Farm and Conservation Land for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color Self Determination and Sovereignty in Rural Massachusetts

Final report for FNE22-022

Project Type: Farmer
Funds awarded in 2022: $29,975.00
Projected End Date: 03/01/2024
Grant Recipient: The Farm School
Region: Northeast
State: Massachusetts
Project Leader:
Carmen Mouzon
The Farm School
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Project Information

Summary:

The project sought to answer what farmers and land based organizations can do to address the disproportionate percentage of white owned farmland in Massachusetts (MA).

As a first step, the East Quabbin Land Trust and the Mt. Grace Land Trust worked to build relationships across their organizations.  As relationships were built, the organizations began to develop their collective understanding of history and legacy of race based land displacement and dispossession in their regions. Thirdly, the organizations looked within to identify the lingering policies and practices land based organizations continue to use that limit and block Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) access to conservation and farmland within the region.  

Using reference materials and a Racial Equity and Liberation framework developed by The Move to End Violence, the Mt. Grace Land Trust (Mt. Grace LT) and East Quabbin Land Trust (East Quabbin LT, EQLT) laid the groundwork to build their organizational analysis of race, power, privilege and their understanding of how these structures uphold systems of oppression.

Using this framework the EQLT and Mt. Grace LT began working to shift their organizational polices and practices to create pathways for BIPOC land access and self determination in their land use practices.  Policy and practice changes included

  1. Taking a collaborative approach to establishing culturally appropriate conservation restrictions
  2. Broadening community outreach initiatives that invite BIPOC communities to utilize conservation lands for their enjoyment
  3. Modification of Board term limits to create room for onboarding  future board members that can enhance the organizations efforts towards greater BIPOC engagement, land access and ownership.  Continuing to build Board understanding of the Move to End Violence Framework.
Project Objectives:

Objective: Over a 2 year timeframe,

(a) The Farm School, a nonprofit in central MA, Northeast Farmers of Color Land Trust (NEFOC LT), Mt. Grace LT and East Quabbin LT will participate in research geared to name, define and articulate the organizational, state and federal policies and practices within their organization that have contributed to/ have maintained the current racial demographic breakdown of farmland ownership in rural MA.  A timeline will be developed in order to implement a variety of policies and practices devoted to outcomes that lead to BIPOC owned farmland/land access and land transfers. 

(b) BIPOC participants have been marginalized from grants and resources like Northeast SARE (NESARE), largely due to the fact that access to permanent and long-term access to land in MA is near nonexistent. As an essential first step to attaining a greater distribution of grants and resources allocated to BIPOC recipients, this project and similar projects of research dedicated towards initiatives leading to land access and land transfers to BIPOC farmers/non-profit recipients will help activate pathways to free the space and let go of policies that block BIPOC access so that BIPOC communities can take a permanent seat shaping the sustainable agriculture, research and education indicatives of the future.

Introduction:

Issue:

(a) Nearly 97% of farmland owners/farmers identify as white.

(b) BIPOC farmland in rural MA is nearly non-existent due to the generational legacy of land displacement and systems of government sanctioned land possession in MA. Therefore the knowledge, expertise, skills, innovative approaches and cultural practices of BIPOC communities have been marginalized from enacting agricultural, sustainability, research, education, conservation and ecological projects on our land in self determined ways. 

BIPOC agricultural legacies show an extensive understanding and knowledge of cultural practices of ecological sustainability, conservation and food/crop production. The reality that nearly 97% of farm land in MA is owned by white identified landowners/farmers, is coupled with the fact that the majority of that white owned farmland in MA is also held in APR and/or held in perpetuity at majority white led and operated land trusts and conservation agencies, nonprofits and land grant universities.

  1. Acknowledging this difficult reality, requires us to fund research that can lead towards greater land access and transfers of land to BIPOC farmers/stewards as a first step towards broadening the racial demographic of farmland owned and/or held within trusts, conservations and non-profits throughout rural MA. 
  2. Greater access to BIPOC farm and conservation land would allow for the increased allocation of NESARE grant funding/resources in ways that function in tandem with the changes in policies and practices ultimately derived from NESARE’s’ Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) process.
  3. Beginning with the Farm School, a nonprofit in central MA, East Quabbin LT, NEFOC LT and Mt. Grace Land Trust. Research will be conducted into the policies and practices that have led to our current racial demographics of farmland ownership and what policies and practices uphold this current demographic within these organizations in order to define, discontinue and create measures that allow for BIPOC land ownership/ land access. 
  4. The near non-existent make up of BIPOC farmland owners means BIPOC communities have been and continue to be excluded from the ability to authentically shape and contribute to the development of agricultural sustainability and conservation practices and policies throughout rural MA. Therefore agricultural and sustainability focused orgs. must perform the necessary research to develop opportunities for BIPOC farmland ownership.  
  5. Agricultural and sustainability focused orgs. must recognize the knowledge, perspective, implementation and study of BIPOC determined land based practices are essential to broadening the scope of all agricultural research and that access to rural farm land in MA will require the support and modification of various protection mechanisms of land trusts, conservation agencies and policies in order to create a demographic reality of farmers/ farmland ownership truly dedicated to a sustainable agricultural future for MA.

Process:

  1.  I am applying for this grant because funding for research dedicated towards initiatives leading to greater land access and land transfers to BIPOC farmers/non-profits is essential first steps to 1. Leveling the playing field 2. Create a greater allocation of NESARE resources to a broader demographic of racial, ethnic and cultural recipients and 3. Move beyond such a narrow demographic pool of sustainable agriculture, research and education contributors. 
  2. This grant will run the scope of 2 years. My initial research and development phase will take place (March 2022 to March 2023) with the following organizations: Farm School, a nonprofit in central MA, NEFOC LT, Mt. Grace LT and East Quabbin LT. Each of these organizations will participate in research geared to name, define and articulate the organizational, state and federal policies and practices within their organization that have contributed to/ have maintained the current racial demographic breakdown of farmland ownership in rural MA.  At which point (March 2023 to March 2024) a timeline will be developed in order to implement a variety of policies and practices devoted to outcomes that lead to BIPOC owned farmland/land access and land transfers.
  3. Once BIPOC land connection pathways have been identified and relationships built, the $30K cap of the Farmer Grant will be insufficient. It is my intention to also apply for the professional development/novel research grants of up to $150K/$200K to fund the implementation of land transfers/access agreements for up to 3 years.

Measure of Success:

  1. Success will be measured by the depth of relationship and partnerships made in this effort across organizations in rural MA.  Concrete and substantial changes to organizational policies and practices and recommend legislation.  BIPOC directed ways of being with land and timelines that manifest in greater self determination and sovereignty for our communities and the ability to contribute to a more sustainable ecology for generations to come.
Description of farm operation:

I have been a Farmer, Educator and Director at The Farm School for over 7 years. I primarily work with herbs, veggies, fruits, flowers, bees and medicinals. I work to cultivate spaces of exploration, expression, peace, joy and the complete multitude of emotions the earth has the ability to hold and nurture us through. I am a Black Queer farmer and I am passionate about creating greater access to lands in the NE for the future generations of Black, Brown and Indigenous stewards and lovers of the earth and all beings.

Cooperators

Click linked name(s) to expand/collapse or show everyone's info
  • Patrick Conners - Technical Advisor (Educator)

Research

Materials and methods:
My timeline and approach in how I hope to engage in this work is collaborative and outside of the typical grant model. The timeline I am submitting is very open and centers moving at the speed of relationships built. I believe relationships are a key component to land work. Building relationships with and between this collective of people at Mt. Grace, East Quabbin LT, NEFOC LT, the Farm School means that we are in routine communication and will meet as schedules allow. 
In terms of the hours of commitment over the scope of a year participants can expect to contribute about 100 to 120 hours to this project in total in year 1 and the equivalent amount of time in year 2.
The time would consist of retreats, monthly gatherings and independent/working group tasks.  In early March we will have our first retreat (7 hours) and in April and May monthly meetings (3-4 hours each) some independent working group time outside of meetings (up to 3-5 hours per month), and shorter check-ins ( 1 to 1.5 hours per month) between June and September, finalized by full day retreats (between 5 and 7 hours each) in November, December and February and onsite visits taking place in March. Year 2 will follow a similar format.
 
The focus areas of the retreats are listed below:
March Retreat: Relationship building, establishing agreements, goals, building historical analysis of intersections of race, land, boost and blocks, anti bias/racist frameworks, accountability framework and historical understanding of BIPOC culturally specific ways of being with land.
November Retreat: Understanding the scope of community connections, partnerships and land held within the trust and the practices and policies tied to these lands.
December Retreat: Leveraging the power and resources existing with the trust to imagine ways various policies and practices can shift and be redirected towards BIPOC land ownership/tenure within the trust, its partnerships and networks.
February Retreat: Establishing plan to broaden LT's networks with a focus on BIPOC land ownership/tenure/conservation. Establish a timeline to implement determined policy and practice shifts and state legislative policy proposals. Establish a timeline for site visits and community building. 
March sets the start of Year 2 and moves in similar meeting timeframe but is focused on direct grassroots on the ground policy and practice implementation at which point the Professional Development /Novel Research Grant(s) would be utilized to fund BIPOC land connections/transitions.
 
The monthly meetings in April, May, June, July, August and September will be dedicated to each organization scanning and analyzing the lands their organizations hold/legislative district and take note of the policies, practices, restrictions and conditions tied to those that have produced or contributed to producing outcomes where an overwhelmingly large percentage of their lands are held by white identified farmers/owners and coming together to problem solve policies, practices and conditions that can counter this long standing outcome of near non-existent BIPOC identified farmland/conservation land/owners.  Ultimately doing the necessary groundwork as organization to take stock of its resources, establish where blocks and barriers can be removed, boost created and formed into practices and policies built to yield the desired outcome of increased BIPOC farmers/land owners in rural MA and have the transfer of lands/access/tenure agreements/easements/conservation and restrictions be led by BIPOC farmers/land stewards (re)connecting to those lands.
 
Again this work will be done in collaboration, goals and timelines will be finalized together and in real time. There will be moments where we move forward and moments when we circle back.  Moments when we stop all together, pause and reflect before moving towards the next goal.  Moments to be in community with one another enjoying food, meeting loved ones, playing, bonding as the work.  We intend to have clear direction of the outcome of BIPOC land ownership/access/tenure, sustainability, conservation and education and will build a process together moving at the speed of trust and relationship built.  
 
Materials needed for participation:
Computer and Internet capability for zoom meetings when in person is not possible
Travel ability between organizational sites and for land and farmer visits
Signage, facilitation/workshop materials, such as markers, grounding materials, post its, butcher paper
 
Items Budgeted for
Stipends for participants time in farm/land tours,
Funds research participants in the above mentioned organizations.
Travel and lodging funds when necessary
Facilitation Materials
Outreach postings and methods related to social media
Research results and discussion:

March to April of 2022.  Timeline is moving on pace and the goals and objectives are being met as outlined.  In April of 2022, I conducted the first gathering of staff representatives from the East Quabbin Land Trust and Mt. Grace Land Trust.  A total of 5 staff attended this gathering.  During this first gathering, we focused on building relationships, naming what first brought us to commit to the goals BIPOC Farm land for Self Determination and Sovereignty in rural MA grant proposal. Farmer Grant April Gathering Agenda (1). We established and adopted the goals and community agreements and racial equity goals created by The Move To End Violence and Race Equity and Liberation pedagogy.   During this meeting we discussed the importance of land and what connects us to the land.  After agreeing to deepen our shared analysis of race, power, privilege and oppression we also took the time to look at the intersections of race and land to begin to unpack how we, in MA, arrived at a place where 97% of farmland is white owned.   After this gathering the 5 staff were tasked with sharing the goals and agreements with the rest of their co-workers and board members.  They were also charged with inviting more members and ensuring that board members attended the next gathering set for November of 2022.

May- Nov of 2022.  Timeline is moving on pace and the goals and objectives are being met as outlined. In May of 2022 began prospective land walks with East Quabbin Land Trust.  We viewed 3 prospective properties some with housing, some without, each with agricultural soils and infrastructure in various states of condition either on the land or nearby.  Met with East Quabbin Land Trust Executive Director and staff over lunch to build relationship and discuss their policies and practices in their attempts to partner with BIPOC farmers and introduce the objectives for the grant to more staff/EQLT community members.  Began meeting with Mt. Grace and the Nipmuc Land Project at The Farm School to better understand the role of conservation, Conservation Restrictions (CR's) and Agricultural Preservation Restrictions (APR's) in a rematriation process.  Conservation Restrictions according to Mass.gov are "legally enforceable agreements whose purpose is to ensure permanent protection of specific conservation values while permitting limited land uses consistent with the protection of said conservation values".  An issue arrises when the values that determine conservation restrictions are bias towards the colonial aesthetic defining rural beauty, housing, acceptable farming and sustainability practices.  The Agricultural Preservation Restriction Program as defined by Mass.gov is "a voluntary program which is intended to offer a non-development alternative to farmers and other owners of "prime" and "state important" agricultural land who are faced with a decision regarding future use of their farms." The APR program locked in  restrictions enacted in the late 70's. These restrictions were to be held in prepartuity and would take an act of to change. The problem is the legalized marginalization of BIPOC communities during this period is limiting BIPOC farmers ability to become the next generation of farmer due to the restrictions placed on housing and colonial definitions of farming practices.  The intention of holding our meeting time was to name the polices, resources and practices Mt. Grace could activate to support greater self determination for the Nipmuc. Both EQLT and Mt. Grace staff invited additional staff and board members to the next gathering that took place in October.  During the October Gathering we had a total of 12 staff and board from Mt. Grace and EQLT in attendance.  Farmer Grant October Gathering Agenda (2)   After some introductions we dove deeply into understanding the origins of Community Land Trust and Conservation.  We dove deeply into defining our community agreements and goals towards racial equity.  We deepened our shared language, understanding the definition of race, levels of racism (micro/macro, internalized, individual, system and institutional) understanding internalized superiority and inferiority and learned to identify and name traits of white supremacy culture. We discussed the structural land and race based policies (boost and blocks*) that occurred from the 1400's to present day.  EQLT and Mt. Grace, within their own organizations, began to list every policy and practice in their operational and organizational culture they could think of in the moment. They also thought of each relationship and resource they held has an organization and wrote those down.  We ended the day reflecting on this power to set, define, enact and shift policies and practices. The power these resources bring by just having a seat at the table, being part of the work of land conservation.  As homework, they are to continue noting relationships they hold, the policies and practices within their organizations, analyzing the boost and blocks that dictate the level of access to resources, and to name how the intersections of race and... affect these practices, policies and ability to access resources.  We will begin a 6 week virtual series with staff and board following the resources provided by the *Move to End Violence and the Race Equity and Liberation framework.  The Farm School staff has participated in this virtual series several times and will help host small cohorts of Mt. Grace and EQLT staff  and board throughout the series. 

November 2022- March 2023. Timeline continues to move as anticipated.  

Nov.- In November we began the process of scheduling for the 6 week virtual Racial Equity and Liberation Training through The Move to End Violence.  Carmen, Patrick and Ayla of The Farm School worked together to help facilitate the staff and board members of Mt. Grace LT and EQLT throughout the 6 weeks.

Jan- March Due to winter scheduling conflicts we landed on bi-weekly meetings beginning Jan 19th 2023 to March 17th 2023. We had a total of 17 staff and board members across both organizations attend the virtual sessions.  Because of the number of attendees, we created 2 groups so that the space could be more intentionally held to allow room for conversation and relationship building. Each virtual session was 1.5 hours and included pre-work (journaling, videos, art, reflection) which was emailed a week prior to the meeting.  Virtual meeting topics followed the online weekly series developed by The Move To End Violence "6 Week Community Conversations " by Monica Dennis, Rachael Ibrahim, Trina Greene, Heidi Lopez and many others. Topics included: review of goals and community agreements, choosing vulnerability, going beyond single stories, locating oneself, identifying systems of power, the levels of racism and community conversations.  

Late March - At the conclusion of the Virtual Course both organizations and those that participated in the virtual course came together for an all day in person retreat on March 20th from 9am to 3pm.  During the in person retreat we reflected as an entire group on all the topics both groups covered during their virtual course.  For the second half of the meeting each organization met with their staff and board members and began making an outline of all of the agencies and their community resources with whom they are well connected/in relationship with.  This list involved other organizations and agencies like APR, national conservation and land trust agencies down to area contractors and trades people.  Each organization listed spoken and unspoken cultural norms and polices their agencies have upheld over the years and changes/additions to these policies/practices that could begin to be implemented right away and over the course of the year.  Each organization shared their assessments with the larger group and were tasked to bring in further board and staff engagement towards adopting policies that would build greater relationships with BIPOC communities and create pathways to greater BIPOC land access.   Post project meetings were held with Mt. Grace and EQLT staff with several positive outcomes reported including:

Mt. Grace: Increased opportunities for staff relationship building through team lunches 2. meeting with Nipmuc Land Project to partner on land based grants, meeting with Nipmuc Land Project and The Farm School on development of policy change proposals related to Conservation and APR policies on land use/access and farmer housing, partnering to strategize request during APR call for testimony and recommendations, strategize community relationships to fund opportunities for intentional farm succession plans with a intentional focus on opportunities to create access for BIPOC farmer land connection.  Goals continue to include broadening racial diversity among staff and board, broadening access to the use of land they currently hold in conservation, broadening current stakeholder community support and understanding on the need for intentional policies to help mitigate land access/ownership racial disparities within their region.  Mt. Grace will participate in the NESARE Service Provider Land Succession Training for greater BIPOC land access beginning in 2023-2025.

East Quabbin Land Trust: Actively looking to form connections of BIPOC farmers seeking land for farming (across 4 of their current properties).  Successful partnership creating BIPOC land access to grow crops and run their farm operations on EQLT farmland. Used community connections to facilitate access to water, tractor and other equipment to better support the farmers ability grow their crops, offering long term lease options for greater security for the farmer, actively looking for ways to reflect the diversity of those that utilize their trail systems and recreational materials through outreach and advertisements, willingness to organize door knocking and introduce EQLT to BIPOC residents within the scope of their region. Goals continue to include broadening racial diversity among staff and board, broadening access to the use of land they currently hold in conservation, broadening current stakeholder community support and understanding on the need for intentional policies to help mitigate land access/ownership racial disparities within their region.

Materials belonging to The Move To End Violence:

PreWork REAL (2) (1)

Racial Equity and Liberation Virtual Learning Series Week 1 (1) (1)

Racial Equity and Liberation Virtual Learning Series Week 2

Racial Equity and Liberation Virtual Learning Week 4 (5)

Racial Equity and Liberation Virtual Learning Series Week 6

Racial Equity and Liberation Week 5 Virtual

Created for Farmer Grant gatherings:

Farmer Grant March 2023 LT BOD and Staff Retreat

Farmer Grant March Gathering Facilitator Draft

Material belonging to United for a Fair Economy:

Boosts_and_Blocks_Timeline_-_Handout_Size_(8.5x11)_(1)

 

Research conclusions:

This project sought to help Conservation and Land Trust organizations ( Mt. Grace and East Quabbin Land Trust) come to terms with the reality that 97% of farmland/owners identify as white in the state of MA and that this directly correlates with the legacies of generational BIPOC land displacement and government sanctioned land possession.  As a result, BPIOC land based experience, expertise and knowledge have been left at the margins limiting our ability to contribute our skills to further greater sustainability of our agricultural and land based educational systems. In order to shift this reality the project sought to bring conservation and farmland stakeholders together to look at the policies and practices that help uphold current disparities and begin to shift policies towards policies that will promote greater equity among farmland owners within their regions. The Farm School, a nonprofit in central MA, East Quabbin LT, NEFOC LT and Mt. Grace Land Trust participated in this project.

  1.  Research was conducted to identify policies and practices that keep BIPOC farmers at the margins of landownership and access within the region. These organizations worked to re-define, discontinue and create new measures that would allow for BIPOC land ownership/ land access. 
  2. The near non-existent make up of BIPOC farmland owners means BIPOC communities have been and continue to be excluded from authentically contributing to agricultural sustainability, conservation practices and policies throughout rural MA.                                                                                 This project sought to bring Conservation and Land Trust Agencies together to audit their policies and practices. They worked to build new initiatives for BIPOC ownership and land access within their organizations.
  3. Agricultural and sustainability focused orgs. must recognize that the experience, perspective, and implementation of BIPOC knowledge are essential components to broaden the scope of all agricultural research and that access to rural farm land in MA will require the support and modification of various protection mechanisms of land trusts, conservation agencies.  To truly work towards a sustainable agriculture in MA, the demographic reality of farmers/ farmland ownership must shift towards greater BIPOC ownership/access and engagement. This project sought to bring Conservation and Land Trust Agencies together explore areas where polices and practices can shift; creating greater opportunities for BIPOC farmland ownership and access in their regions.

Changes, Improvements and Outcomes:

MT. Grace:

  1. Increased opportunities for staff relationship building through team lunches.  Staff and Board onboarding that builds in an understanding of the intersections of race and land.
  2. Met with Nipmuc Land Project Members and partnered on various land based grants to fund housing, farm infrastructure and land purchases.
  3. Partnered with Nipmuc Land Project Members and The Farm School to advocate for policy changes related to Conservation and APR policies on land use/access and farmer housing.
  4. Partnered with The Farm School and Nipmuc Land Project to strategize a collective request for policy changes to Ashley Randal (Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources) during APR open call for testimony and recommendations.
  5. Partnered with The Farm School, East Quabbin Land Trust and community members within the MT. Grace region to strengthen community relationships and awareness of the need for BIPOC land ownership and access.
  6. Worked with Board to find funding opportunities for intentional farm succession plans with an intentional focus on opportunities to create access for BIPOC farmer land connection.  
  7. Made a commitment to broaden racial diversity among staff and board, broadening access to the use of land they currently hold in conservation, broadening current stakeholder community support and understanding on the need for intentional policies to help mitigate land access/ownership racial disparities within their region.  
  8. Mt. Grace will participate in the NESARE Service Provider Land Succession Training for greater BIPOC land access beginning in 2023-2025.

East Quabbin Land Trust:

  1. Actively looking to form connections of BIPOC farmers seeking land for farming (across 4 of their current properties).  
  2. 1 successful partnership creating BIPOC land access to grow crops and run their farm operations on EQLT farmland.
  3. Invested financially in infrastructure to support BIPOC farm operations on EQLT farmland. Used community connections to facilitate access to water, tractor and other equipment to better support the farmers ability grow their crops, offering long term lease options for greater security for the farmer
  4. Actively looking for ways to reflect the diversity of those that utilize their trail systems and recreational materials through outreach and advertisements
  5. Strategized to organize door knocking and introduce EQLT to BIPOC residents within the scope of their region.
  6. Goals continue to include broadening racial diversity among staff and board, broadening access to the use of land they currently hold in conservation, broadening current stakeholder community support and understanding on the need for intentional policies to help mitigate land access/ownership racial disparities within their region.
Participation Summary
1 Farmers participating in research

Education & Outreach Activities and Participation Summary

13 Consultations
12 Online trainings
5 Tours
3 Webinars / talks / presentations
3 Workshop field days

Participation Summary:

17 Number of agricultural educator or service providers reached through education and outreach activities
Education/outreach description:
March Retreat: Relationship building, establishing agreements, goals, building historical analysis of intersections of race, land, boost and blocks, anti bias/racist frameworks, accountability framework and historical understanding of BIPOC culturally specific ways of being with land.
November Retreat: Understanding the scope of community connections, partnerships and land held within the trust and the practices and policies tied to these lands.
December Retreat: Leveraging the power and resources existing with the trust to imagine ways various policies and practices can shift and be redirected towards BIPOC land ownership/tenure within the trust, its partnerships and networks.
February Retreat: Establishing plan to broaden LT's networks with a focus on BIPOC land ownership/tenure/conservation. Establish a timeline to implement determined policy and practice shifts and state legislative policy proposals. Establish a timeline for site visits and community building. 
March sets the start of Year 2 and moves in similar meeting timeframe but is focused on direct grassroots on the ground policy and practice implementation at which point the Professional Development /Novel Research Grant(s) would be utilized to fund BIPOC land connections/transitions.
 
The monthly meetings in April, May, June, July, August and September will be dedicated to each organization scanning and analyzing the lands their organizations hold/legislative district and take note of the policies, practices, restrictions and conditions tied to those that have produced or contributed to producing outcomes where an overwhelmingly large percentage of their lands are held by white identified farmers/owners and coming together to problem solve policies, practices and conditions that can counter this long standing outcome of near non-existent BIPOC identified farmland/conservation land/owners.  Ultimately doing the necessary groundwork as organization to take stock of it's resources, establish where blocks and barriers can be removed, boost created and formed into practices and policies built to yield the desired outcome of increased BIPOC farmers/land owners in rural MA and have the transfer of lands/access/tenure agreements/easements/conservation and restrictions be led by BIPOC farmers/land stewards (re)connecting to those lands.

Learning Outcomes

4 Farmers reported changes in knowledge, attitudes, skills and/or awareness as a result of their participation
Key areas in which farmers reported changes in knowledge, attitude, skills and/or awareness:

Partnerships:   Mt. Grace with Nipmuc Land Project Farmers and EQLT with BIPOC farmer whom they provided land access and access to infrastructure. Recognition that BIPOC farmers can work with these organizations to leverage intentional practices and policies towards greater land access and self determination on land.

 

Project Outcomes

4 Farmers changed or adopted a practice
1 Grant applied for that built upon this project
1 Grant received that built upon this project
$149,554.00 Dollar amount of grant received that built upon this project
23 New working collaborations
Project outcomes:

Mt. Grace: Increased opportunities for staff relationship building through team lunches 2. meeting with Nipmuc Land Project to partner on land based grants, meeting with Nipmuc Land Project and The Farm School on development of policy change proposals related to Conservation and APR policies on land use/access and farmer housing, partnering to strategize request during APR call for testimony and recommendations, strategize community relationships to fund opportunities for intentional farm succession plans with a intentional focus on opportunities to create access for BIPOC farmer land connection.  Goals continue to include broadening racial diversity among staff and board, broadening access to the use of land they currently hold in conservation, broadening current stakeholder community support and understanding on the need for intentional policies to help mitigate land access/ownership racial disparities within their region.  Mt. Grace will participate in the NESARE Service Provider Land Succession Training for greater BIPOC land access beginning in 2023-2025.

East Quabbin Land Trust: Actively looking to form connections of BIPOC farmers seeking land for farming (across 4 of their current properties).  Successful partnership creating BIPOC land access to grow crops and run their farm operations on EQLT farmland. Used community connections to facilitate access to water, tractor and other equipment to better support the farmers ability grow their crops, offering long term lease options for greater security for the farmer, actively looking for ways to reflect the diversity of those that utilize their trail systems and recreational materials through outreach and advertisements, willingness to organize door knocking and introduce EQLT to BIPOC residents seen within the scope of their region. Goals continue to include broadening racial diversity among staff and board, broadening access to the use of land they currently hold in conservation, broadening current stakeholder community support and understanding on the need for intentional policies to help mitigate land access/ownership racial disparities within their region.

March of 2024 land walk with members of the EQLT and Mt. Grace.  They each shared how they have incorporated their learnings to deepen board engagement, strategically maneuver and adjust current practices to expand their resources within their networks to BIPOC farmers.  Both agencies have began deeper collaborative work to this end and attributed the initial collaboration to their participation in this project. 

Assessment of Project Approach and Areas of Further Study:

The project's approach centered around relationship building and I believe we met the goals of the project with lasting structural policy changes that will increase BIPOC access to conservation land and farmland to ownership to BIPOC farmers and communities within Central MA.  The Project set out to lay the ground work with the hopes of future funding to carry the work further towards intentional succession planning linking BIPOC farmers to farmland within the NE region. 

Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture or SARE.