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Project partners:
June 2023 – present
Aerial view of friends gathered to harvest radishes at black futures farm in Portland, OR. Photo credit: Robert Cuadra
A resilient, equitable food system grows from the leadership, knowledge, and lived experiences of producers.
Through Resilient Food Futures, we work across the Portland Metro Region and Oregon to strengthen the long-term viability, resilience, and leadership of underserved producers.
Our approach centers culturally specific strategies, climate resilient agriculture, and the strength of trusted peer networks. We mobilize resources, align tools and partnerships, and invest in producer-led solutions. Through peer-to-peer learning, technical assistance, microgrant support, outreach, and systems navigation, we work toward tangible outcomes: stronger farm operations, secure access to land and capital, expanded food system participation, and thriving rural and urban communities. This is an ongoing practice. We seek to root our efforts in the lived experiences, priorities, and wisdom of producers, learning and adjusting as we go.
Through Cultivating Connections, an ongoing community-building series, we co-create spaces where producers can share lived experiences, identify barriers, and lift up solutions rooted in community knowledge. Our Rooted Resilience workshop series invites participants to reconnect with ancestral and Afro-Indigenous land stewardship traditions through regenerative practices that heal soil, nourish communities, and cool the planet. We also deliver direct financial support through our climate resilience microgrant awards, helping producers strengthen their operations and adapt to climate challenges.
At the heart of Resilient Food Futures is a commitment to recognizing and supporting the wisdom, knowledge, and strength that already exist within communities. We work to elevate producer voices, invest in their leadership, and build support systems rooted in care. By doing so, we support communities to reclaim legacies of resilience and shape a food future rooted in care, connection, and collective power.
Upcoming Events
Gather with us at the Native American Youth and Family Center’s Community Garden WAPAS NAH NEE SHAKU for a hands-on workshop exploring how ancestral and cultural practices can guide climate-resilient farming today. Participants will learn techniques for soil regeneration, water management, and crop adaptation strategies for a changing climate. Together, we’ll reflect on our relationships to land, food, and lineage while building practical strategies to care for soil, water, and community. This is the second workshop in a three-part series designed for farmers, gardeners, land stewards, and anyone ready to reconnect with land and lineage while farming in a changing climate. Whether you grow on a balcony, backyard, or acreage, you are welcome.
Gather with us at Black Food Sovereignty Coalition’s headquarters to build relationships, share experiences, and strengthen community among urban farmers, growers, and land stewards.
Through conversation, storytelling, and a shared meal, we’ll reflect on our experiences as producers, the conditions shaping our work, and the possibilities we can build together. This is a space to connect, listen, and imagine what’s needed to better support urban growers across our region.
2024 Microgrant Awardees
A total of $65,000 in microgrants was awarded to these Portland-area farm businesses:
ahlain wa sahlain! i am iman labanieh and the syrian farmer + herbalist behind baylasan botanicals. my ancestors are rooted in damascus + aleppo, syria, and i was raised by the lands of the Tongva (orange county, ca) and Huichin Ohlone (oakland, bay area). i’m currently a guest on the lands of the Clackamas, Chinook, Cowlitz, and many other peoples who make up the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde. along with running baylasan botanicals, i am a care + cultural worker, a fierce dreamer, intention setter, pisces (x4), aspiring dj, and kitty parent.
i have always had the desire to heal and be healed. i found farming and plant medicine in the twisty turny ways that life often works. my journey into healing work began during my teen years, where i interned and volunteered in different community mental health programs. i received degrees in ethnic studies and psychology from the university of california, berkeley before working as a counselor with system-impacted youth in the bay area. yet, i found myself and my work stifled by the limitations of the non-profit industrial complex and the accepted modes of healing in western medicine. it was during this time that i was delving into learning about my ancestral plants + their medicines, and making healing teas and concoctions for myself and my community.
Kasama Farm is a queer, Pilipinx-American-led land, healing, and love project on Wasco and Wishram land in Hood River County, Ore.
A space where queer, trans, BIPOC people can find nourishment and show up in their wholeness.
An intergenerational space to reclaim cultural relationships our ancestors had with plants and plant medicines.
A healthy social environment that is energizing to the soul and honors ritual, creativity and joy.
A community-based and community-supported project.
A space filled with the laughter of children, songs and prayers of our elders, and the many colors, patterns, and sounds of our people.
Momma Nature’s urban farm is a Comprehensive Health Equity Movement (CHEM) innovation hub partner growing organic food for BIPOC and low-income communities in the Portland metro area. CHEM GlobalCampus is an international network of high-tech CHEM ASTEAMM® innovation hubs that pair best-in-class agricultural operating practices, scientific research, and technological advancements with academic curricula, enterprise development, and community reinvestment initiatives.
Mora Mora Farm is a one-acre, mixed vegetable farm in Troutdale, Ore., established through the Headwaters Incubator Program. We grow over 100 varieties of fresh, seasonal veggies, with a special focus on both Pacific Northwest classics and beloved Asian heritage varieties. We host a thriving CSA program, partner with local restaurants, and work closely with nonprofits addressing food insecurity around Portland.
At Mora Mora, we’re all about healthy soil and sustainable practices. We use compost, cover crops, and minimal tillage to boost soil life and create a thriving ecosystem. Our farming methods go above and beyond organic standards, and our intensive growing practices allow us to maximize production on a small space. We are committed to maintaining a productive and healthy farm system that benefits both the soil and our local community.
We reclaim and celebrate the heritage and wisdom of Black-African matriarchal cultures by weaving ecofeminism, cooperative economics and care into the fabric of modern agriculture, land stewardship, and culinary artistry.
Microgrant Applications
The application period for the 2024 microgrants has closed. Please email fsamicrogrants@ecotrust.org if you have any questions.
Community partners talk about growth cycles with farmer Michelle Week, founder of Good Rain Farm, at the Headwaters Incubator Program in Gresham, OR. Photo credit: Kari Rowe
Sabrina Cerquera, Program Manager of Food Systems Equity, and Aaron Vargas, former Ecotrust staff. Photo credit: Kari Rowe
Partners
is a collaboration hub for Black and Brown communities that exists to ignite BIPOC communities to participate as owners and movement leaders within food systems, placemaking, and economic development.
serves the changing needs of Oregon’s diverse agricultural and food sectors to maintain and enhance a healthy natural resource base and strong economy in rural and urban communities across the state.
advances sustainable agriculture, resilient community food systems, and the long-term viability of Oregon’s small and mid-scale farmers and ranchers.
is the nation’s first directly elected regional government and serves more than 1.7 million people in Clackamas, Multnomah, and Washington counties whose boundary encompasses Portland and 23 other cities region wide.
works to develop and implement local, culturally appropriate programs to address a wide range of health disparities among the Black/African immigrant and refugee communities throughout Oregon.
Ecotrust Project Team & Services
Want to learn more? Check out the full Ecotrust Staff & Board and all of our Tools for Building Collective Change.
We cultivate leaders and assist with funding sources.
We build and deliver mission-aligned projects in partnership.
We contribute tools, analyses, and frameworks that move projects forward.
