Growth During Drought
Greetings friends!
There is much that has happened here on Tiwa Territory or so called Albuquerque, NM. From late frosts, to hail storms and now the onset of severe drought the farm has been put to the test. Yet we still are thriving, growing, and tending to our community.
When a hail storm decimated the leafy greens on the farm, instead of throwing them away, they went directly to 12 community members' homes. Now with the worsening of drought, the drying up of the Rio Grande, and watering systems under threat we are again adapting to the ever present reality of climate crisis. In times of climate crisis we recognize the need to band together, to bring our skills, our vulnerability, and our hearts to the land as a people. The land holds and feeds us in these times of uncertainty.
We had our first ever Spring Harvest from crops planted in March. Crops like beets, carrots, turnips, kale, chard, and mustard greens were harvested to be shared with community members. Thirteen pounds of turnips and twenty pounds of carrots went to a local mutual aid effort dedicated to providing food and resources to Albuquerque families. There is currently 1/8th of an acre of barley being harvested for seed preservation, community distribution, and genetic diversity. Many other crops such as dill, cilantro, radishes, and vetch are being monitored and harvested for seed saving purposes, to continue raising locally adapted plants during times of drought.
So far in 2021, the farm has been able to host 5 harvest and work parties, 12 food deliveries (including leafy greens such as kale, chard, turnips, carrots, cilantro, dill, and beets), 1 teach-in (on pickling radishes), and a raised bed skillshare for community growers and organizers. We recognize the vital importance of healthy communities not only thriving physically, but socially, spiritually and mentally which is why healing with the land is an integral part of our sovereignty work. Throughout the rest of this year and into 2022, we plan to host an additional 12 healing, harvest, and work events as our commitment to wellness and crossing the threshold of healing with those we’re closely building community with has grown significantly since seeing the impacts of the global pandemic on our local kin.Our major goal in the upcoming fiscal year will be seed saving and sharing with Queer and Trans farmers of color and Black and Indigenous land stewards as a way of strengthening the legacy of the seeds surviving presently in the anthropocene with the ongoing shifts of climate catastrophe.
In the upcoming year, we are committed to building bridges between the land we currently occupy, and organizations dedicated to the liberation of all peoples through land and community liberation work. Tangibly, this is envisioned as offering space on the farm to local organizers, teachers, students, and other growers who are interested in the medicine that the farm has to offer.
We are eager to save seeds for community members, continue work parties that began with our first seed planting in 2021, maintain food deliveries to existing mutual aid efforts supplying families with food kits, and offer the land as refuge to all involved in the process of cultivating Ancestral Acres Farm and Garden and the power of people of color in Albuquerque.
Supporting this farm is ensuring we are feeding our community now, as well as in the future. Seed saving is a process of envisioning a future where people have access to growing their own food, to eating what they grow, to sharing it with community. All the donations to the farm ensure the access of our seeds to community, spaces where folks can commune and share in the wealth of harvest, and heal with one another.
Until next time! May you all find rest, belonging, and a sense of ease!
-mayam - Land Steward - Ancestral Acres Farm and Garden
