Progress report for ONE24-441
Project Information
Objective 1: This project seeks
to improve BIPOC and LGBTQ+ farm workers feelings of safety
around machinery and tools in their work on
farms.
Objective 2: This project seeks
to increase BIPOC and LGBTQ+ knowledge and skills related to safe
operation of tools including safe body mechanics to apply to
their farmwork.
Objective 3: Through this
project, BIPOC and LGBTQ+ farmworkers will feel more connected
with affinity based communities in their chosen field of
sustainable agriculture.
Objective 4: Through this
project, BIPOC and LGBTQ+ farmworkers will feel safer bringing
their full self to the work they do on farms.
Objective 5: Through this project
farm workers will become more familiar with the
resources available to them as a
farm workers.
BIPOC and LGBTQ+ people are more likely to experience workplace discrimination which makes them less likely to ask questions and pursue necessary safety training for safe work on farms. Without this training, workers of marginalized identities are at higher risks for workplace injury as well as less likely to pursue long term careers in sustainable agriculture. We believe hosting safety retreats for farm workers of marginalized identities will support more inclusive access to work in sustainable agriculture, leading to a more equitable food system. We believe this work is in line with Northeast SARE’s social sustainability goals named in the outcome statement as well as in line with the institution's equity goals.
By centering farmworkers, the true heart of many farm operations in Maine, the whole food system will improve. Their needs and training requests, and accessing this in safe spaces for farmworkers of marginalized identities, is crucial to labor management stability now and into the future on farms. This project will improve the quality of life for farmworkers and in turn the farm managers they work for. By providing safety training for use of power tools, tractors, and chainsaws, there will be a decrease in potential injuries on farms leading to higher productivity and better net income. The farmworkers targeted through this project are working on sustainably based and/or certified organic farm operations and increasing their feelings of support and self advocacy will improve the industry overall.
Cooperators
Research
Meetings with project partners, including farmer collaborators and other service providers, are beginning in late January to plan out the BIPOC and LGBTQ+ farmer affinity training and connection events for 2025. Some relationships that have developed this far into the grant are specific to potential hosting sites for the BIPOC farmer events including La Finca, a BIPOC farming cooperative in southern Maine, and Niweskok, a Wabanaki food sovereignty project based in southern Maine. We are excited to build on these relationships for event hosting as well as collaborate on workshop facilitator selection and topics of interest.
Education & Outreach Activities and Participation Summary
Participation Summary:
Outreach strategy for this project’s events will prioritize reaching out to grassroots BIPOC and LGBTQ+ organized community spaces including but not limited to social media, Signal threads, listservs, Google Groups and organizations led by and for BIPOC and LGBTQ+ people. After promoting events through these pathways that are designed for queer and POC people we will then promote the events through more traditional agriculture spaces. We intentionally start outreach to marginalized communities because of the known patterns of our agriculture institutions in Maine lacking representation from farmers of marginalized identities. Furthermore, farm workers are more likely to be in the social network spaces rather than spaces primarily designed for farm managers and owners.
Meetings with project partners, including farmer collaborators and other service providers, are beginning in late January to plan out the BIPOC and LGBTQ+ farmer affinity training and connection events for 2025. Some relationships that have developed this far into the grant are specific to potential hosting sites for the BIPOC farmer events including La Finca, a BIPOC farming cooperative in southern Maine, and Niweskok, a Wabanaki food sovereignty project based in southern Maine. We are excited to build on these relationships for event hosting as well as collaborate on workshop facilitator selection and topics of interest.