Community Ag Project

Algae Magic with Tajah of Out of Seam

Welcome back to the Community Agriculture Project podcast! In season 2 episode 8, we sit down with Tajah Ellis of Out of Seam. Our conversation shows the connection and inspiration of different communities that inspire a weaving of the elements and continued experimentation in the creative process. We start the episode off with hearing of Tajah’s background, and how that inspired Out of Seam, Tajah’s “empirical color shifting and bio-material exploration.” We then get into Tajah’s work of sourcing and experimenting with natural dyes and algae cultivation. Here are some follow up resources from today’s episode! Algae batteries https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3UolkmB7Qc&ab_channel=RichardWestcott [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3UolkmB7Qc&ab_channel=RichardWestcott] Algae Cultivation https://www.researchgate.net/publication/336009959_Experimental_Study_for_Commercial_Fertilizer_NPK_202020TE_N_P_K_in_Microalgae_Cultivation_at_Different_Aeration_Periods?_tp=eyJjb250ZXh0Ijp7ImZpcnN0UGFnZSI6Il9kaXJlY3QiLCJwYWdlIjoiX2RpcmVjdCJ9fQ [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/336009959_Experimental_Study_for_Commercial_Fertilizer_NPK_202020TE_N_P_K_in_Microalgae_Cultivation_at_Different_Aeration_Periods?_tp=eyJjb250ZXh0Ijp7ImZpcnN0UGFnZSI6Il9kaXJlY3QiLCJwYWdlIjoiX2RpcmVjdCJ9fQ] WHAT is ALGAE? https://algaeresearchsupply.com/pages/what-are-algae?_pos=1&_sid=f6765e3b4&_ss=r [https://algaeresearchsupply.com/pages/what-are-algae?_pos=1&_sid=f6765e3b4&_ss=r] Seaweed in Belize: https://www.youtube.com/live/bzrwQ6TkdRI?si=teFBjp79kOCejb1W [https://www.youtube.com/live/bzrwQ6TkdRI?si=teFBjp79kOCejb1W] Seaweed in Africa: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Kanembu-women-harvesting-Spirulina-from-Lake-Boudou-Andja-in-Chad-Photo-by-Marzio_fig5_308669168 [https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Kanembu-women-harvesting-Spirulina-from-Lake-Boudou-Andja-in-Chad-Photo-by-Marzio_fig5_308669168] If you want to get in touch with Tajah, check out her instagram @outofseam__

Urban Agriculture Extension in NYC with Yolanda Gonzalez

Hello and welcome back to the Community Ag Project Podcast. In season 2 episode 7, we sit down with Yolanda Gonzalez, “an Urban Agricultural Specialist with the Harvest NY program. In this role, she provides technical assistance and educational programming for urban farmers and gardeners across the five boroughs of New York City.” Yolanda has been in this role for 7 years, so I ask her some questions about her journey! In our conversation, we talk about what the agriculture extension does, who is serves, and what, more specifically, the agriculture community is like in NYC. We also discuss her current initiatives, including CRAFT, the Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training. We also talk about available online urban agriculture programming, and Yolanda’s ongoing Community Mushroom Educator project. We later touch on NYC soil classification, city soil lead contamination, and experiments with growing ginger. To learn more about Yolanda and her work, check out her instagram @the_agrotourista and the @urbanag.nyc [http://urbanag.nyc] page. Here is an expanded profile on Yolanda and some other links that she mentions throughout the episode: https://cals.cornell.edu/yolanda-gonzalez [https://cals.cornell.edu/yolanda-gonzalez] Community mushroom educator: https://smallfarms.cornell.edu/projects/mushrooms/ [https://smallfarms.cornell.edu/projects/mushrooms/] CRAFT program: https://craftfarmapprentice.com [https://craftfarmapprentice.com] Cornell cooperative extension page: https://harvestny.cce.cornell.edu [https://harvestny.cce.cornell.edu] Map of NYC ag: https://mapnyc.herokuapp.com [https://mapnyc.herokuapp.com] Thanks for tuning in and be sure to check out the remainder of season 2.

All things hemp with RJ Noble of the New Hampshire Hemp Co

Welcome back to the Community Agriculture project. In episode 6, we sit down with RJ Noble of the New Hampshire Hemp Company. In our discussion, we cover the difference between CBD, CBG and THC, navigating the hemp laws in New Hampshire, industrial applications of hemp, soil practices on his farms, quorum sensing and more! To get in touch with RJ about his work, you can visit his instagram @nhhempco

San Diego Urban Farming and Growing Seed with Javier Flores

Hello and welcome back to the Community Agriculture Project Podcast. In episode 5, we welcome Javier Flores, a farmer based out of San Diego. Javier got his start working in his local food system at the Wild Willow Farm and Education Center, and now works with the Seeds@City Sustainable Agriculture. We discuss Javier’s transition into working in the food system and finding mentors in the agriculture space. We talk about the developing community at Seeds@City and around Javier’s work in general. We also get into farming seed vs growing food, Javier’s vision for his local seed bank, and gardening at the Tijuana River Valley Community Garden space. Javier shares the key values that he holds while in farming/education spaces, and the rituals that keep him grounded in his work. Below are some of the resources Javier shared throughout our talk: Organic Seed Alliance https://seedalliance.org [https://seedalliance.org] The Milpa Initiative https://www.plantspeoplecommunity.org/the-milpa-initiative [https://www.plantspeoplecommunity.org/the-milpa-initiative] San Diego Seed Farmer Training https://www.plantspeoplecommunity.org/san-diego-seed-farmer-training [https://www.plantspeoplecommunity.org/san-diego-seed-farmer-training] Native Seed Search and the ADAPTS Collection Database https://www.nativeseeds.org [https://www.nativeseeds.org] Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer Food Shed - Food Distribution Hub in San Diego https://www.foodshedcooperative.com [https://www.foodshedcooperative.com] Wild Willow Farm https://www.wildwillowfarm.org [https://www.wildwillowfarm.org] Seeds@City Farm https://www.sdcity.edu/community/seeds/index.aspx [https://www.sdcity.edu/community/seeds/index.aspx] Thanks for tuning in!

Agroecology and Ferments in Borikén with Ian Jiménez Barreras

Hello and welcome back to the Community Agriculture Project Podcast! In episode 4, we sit with Ian Jiménez Barreras in Borikén aka Puerto Rico, and discuss his navigations of experiential learning in his field, finding his agroecology community, and his experimentation with ferments and Korean natural farming. We cover his background, goals and intention when it comes to agriculture, and understand how he got started working with the land in Borikén. He gives us insight into his learning process for developing living soils, including being self taught through books, attending intensives led by Chris Trump, and experimenting with different ferments with the locally abundant resources of the island. We hear from him about his shifting community throughout his learning journey, and how those community shifts led to the position he is currently in, which is a team member for projects like the Caribbean Regenerative Community Development (CRCD) and Ridge to Reefs. We really follow the arc of Ian’s journey in this episode. In reflection, for people that are looking to embrace a new practice, he recommends to find good mentors and spend time learning and observing in the spaces you find yourself in. You can contact Ian through his instagram @pr.knf and @ian_jo16 Ian’s resource recommendations: JADAM organic farming: the way to ultra-low-cost agriculture https://en.jadam.kr [https://en.jadam.kr] @marco_is_growing @soilsteward @naturesalwaysright Other resources: https://www.crcdpr.org/projects/smart-ag-puerto-rico/ [https://www.crcdpr.org/projects/smart-ag-puerto-rico/] https://www.ridgetoreefs.org [https://www.ridgetoreefs.org] You can always reach out to us if you have any questions communityagproject@gmail.com [communityagproject@gmail.com] and don’t forget to check out our website communityagproject.com [http://communityagproject.com]. Thanks for tuning in!