Benjamin Rogers aka Yamin grew up the son of a track coach. He learned early in life that determination & technique will bring him closer to his aspirations. Yamin’s burden Is to minister to incarcerated Brothers with a message of life application. His exposure to farming was first given to him while working as a child in his family’s garden. He longs to engage with influential farmers around Baltimore County to discover their farming Labor needs. Yamin wishes to bridge the shortage of farm migrant workers based on recent immigration laws.

Why are you passionate about farming and the Stewardship Program?

I am extremely passionate about fresh food that is grown with integrity. As a business, farming should not be conducted for mass production. To produce the highest quality for customers, produce should not be cloned genetically manipulated, injected with steroids, or chemically treated for pest. As a returning generation farmer, I have been shaped by my environment. Communities are the backbone of everything we strive for in civil society. Our Grater Baltimore Community is beautiful and diverse, and we are made up of many vocational specialties.

And at the core of our interaction is our common consumption of food. Therefore, healthy dining should be a community priority. All of us are deserving the nutrients and vitamins that are provided by a non-processed well-balanced diet. My community will testify to my ingenuity. I am capable of developing and reproducing crops. As a return generation farmer, I am committed to sustainability. I was taught to save some dried corn cobs as seeds to sow for the upcoming year. Part of this sowing and reaping is good stewardship contributing financially to the alumni fund.

My background allows me to work alongside engineers to harness new technology to produce compost fertile soil, fresh air as a result of photosynthesis, and a closed-circuit renewable energy aquaponics system that supplies tomato cages, a vineyard, vertical tower berry patches, and vegetable garden with nitrate enriched, chemical-free, ph. balanced, temperature regulated, algae-free water. A4C Stewardship Program opened the doors for me to utilize the gifts and talents I was born with and become well-rounded in the farming industry.

MarTaze (Taz) Gaines (they/them) is a Baltimore native, spending most of their years in Edmondson Village (Zone 29). Taz is a cultural-community organizer, life-long student, and healer who fights for liberation through community empowerment and organized action; liberation that includes ALL Black people especially those pushed further into the margins.

Why are you passionate about farming?

Stewarding the land is not only our right, it is our duty. I am passionate about deepening my connection with the land through direct hands-on experience. Farming allows an opportunity to both give and receive from the land, my family, and the larger community. It serves as a method of connecting the Spirit that lives in all beings through intentional nurturing and care. I am passionate about being able to grow food again and being confident while doing so. Working the land is something many Africans excelled at across the continent with vast and ever-growing knowledge of the land, its offerings, limitations, and how to take care of ourselves without taking too much. I am passionate about reconnecting to the wisdoms of our ancestors especially as we continue our fight for our dignity and right to exist. It is important that my learning in A4C is shared with my community through skills-based workshops, community events, and land lending.

Why are the A4C Stewardship Program and land ownership important to you?

This Stewardship program is important to me because its impacts will directly affect Baltimore City residents in our fight for internal and external community power. I've heard many times, "Free the Land, Free the People" or "Land is Power." These phrases truly reflect the many possibilities that land allows. With the utterance of those phrases, we are reminded that with land as a resource, we can truly support our people with food, medicine, clothing, shelter, security, nature and much more. This stewardship program will work directly to further the ecosystem of local farmers and medicine makers. Acres4Change is a wonderful opportunity that will support my growth as a young Black person attempting to reclaim the land and continue the traditions of stolen Africans transported to the "United States of America." To understand the importance of owning land, one can look at the U.S.'s constant attempts at land acquisition from Indigenous and Black folx from the initial moment of imperialism until today in rural and city locations. Land ownership provides some security in an ever-changing, increasingly unaffordable world. This program also centers co-ownership. This is extremely important to me because currently land ownership is a strategy use to rectify past wrongs. However, one major problem that I often see is around ownership. As a co-owner, people are in a practice of accountability to each other. This furthers the foundation of Acres4Change really being something for the larger community of Baltimore and surrounding areas. Co-ownership moves us closer to larger scale shared ownership and governance.

How will land ownership benefit you and your community?

Land ownership will support me and my community in several ways. Firstly, through this program, we will be expanding the land and cadre of Baltimore City Farmers. This will support the efforts of growers trying to increase the support of our communities through relationship building and healthy food access. I am excited to do seed sharing, s learning and sharing knowledge and tips. Land ownership seeks to remedy the harms caused by enslavement and the continued divestment from Black people particularly in the City. Land ownership means having some dedicated space for organizer trainings, community dinners, dialogues, and other events. It means having some place to do rituals for honoring the land and our people. It means giving more people the chance to learn and work the land. It means having a space close by to serve as respite while folx reenergize. Land ownership to me is the start/continuation of other possibilities including preserving and highlighting the City Arabber Tradition, bringing other farm life (animals and plants) back to the city, and reconnecting Black folx to our roots.

Jonathon Brandon is a Green Street Academy (GSA) student and A4C intern/on-site Steward. While relatively new to mushroom cultivation, he brings agricultural experience gained from his enrollment in GSA’s Agriculture Program for the past two years. Jonathon is eager to expand his knowledge and skills in mycology and everything mushrooms. His interest lies particularly in the biological aspects of mushroom growth and its potential applications in medicine, as well as its role in enhancing food production efficiency.