Prioritizing Rest and Collectivism with Ashanti Williams of Black Yard Farm Cooperative

In the early 1920s, almost 1 million Black farmers owned 14% of American farmland, but that story is vastly different today. According to the Baltimore Sun, Black farmers lost an astonishing 90% of their land over the years, and today fewer than 50,000 African American farmers, out of a total 3.4 million farmers, remain in business. Farming as a strong source of livelihood for people of African descent is now a distant memory.

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 That’s why our next guest, Ashanti Williams, is such an inspiration to us.  As a Black female farmer, raised and nurtured by activists and land stewards of the Carolinas and the Bronx, Ashanti is passionate about working and learning alongside animals in an effort to create sustainable farm systems that are accessible to Black people. The access to safe learning environments around raising animals as a person of color has not been readily available to her which propelled her to work towards creating them with the Black Yard Farm Collective.

The Black Yard Farm Collective was created by five young Black and Latinx farmers/entrepreneurs in the Bronx working together to build a supportive community for Black farmers and creatives. In their words: It's no coincidence that the people in this country who are most affected by food insecurity have the least access and control of the production of our food. This needs to change. It is crucial that we have autonomy over our food system. The Black Yard Farm Cooperative is dedicated to disrupting the racist and exclusionary spaces that prevent Black farmers from connecting to the land and healing.

DONATE TO BLACKYARD FARM

​In this episode we discuss:

• Why Farm internships and apprenticeships can be challenging places for young farmers of color
• The power of rest and recovery
• Recognizing and honoring ancestors
• The creation of the Black Yard Farm
• What Blackyard Farm hopes to accomplish
• Individualism vs collectivism
• What allies and advocates can do to support BIPOC farmers
• Ashanti’s favorite livestock to work with

LEARN MORE ABOUT BLACKYARD FARM

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