Inheriting the Harvest

In this summer episode of BRAIDEd, host Keionna Thomas speaks with Nia Kiara Cole, a fifth-generation farmer who transitioned from film to rebuilding her family farm in North Carolina. Nia's journey from Howard University graduate to land steward demonstrates how young Black farmers are weaving together creative skills with agricultural restoration on land with 200 years of family history. EcoWomanist Institute Southeast co-founder Valerie Hill Rawls addresses the narrative erasure that overlooks Southern Black families who held onto their land, emphasizing why the organization champions "restorative" rather than "regenerative" agriculture. Through Nia's story of navigating family expectations, building intergenerational partnerships, and managing the Southern Black Farmers Community-Led Fund, this episode shows how modern farming is an interdisciplinary field where art, storytelling, and land stewardship flourish together. The episode also announces that BRAID program applications have officially closed and the review process has begun.

#BlackFarmers #LandJustice #RestorativeAgriculture #IntergenerationalWealth #EcoWomanism