OUR WORK
Our shared love for the land is what brings us together. Our desire to be in community, to be in collective, is what ties us together. Our commitment to self-work is what holds us together.
We come together in reverence for all the ways we are different, hold each other in nuanced complexity and fluidity in our multitude of expressions. A diverse ecosystem is a thriving one. But we find collective grounding in our deepest desire for connection.
What is good for ourselves, good for the collective, good for the community, good for the land are not mutually exclusive. And where we find they are one in the same, we find abundance.
This philosophy is the foundation for how we organize.
THE THREE GOURDS
Image from page 72 of of Agroecology From The People: Volume 1.
We at Soil Generation organize our work by pouring into 3 Gourds because we believe all three are necessary for our individual and collective liberation:
Reform work is a way to engage ongoing and urgent violence, most likely perpetuated by existing institutions, i.e. harmful policies, by attempting to solve unaddressed issues and harms embedded within these institutions.
Radical work gets at the root of systemic harm by radically challenging distribution and access to power and resources in order to restore balance where there is violent inequity, which is necessary for repair and healing
Revolutionary work is about centering what we want, not responding to what we know we don’t want. This is the power of imagining what is possible for us and building a reality of our own by creating alternatives to our current realities.
[REFORM]
Soil Generation co-authored Philly’s first ever Urban Ag Plan alongside Interface Studios and commissioned by Philly Parks & Rec. This plan engaged hundreds of growers throughout its nearly 4 year creation process, centers racial, land, and food justice, and offers historical and data context, and a 10 year plan in the form of policy recommendations for re-imagining a more just food local system.
[REFORM]
WHO CONTROLS THE LAND WE STAND ON? Community control of land is the foundation of our collective struggle—whether the issue is food, education, or housing. Our gardens are not just extracurricular spaces! They are community-driven acts of resistance and resilience by displaced and historically underinvested communities.
Soil Generation has organized actions, made demands of city institutions, and responded to the ways gentrification continues to destabilize land security for Black and Brown growing spaces.
[RADICAL]
Agroecology is especially unique to our practice and our politicization process. It is critical to define what agroecology means for us as Black & Brown growers in urban spaces. The practice of agroecology values farmer-to-farmer knowledge. We created this manual with these values in mind for other Black and Brown growers and those hungry for a connection with food and land. This is our contribution to a growing body of knowledge about afroecology & agroecology in the US. Volume I shares some of Soil Generation’s history and philosophies, technical farming ideas from growers of color in the city, and the politics of growing in Philadelphia.
[RADICAL]
Soul Regeneration was an offering by Soil Generation in August 2022 to our community for a chance to center themselves in a beautiful nature-filled space to receive tender loving care. Women and gender expansive land and food stewards were specifically invited. With a roster of all femme Black & Brown healing practitioners, participants were encourage to explore a range of modalities.
[REVOLUTIONARY]
A meditative glimpse into the natural rhythms of farming the land, harvesting, and eating together -- it’s a social movement! Our connection to land runs deep and is rich with spiritual nourishment. It offers abundant opportunity to connect with ourselves, each other, and our ancestors.