pathways to alternative organic markets, and healthy food security, aligning with goals for small farm sustainability, thriveability, and participatory sustainable development.
Information Products
- Planting Our Stories Back Into Our Communities
- Seed Saving To Promote Small Farm Resiliency, Culture, and Local Food Sovereignty
- Agroecology and Indigenous Agriculture Pathways
- Benefits of Organic Agriculture and Organic Certification
- Adderson's Historic Black Farm and Organic Famer Success
- Tools For Organic and Sustainable Agriculture Small Farmers
- Creative Farm Marketing That Connects To Your Community
- Building Resiliency Through Organic Farming Practices
- Connecting Diverse Food Communities Across The Americas with Agroecology
- Farmer Narratives and Participatory Learning Sessions