The province of North Kivu, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), is home to a vibrant tapestry of mountain rain forests and savannas, woven together by the rivers that feed Lake Edwards and Lake Kivu. It is also a region that is torn apart by war. The interests of neighboring countries and international economic forces have fueled the violence that has displaced more than 2.8 million people and is devastating the local ecosystems. Amidst the ongoing chaos, however, water and earth guardians continue to work to create a better future for their communities and their more-than-human neighbors. One of these brave humans is Justin Lumoo Paluku, who works with the Initiative pour le Progrès et la Protection de l'Environnement (IPPE), or the Initiative for Environmental Progress and Protection.

Himanee Gupta-Carlson, a writer and professor with SUNY Empire State College, is writing a series of articles about moving the farm she and her husband Jim Gupta-Carlson own and operate from a small piece of land in Saratoga County to a much larger parcel in Washington County. The articles reflect on the journey as well as the couple’s commitments to cultivating food security on a regional level through regenerative agricultural practices and participating in food sovereignty movements worldwide. This article — the fifth in the series — marks the first full year of living between two farms.

Himanee Gupta-Carlson, a writer and professor with SUNY Empire State College, is writing a series of articles about moving the farm she and her husband Jim Gupta-Carlson own and operate from a small piece of land in Saratoga County, NY to a much larger parcel in Washington County. The articles reflect on the journey as well as the couple’s commitments to cultivating food security on a regional level through regenerative agricultural practices and food sovereignty movements worldwide. This article explores ideas of ownership around land and its harvests.

Himanee Gupta-Carlson, a writer and professor with SUNY Empire State College, is writing a series of articles about moving the farm she and her husband Jim Gupta-Carlson own and operate from a small piece of land in Saratoga County, NY to a much larger parcel in Washington County. The articles reflect on the journey as well as the couple’s commitments to cultivating food security on a regional level through regenerative agricultural practices and food sovereignty movements worldwide. This article explores how the author has gleaned new knowledge from the non-human beings that surround her.

In the second installment of her Shifting Ground series focusing on a year-long journey of moving her farm and deepening her commitment to regenerative agriculture, Himanee Gupta-Carlson narrates her process of moving into the quiet of winter after a fall of transition.

In the first installment of her new “Shifting Ground” series, Himanee Gupta-Carlson introduces us to the experiences that have led her and her husband to make a commitment to “cultivating food security on a regional level through regenerative agricultural practices and participating in food sovereignty movements worldwide.” The series will trace their journey over the coming year as they move their farm to a new location following racialized protests against their agricultural practices in their current location.

In the final installment of his series on Decolonization and Food Sovereignty, Derek Sherrange introduces us to Tzintzun Aguilar-Izzo and Blake Lavia of the Talking Wings Collective, the driving voice behind the North Country Art, Land & Environment Summit beginning on September 9, 2020.

In his third article previewing the upcoming North Country Art, Land, and Environment Summit to be held from September 9 to October 2, Derek Sherrange draws on the work of educator and farmer Dr. Himanee Gupta-Carlson to explore the concept of food sovereignty and its relevance for the work of overcoming settler-colonial structures and building regenerative forms of agriculture.

In preparation for the upcoming North Country Art, Land, and Environment Summit to be held from September 9 to October 2, Derek Sherrange begins a new series on food sovereignty and decolonization. In this first installment, Sherrange provides an overview of the concept of settler colonialism and shares the insights of Katsitsionni Fox (Bear Clan), a Kanien:keha'ka (Mohawk) artist, filmmaker, and educator.