Book - Farming While Black - Soul Fire Farm's Practical Guide to Liberation on the Land

Farming While Black: Soul Fire Farm's Practical Guide to Liberation on the Land
By Leah Penniman, Foreword by Karen Washington

Mixing agricultural knowledge, social and political analysis, recipes, spirituality and more, Farming While Black is the first comprehensive "how to" guide for aspiring African-heritage growers to reclaim their dignity as agriculturists. It offers all farmers (along with the rest of us) a way to understand the distinct, technical contributions of African-heritage people to sustainable agriculture. This beautiful book is well worth the $35 investment.

At Soul Fire Farm, author Leah Penniman co-created the Black and Latinx Farmers Immersion (BLFI) program as a container for new farmers to share growing skills in a culturally relevant and supportive environment led by people of color. Farming While Black organizes and expands upon the curriculum of the BLFI to provide readers with a concise guide to all aspects of small-scale farming, from business planning to preserving the harvest. Throughout the chapters Penniman uplifts the wisdom of the African diasporic farmers and activists whose work informs the techniques described--from whole farm planning, soil fertility, seed selection, and agroecology, to using whole foods in culturally appropriate recipes, sharing stories of ancestors, and tools for healing from the trauma associated with slavery and economic exploitation on the land. Woven throughout the book is the story of Soul Fire Farm, a national leader in the food justice movement.

"Beautiful and timely... A clear-eyed manifesto that uses the rich history of the Black farming legacy as the guiding ethos for an effective modern day resistance movement."
–Therese Nelson, chef and writer; founder of blackculinaryhistory.com

Softcover, 8x10, 368 pp., 2018.