Fall wrapping up of your garden with NOFA and Global Village at Tuck Away Farms

Come learn how Global Village Farm's no-till practices are integral to their mission of building a more resilient community.

Throughout the day we will:

• Learn how Global Village Farm's soil health practices start with Soil Test
• Learn how Global Village Farm's community and educational efforts are complemented and supported by Soil health practices
• Learn how Global Village Farm went from a dry arid soil to more healthy soil
• Discuss ways in which these management practices can nurture the soil and prevent and alleviate issues including soil compaction, water retention, soil health
• Learn about Global Village Farm's experiments with tarps, permanent beds, perennial and living cover crop, and intercropping.
• Learn about compost, vermicompost, biochar, compost tea and extracts and compost amendments mixes!

We will also:

• Enjoy lunch on the farm and mingle with other farmers.
• Learn several methods to assess soil health onsite with simple and inexpensive tools.

Cost:

Registration for this event is priced using an Equitable Sliding Scale, and ranges from $0 to $105 per ticket.  Please select the right option for you.

 Consider Paying More On The Scale If You:

• Own your home(s), have investments, retirement accounts, inherited money.
• Travel recreationally, work part-time by choice, have access to family money and resources in times of need.
• Have a relatively high degree of earning power due to level of education, gender and/or racial privilege, class background, etc. Even if you are not currently exercising your earning power, we ask you to recognize this as a choice.

Consider Paying Less On The Scale If You:

• Are supporting children or have other dependents.
• Have significant debt, have medical expenses not covered by insurance, have tuition/educational expenses.
• Receive public assistance.
• Have immigration-related expenses. 

Schedule/Agenda:

9:30 - 10:00am - Arrival and Blessing

10:00am - 12:00pm - Workshop station (1st Block)

12:00pm - Lunch (Culturally appropriate food provided by Activities at lunch tables for people to mingle.)

1:00 - 2:00pm - Discussion of NRCS services, Global Village Farm Tour (Jill, team) (2 or 4 teams)

2:00 - 4:00pm - Workshop station (2nd Block)

4:00pm - Wrap Up & Thank You

About Global Village Farm:

Global Village at Tuck Away Farm is a 52 acre farm with a 2.5 garden located in Grafton, MA, working to build a more resilient community through the integration of educational experiences, justice work, and regenerative agriculture. Global Village Farm was founded in 2018 and is a project with the social and spiritual mission based on the ancestral practices of “Buen Vivir”.

Informed by many ancient Mayan agriculture practices, Global Village @TAF uses a raised-bed no-till system, integrating cover crops, mulch, intercropping, and other practices that work to sequester carbon back into the soil. In addition, they run a beginner farmer peer program where people are invited to come to the fields and harvest food as they choose. Volunteers who will be helping to present at this NOFA/Mass event: (More info on Volunteers below.)

About the Instructors:

Matt Feinstein (he/him) Co-Director of Global Village Farms and is motivated to turn the compost piles weekly when his 2 year old son says “let’s dig and dump with the big green tractor”. He is also the Co-op Clinic Program Manager with the U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives and loves worker co-op development and movement building.

Ruben Parilla (he/him) Soil Tech Coordinator for NOFA/Mass where he is responsible for implementing and performing field sampling protocols. He has 15 years of experience in the Environmental Laboratory industry and is currently pursuing microscopy certification through Dr. Elaine’s™ Soil Food Web School. Ruben believes in the guiding principles of land stewardship and that we all share this responsibility. When he is not actively working the land, Ruben enjoys gathering forest medicine, fermentation and home gardening to name a few. Finalmente, Rubén es bilingüe y quiere saber de usted. Laura Davis (she/her) Certification Assistance Coordinator & Soil Technical Assistance Co-Coordinator

Now the President of the Board for NOFA/Mass, as well as the Co-President for the NOFA Interstate Council, Laura has served on the NOFA/Mass Board of Directors since 2011. In 2014, Laura joined the staff assisting farmers with their organic certification questions and then joined the Soil Technical Assistance team in 2017 doing soil test analysis. Laura has two teenage daughters, runs Long Life Farm in Hopkinton, MA, along with her husband Donald Sutherland, and grows certified organic vegetables.  Learning from NOFA workshops has enabled her to grow nutrient dense food in a no-till regenerative system.

 Ulum Pixan Ahtohil Suk’il (Bird Spirit) (she/her) Education Director

Ulum Pixan (Original Name), aka Dania Flores (colonized name), is an Indigenous mixed-race woman (Maya, Xinca, Garifuna, Russian Jew and ladino), mother and grandmother. She was born in Guatemala, Mesoamerica, and moved to the United States in 1999. She has always been involved with community organizing around aboriginal, women's, language, and environmental issues. Ulum is a critical thinker, farmer and activist. As NOFA/Mass’s Education Director she leads the educational efforts of the organization, promoting organic and sustainable agriculture and is an active member of the Equity and Inclusion committee.

Jill Ferreira Organizer

Jill was born and raised in New Bedford, Massachusetts and is a descendant of Portuguese and Italian immigrants. After high school, she studied Deaf Culture studies and American Sign Language at Bristol Community College, and went on to study Anthropology & Psychology at UMass Boston, where her love of multiculturalism and community continued to expand.

Her passion for food and work in various areas of the supply chain has evolved to a deeper desire for an intimate relationship to the land. Her work with Global Village Farms is aligned with her values of access and education for food and land.

Jill and her dog Ralph, spend much time in Providence, RI, where Jill is able to maintain work and connections with the non-profit organizations, Bridge to Hope International, Healing Arrows, Reclaim RI, as well as the Bell Street dog park community. Currently, Jill also works for Equal Exchange, and is based in Freetown, MA on Pocasset Pokanoket, Wampanoag land.

About Volunteers:

Global Village Farm volunteer program takes place on Sundays in the spring and fall, and runs during the summer as well. Volunteers help with every aspect of the farm and bring very important energy and enthusiasm to our project, including an array of social movements.

More Information:

Portions of our farm tour will cover uneven terrain. We want to make sure your accessibility needs are met during the event. Please share with us your needs regarding (but not limited to): physical accessibility, allergies, noise, scent, gender, intellectual accessibility, and any instructions or tips to help you fully participate.

Masks are not currently required at this location but are greatly appreciated and encouraged. If you don't feel fully healthy it is okay to stay at home. We will share a quick video recording of this event with registered attendees, followed by a separate online event with similar content.

Refund/Inclement Weather Policy:

For information on our refund and inclement weather policy, click here.

Capacity:

Capacity for this event is limited to 50 people. Please remember to abide by current MA state guidelines for group gatherings and travel to minimize the transmission of COVID-19. Register ahead of time to secure your space!

Questions?

Contact Dora Miller, NOFA/Mass Educational Events Coordinator, at dora@nofamass.org or 857-265-0598

Sponsors

Massachusetts Department of Agriculture (MDAR)