The 2024 Short Course in People’s Agroecology - Presented by Rural Vermont and the People’s Agroecology School of Vermont

Friday, October 4 through Tuesday, October 8. Based at Wheelock Mountain Farm in Greensboro Bend, with daily field trips and collaborations with farms and allies in East Hardwick, Stannard, Barre, Glover, Groton, Hartland, Bethel and Quechee.

Objectives

  1. Participants will become familiar with the core concepts of agroecology, sustainable land management, food sovereignty, the VT/NE context from farmers and farmworkers, and the role of social movements in ushering in revolutionary change. “Changing the story”

  2. Participants will experience hands-on methods and refine on-farm skills for building a stronger grassroots base through agroecological work brigades. “Building the bigger we”

  3. Participants will build relationships with allies across Vermont, the US, Canada, and Puerto Rico that facilitate long-term collaboration, solidarity, and accompanying of  farmers, movement coordination, exchange, and the collaboration of movement-led educational programs with an internationalist lens. “Build the new”

  4. Outcomes of the brigades will reflect the agroecological practices of the Vermont landscape and context, with the intent of participants being able to adapt techniques to their own communities and contexts. Students will be connected to grassroots organizing networks and movements rooted in agroecological growing and food sovereignty in North America and the Caribbean.

The cohort is made up of a handful of visiting farmers, farmworkers, educators, and activists joining us from across the US, Canada, and Puerto Rico, representing member organizations of La Via Campesina North America and ally organizations, and a robust showing of Vermont agrarians and activists to accompany us in learning together. We invite you to join us and help make this educational opportunity and exchange as rich as possible, and to further amplify and uplift the many examples of agroecology and food sovereignty around Vermont.

See full calendar of events below. RSVP is now closed.

The 2024 Short Course is being offered at no cost to participants, as part of the agroecology school being created by Rural Vermont and allies, which goes by the provisional name the People’s Agroecology School of Vermont. Camping is available at Wheelock Mtn Farm in Greensboro Bend for some or all of the duration of the Course. For more information, contact mollie@ruralvermont.org.

Calendar of Events

Friday, October 4 

  • 8:30am-11:45am Work Brigade at Wheelock Mountain Farm, Greensboro Bend

    • Focus Areas: sustainable community sugaring, popular education, social justice organizing

  • 12-12:45 - Community lunch at Wheelock Mountain Farm, Greensboro Bend 

  • 1-4 Community Scale Agroecology at Black Dirt Farm, Stannard 

    • Focus Areas: vermiculture, compost & nutrient cycling, and poultry foraging, scaling up agroecology

  • 7-8:30pm Just Getting By moving screening by NEK Director Bess O'Brien, hosted + organized by the Barton Library and Barton Community Giving Garden

Saturday, October 5

  • 9am-3:30pm Work Brigade at Dawnland Farm, Barre

    • Focus Areas: Garlic Planting/Greenhouse dismantling. Land Access, the People’s Agroecology Process

  • 3:45-5 Migrant Justice Action at the South Barre Hannafords (full Migrant Justice action is 12-5pm)

  • 5:30pm Allies Dinner - Barre

Sunday, October 6

  • 8:30-11:45 Work Brigade at Riverside Farm, East Hardwick 

    • Focus Areas: Flood Mitigation and Tree planting

  • 12pm-1pm Allies Lunch at Wheelock Mtn Farm, Greensboro Bend 

  • 2-5pm last Bread & Puppet show of the year, Glover

  • 6-8pm Farmer Dinner at Wheelock Mountain Farm, Greensboro Bend

    • Focus Areas: Cooperativism

Monday, October 7 

  • 9am-3pm Farm Work Brigade at Ezili’s Respite, Groton

    • Focus Areas: Universal Designs on Farms, AfroEcology, Harm Reduction, the Maroon Movement

  • 6pm Wheelock Mountain Farm Dinner & Discussion with Invited Guest YahNe Ndgo - Ubuntu Freedom Movement

Tuesday, October 8

  • 9am-5pm Field Trip to the Upper Valley

    • 9-11:30 Work session and tour with allies, Bethel 

      • Focus Areas: Native Tree Nurseries, Land Access

    • 12:15-3pm Lunch & Tour of Cedar Mountain Farm, Hartland

      • Focus Areas: Alley Cropping, Agroforestry, Soil Health, Draft Animals  

    • 3:30-5pm Tour of Abenaki Gardens, Quechee

      • Focus Areas: Seed Saving, Indigenous Food Security