Progress 09/01/21 to 08/31/22
Outputs
Target Audience:The Indigenous Farm Hub incubates and creates a network of prosperous and sustainable farm operations dedicated to food access and economic opportunities serving Indigenous communities and beginning farmers and ranchers in New Mexico and the southwest. This pilot project and launch has been informed through consultation with beginning farmers and ranchers, local extension service offices, and area farming and language/culture experts. Specifically, the Indigenous Farm Hub targets its programs and services to: Beginning Farmers and Ranchers: a person that has not operated a farm or ranch or has operated for not more than 10 years. Indigenous and Minority Farmers and Ranchers: these populations qualify as members of socially disadvantaged groups, per USDA's criteria. Limited-Resource Farmers and Ranchers: an operator of a farm or ranch that has both low levels of farm sales and low household income in sales and government payments. Changes/Problems:While IFH staff initially planned to adapt, test, and develop more curriculum for ranchers, we found it incredibly difficult to truly test and develop curriculum for ranchers on our modest 16-acre farmstead without livestock or an active animal husbandry program; hundreds of acres are often necessary to develop a proper ranching and ranching training program. While we did adapt and develop some curriculum for ranchers, it was primarily focused on operations and management, entrepreneurship and business training, natural resource management and planning, diversification and marketing strategies, food safety, and farm safety, and less to do with the actual practice of ranching. However, we did provide mentoring and opportunities for beginning ranchers to connect with experienced ranchers, two of which serve on our Advisory Committee. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Beginning farmers, including three full-time Farmers-in-Residence, completed the first of two years in their intensive professional development experience. Activities included crop and soil management, planting, irrigating, weeding, harvesting, packaging produce, and participating in formal lessons/curriculum. Indigenous Farm Hub staff provided mentoring, instruction, and support in operations both at Indigenous Farm Hub and at farmers' home farms. In addition to providing agribusiness and marketing planning within the Resident Program curriculum, Indigenous Farm Hub is continuously updating its curriculum to include new resources on accessing capital as part of the formal learning experience and has recently initiated a connection with an area microlender and other third parties to provide well-rounded support (e.g., USDA and other small business lenders). How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?No results have been disseminated yet, as IFH is still awaiting its final evaluation report (expected in January 2023), as well as finalizing the presentation of its Indigenous-based and Indigenous-focused curriculum for beginning farmers and ranchers in New Mexico and the Southwest (anticipated in early 2023). This evaluation report, our key learning strands, and some of the curricula developed for use at the Indigenous Farm Hub will be made public via our website. All lessons, units, learning materials, and/or curriculum produced independently and exclusively by One Generation through this project are considered open source and offered for public use. Open-source materials will be submitted to FarmAnswers.org for dissemination. Additionally, any new materials developed will be shared with project partners and collaborators identified above and through relevant working groups and conference opportunities. When appropriate and applicable, data collected during the project performance period will also be submitted to Ag Data Commons. As a grantee of the NoVo Foundation, One Generation also has access to a network of organizations within its Indigenous Communities portfolio and will disseminate grant deliverables to like-minded social change organizations as appropriate. While our work in New Mexico does not overlap any other organization, it does connect us to colleagues and peers interested in advancing similar work, where we will also disseminate our project results. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Objective 1:In March/April 2022, One Generation gathered input from the community and beginning farmers and ranchers through five community convenings and created an action plan to develop/launch a fellowship program. One Generation worked with community partners to engage community stakeholders, including the Native American Community Academy (NACA), NACA Inspired Schools Network, Keres Children's Learning Center, Indigenous Pueblo Cultural Center, New Mexico Farmers' Marketing Association, New Mexico Black Farmers Association, New Mexico Value Chain Coalition Network, New Mexico First, the Intertribal Agricultural Resiliency Work Group, Notah Begay III Foundation, and the United Way of Central New Mexico. We had initially anticipated hosting six convenings, but there was such strong consensus and support for the plan, it only took five meetings to complete this work. The first meeting was conducted exclusively online via Zoom due to public health considerations; the other four meetings were conducted hybrid style because most of the Pueblos and Reservations were shut down because the COVID Omicron variant was threatening the safety of vulnerable populations. Additionally, while One Generation initially conceived that we would launch our fellowship program in January 2023, overwhelming community support (and demand) for the program, combined with additional, unanticipated funding allowed us to launch our fellowship program by April 2022, officially named the "Farmers-in-Residence" program. The Indigenous Farm Hub is proud of its first cohort of three Indigenous Farmers-in-Residence: William King (Navajo/Diné), Marty Sanchez (Santo Domingo), and Eileen Shendo (Jemez/Cochiti). Objective 2:By October 2021, One Generation had formalized an Advisory Committee of 16 people to guide the program and curriculum design work, including: four Indigenous beginning farmers; one Indigenous beginning rancher; four experienced farmers (three Indigenous, one non-Indigenous); one experienced Indigenous rancher; four Indigenous Knowledge Keepers, Tribal Elders, and/or subject matter experts; and two food sector leaders (one Indigenous and one Hispanic), among other community stakeholders. One Generation met and exceeded its goal of including at least four Indigenous Knowledge Keepers, at least three beginning farmers and ranchers, and at least two community partners. To identify potential Advisory Committee members, One Generation worked with community partners to identify interested stakeholders, including the NACA, NACA Inspired Schools Network, Keres Children's Learning Center, Indigenous Pueblo Cultural Center, New Mexico Farmers' Marketing Association, Notah Begay III Foundation, and the United Way of Central New Mexico. Objective 3:By March 2022, One Generation had identified key curricular areas and had catalogued dozens of existing lessons, training modules, learning activities, and/or established curriculum, with a focus on lessons and training modules that are relevant to the climate and topography of New Mexico and the southwest in such subjects as food safety, water usage/irrigation, soil/crop science, and Indigenous agricultural techniques. This work was completed later than anticipated (originally aimed for December 2021), however the work was completed before the next growing season, so this delay did not negatively impact any other grant activities or achievement of overarching goals. Additionally, One Generation has determined that this work should be ongoing as we continue to build resources for beginning farmers and ranchers. Objective 4:By March 2022, One Generation had catalogued existing business, financial, operations, and capital and credit resources for beginning farmers and ranchers to be utilized within or adapted for the program. Completion of this first round of work was delayed by approximately one month, due to complications with scheduling because of the COVID Omicron variant; however, this delay did not negatively impact any other grant activities or achievement of overarching goals. Additionally, One Generation has determined that this work should be ongoing as we continue to build resources for beginning farmers and ranchers. Objective 5:By April 2022, One Generation had established the key learning strands for curriculum at the Indigenous Farm Hub. The key learning strands are as follows: soil/crop irrigation science; food safety and food storage; business planning, marketing, budgeting; community engagement through partnerships and distributions; and embedding culturally sustaining practices in our communities (especially through youth development programs, such as Farm to School). Our Curriculum Director has been modifying existing or creating new curriculum based on the "Zais Model for Curriculum Design" from Igniting the Sparkle by Dr. Gregory Cajete, PhD. The Zais Model was chosen because it focuses on building curriculum based on a philosophical foundation for how teachers/mentors and students/learners will approach the educational process, based on any culturally-responsive design. The Zais Model offers opportunities for students/learners to draw and develop ties to family and community, while also facilitating a sense of "situated-ness" - better facilitating students/learners in learning and applying their new knowledge and skills by relating it to their own lived experiences. Objective 6:Since April 2022, staff, volunteers, interns, K-12 students, and our three Farmers-in-Residence have been testing delivery of key learning activities while simultaneously applying their knowledge and skills gained on the farmstead while raising crops. By June 2022, all three residents were spending at least 20 hours/week at Indigenous Farm Hub (IFH) in Corrales, New Mexico, traveling from Fruitland (near Shiprock, NM), Jemez Pueblo, and Santo Domingo, New Mexico to spend half of their work week at the IFH farmstead. The Farmers-in-Residence spent the remaining time working on their own farms and applying lessons learned there. Our Farmers-in-Residence have been leading the testing and refinement of curriculum, informing and guiding the development of the residency program for future cohorts. A tested, Indigenous-based, and Indigenous-focused curriculum for beginning farmers in New Mexico and the Southwest was finalized in the Fall 2022 and is currently undergoing final edits and formatting to be used in the spring by the next cohort of Farmers-in-Residence and other community practitioners and trainees. New and adapted learning modules will be shared in early 2023 through FarmAnswers.org, as appropriate and allowable (for lessons that have been adapted). Indigenous Farm Hub staff, Farmers-in-Residence, farmstead volunteers, and community participants tested their new knowledge and skills gained at the farmstead while raising crops distributed via our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program. In 2022, the Indigenous Farm Hub harvested more than 6,100 pounds of food, which was then distributed through more than 765 CSA boxes to 140 families across Sandoval and Bernalillo Counties at no cost to the recipients (One Generation was able to leverage additional funding to distribute full subscriptions to families in need). Objective 7: Throughout the course of the performance period that ended in September of 2022, Indigenous Farm Hub staff, community partners, and contracted Knowledge Keepers introduced and incorporated intergenerational and traditional knowledge and practices into the core curriculum and learning activities. An Indigenous Evaluator was engaged near the beginning of the program performance period and has been involved since the initial community convenings. The Evaluator co-created an Evaluation Plan framework and evaluation tools with Indigenous Farm Hub staff to evaluate program performance utilizing our Logic Model as a guide. A final evaluation report is anticipated in January 2023.
Publications
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Progress 09/01/21 to 08/31/22
Outputs
Target Audience:The Indigenous Farm Hub incubates and creates a network of prosperous and sustainable farm operations dedicated to food access and economic opportunities serving Indigenous communities and beginning farmers and ranchers in New Mexico and the southwest. This pilot project and launch has been informed through consultation with beginning farmers and ranchers, local extension service offices, and area farming and language/culture experts. Specifically, the Indigenous Farm Hub targets its programs and services to: Beginning Farmers and Ranchers: a person that has not operated a farm or ranch or has operated for not more than 10 years. Indigenous and Minority Farmers and Ranchers: these populations qualify as members of socially disadvantaged groups, per USDA's criteria. Limited-Resource Farmers and Ranchers: an operator of a farm or ranch that has both low levels of farm sales and low household income in sales and government payments. Changes/Problems:Through a miscommunication and misunderstanding on the required timeline for submitting reimbursement requests, The Tides Center has not yet drawn down any expenditures for this grant through the federal system, however, as of August 31, 2022, all funds have been expended or obligated. Our financial director is currently working directly with federal program officers to rectify this situation. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Beginning farmers, including three full-time Farmers-in-Residence, have begun and will continue in their intensive professional development experience, with the height of the growing season in full swing. Activities have included crop and soil management, planting, irrigating, weeding, harvesting, packaging produce, and participating in formal lessons/curriculum. Indigenous Farm Hub staff have been providing mentoring, instruction, and support in operations both at Indigenous Farm Hub and at farmers' home farms. In addition to providing agribusiness and marketing planning within the Resident Program curriculum, Indigenous Farm Hub has been updating the curriculum to include accessing capital as part of the formal learning experience and are making connections with third parties to provide well-rounded support (e.g., USDA and small business lenders). How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?
Nothing Reported
What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?One Generation has also made significant progress on its last two objectives, as well: Objective 6:Since April 2022, staff, volunteers, interns, K-12 students, and our three Farmers-in-Residence have been testing delivery of key learning activities while simultaneously applying their knowledge and skills gained on the farmstead while raising crops. As of June 2022, all three residents have been spending 20 hours/week at IFH in Corrales, New Mexico, traveling from Fruitland (near Shiprock, NM), Jemez Pueblo, and Santo Domingo, New Mexico to spend half of their work week at the IFH farmstead. The Farmers-in-Residence spend the remaining time working on their own farms and applying lessons learned at IFH there. In particular, our Farmers-in-Residence have been leading the testing and refinement of curriculum, informing and guiding the development of the Farmers-in-Residence program for future cohorts, as well as the curriculum itself. A fully-tested, Indigenous-based, and Indigenous-focused curriculum for beginning farmers in New Mexico and the Southwest is expected to be completed in the fall of 2022. With new learning modules shared through FarmAnswers.org, as allowable. Additionally, the harvested crops produced at the farmstead during this growing season have been distributed to 110 families across central New Mexico, at no cost to most of those families because One Generation was able to secure additional funding to distribute full subscriptions to families in need through its Community Supported Agriculture program. Objective 7: One Generation has been incorporating intergenerational Indigenous knowledge and practices into core curriculum and learning activities. We aim to have this curriculum analyzed by an external evaluator for congruence with community-defined program goals and resulting curriculum (One Generation would like to request a No Cost Extension to ensure this takes place with adequate time to evaluate the curriculum). An Indigenous Evaluator was engaged near the beginning of the program performance period and has been involved since the initial community convenings. The Evaluator has already developed an Evaluation Plan framework and evaluation tools to evaluate program performance utilizing our Logic Model as a guide. Along the way, our Evaluator has been tracking and monitoring activities related to the following two topics: To what extent does the developed curriculum and pedagogical framework meet the needs of beginning Indigenous farmers and ranchers in New Mexico, and what gaps in curricula, programs, and/or methods of delivery need to be filled to ensure the success of Indigenous beginning farmers and ranchers? Does the curriculum resulting from this one-year grant clearly meet the community-established goals for learning and include activities that have a strong chance to improve economic competitiveness and opportunities for prosperity for beginning farmers and ranchers, and reconnection to Indigenous farming practices, language, and culture? There is a small, but meaningful amount of additional work that remains to be completed, namely: Finalizing new curriculum and testing delivery of the key learning activities through the end of the growing season (Objective 6). Most of the curriculum is finished, but it would be helpful to be able to test and refine curriculum through the end of the growing season and into final harvest activities in September and October 2022 to yield the most complete results before disseminating our findings. Evaluating congruence between our final program results with the previously community-defined program goals and resulting curriculum through an external evaluator (Objective 7). The evaluator has been engaged throughout the project, but community dissemination willbe more meaningful once the full curriculumis evaluated. Disseminate results to the community and share curriculum on FarmAnswers.org.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Since receiving the grant, the Indigenous Farm Hub has hired a part-time contractor to spearhead efforts in developing our curriculum and has also hired a Farm Director / Director of Communications & Outreach to work with volunteers and a FoodCorps member. One Generation has enjoyed tremendous success so far with its planning grant, having completed the first five objectives and nearly completing the last two with time remaining on the grant period. Objective 1:In March and April 2022, One Generation gathered input from the community and beginning farmers and ranchers through five community convenings and created an action plan to develop/launch a fellowship program. To solicit as many community stakeholders for participation as possible, One Generation worked with community partners, including the Native American Community Academy (NACA), NACA Inspired Schools Network, Keres Children's Learning Center, Indigenous Pueblo Cultural Center, New Mexico Farmers' Marketing Association, New Mexico Black Farmers Association, New Mexico Value Chain Coalition Network, New Mexico First, the Intertribal Agricultural Resiliency Work Group, Notah Begay III Foundation, and the United Way of Central New Mexico. We had initially anticipated hosting six convenings, but there was such strong consensus and support for the plan, it only took five meetings to complete this work. The first meeting was conducted exclusively online via Zoom due to public health considerations; the other four meetings were conducted hybrid style because most of the Pueblos and Reservations were shut down because of the COVID Omicron variant was threatening the safety of vulnerable populations. Additionally, while One Generation initially conceived that we would launch our fellowship program in January 2023, overwhelming community support (and demand) for the program, combined with unanticipated funding allowed us to launch our fellowship program by April 2022, officially named the "Farmers-in-Residence" program. The Indigenous Farm Hub is proud of its first cohort of three Indigenous Farmers-in-Residence: William King (Navajo/Diné), Marty Sanchez (Santo Domingo), and Eileen Shendo (Jemez/Cochiti). Objective 2:By October 2021, One Generation had formalized an Advisory Committee of 16 people to guide the program and curriculum design work, including: four Indigenous beginning farmers; one Indigenous beginning rancher; four experienced farmers (three Indigenous, one non-Indigenous); one experienced Indigenous rancher; four Indigenous Knowledge Keepers, Tribal Elders, and/or subject matter experts; and two food sector leaders (one Indigenous and one Hispanic), among other community stakeholders. One Generation met and exceeded its goal of including at least four Indigenous Knowledge Keepers, at least three beginning farmers and ranchers, and at least two community partners. To identify potential Advisory Committee members, One Generation worked with community partners to identify interested stakeholders, including the NACA, NACA Inspired Schools Network, Keres Children's Learning Center, Indigenous Pueblo Cultural Center, New Mexico Farmers' Marketing Association, Notah Begay III Foundation, and the United Way of Central New Mexico. Objective 3:By March 2022, One Generation had identified key curricular areas and had catalogued dozens of existing lessons, training modules, learning activities, and/or established curriculum, with a focus on lessons and training modules that are relevant to the climate and topography of New Mexico and the southwest in such subjects as food safety, water usage/irrigation, soil/crop science, Indigenous agricultural techniques. This work was completed later than anticipated (originally aimed for December 2021), however the work was completed before the next growing season, so this delay did not negatively impact any other grant activities or achievement of overarching goals. Additionally, One Generation has determined that this work should be ongoing as we continue to build resources for beginning farmers and ranchers. Objective 4:By March 2022, One Generation had catalogued existing business, financial, operations, and capital and credit resources for beginning farmers and ranchers to be utilized within or adapted for the program. Completion of this first round of work was delayed by approximately one month, due to complications with scheduling because of the COVID Omicron variant; however, this delay did not negatively impact any other grant activities or achievement of overarching goals. Additionally, One Generation has determined that this work should be ongoing as we continue to build resources for beginning farmers and ranchers. Objective 5:By April 2022, One Generation had established the key learning strands for curriculum at the Indigenous Farm Hub. The key learning strands are as follows: soil/crop irrigation science; food safety and food storage; business planning, marketing, budgeting; community engagement through partnerships and distributions; and embedding culturally sustaining practices in our communities (especially through youth development programs, such as Farm to School). Our Curriculum Director has been modifying existing or creating new curriculum based on the "Zais Model for Curriculum Design" from Igniting the Sparkle by Dr. Gregory Cajete, PhD. The Zais Model was chosen because it focuses on building curriculum based on a philosophical foundation for how teachers/mentors and students/learners will approach the educational process, based on any culturally-responsive design. The Zais Model offers opportunities for students/learners to draw and develop ties to family and community, while also facilitating a sense of "situated-ness" - better facilitating students/learners in learning and applying their new knowledge and skills by relating it to their own lived experiences. Finally, among the lessons learned so far, there are three "bottom lines" for the Indigenous Farm Hub based on input from community and Advisory Committee: 1) Language and cultural infusion must be central in programming. 2) Farmer prosperity is important; however, a consensus is needed on what "prosperity" means to our participants from various tribes and nations, which is distinct from conventional definitions, such as key USDA metrics. 3) Technical assistance (for those who seek it) with business, operating, and marketing plans is much needed to help beginning farmers and ranchers establish whether a CSA/farm stand model or working directly with institutions and third-party distributors in to sell their products is best for them, with a focus on how to sell niche crops and plants used in traditional Indigenous medicines.
Publications
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