Our Community Agreements have been created by Rock Steady farmers and staff to ensure that we are upholding our commitment to center the safety and inclusion of Queer, Trans and BIPOC people in agriculture and do our best to create a safe space for all folks to be in relationship with the land. We invite all Rock Steady Farm visitors to honor these principles with us.
We are open to receiving feedback and questions about these commitments at any time.
Honor the land and sacred waters: We are part of the Housatonic Watershed, Housatonic coming from a Mohican term meaning “river beyond the mountain” that encompasses 8 major tributaries and 24 subwatersheds that begin in the Berkshires and flow out to the Long Island Sound home of the Canarsee Lenape. We are not only connected to the area of what we now call NYC through the food we share, but through the water that flows through us as well. In total we are connected to 2,000 square miles of the Housatonic Watershed, home to the Munsee Lenape, Mohican and Schagticoke nations, stewards of the watersheds, tidal floodplains, seeds, minerals and so much more that make up life on these lands.
As we sow seeds, prepare beds and share food, we continue to reflect on our impact as settlers on stolen land, and offer gratitude to all the beings who have come before us, first nations who continue to fight for sovereignty, and those who we may not meet generations ahead of us.
Be in a practice of self-awareness: We all enter this space carrying various types of privileges related to race, class, gender, sexuality, ability, etc which influence our beliefs, actions and behaviors. We practice awareness of how our words and behaviors can have a harmful impact despite our best intentions.
Address conflict and harm: We visibilize conflict as an opportunity to unlearn harmful interpersonal dynamics and collaborate on strategies to build healthier relationships. We prioritize monthly peer to peer check ins and surface tensions as a way to connect and attune to each other while we address harm, acknowledge the impact of our actions, and challenge common responses of defensiveness and dismissiveness in the face of conflict. We are aware that a compassionate response after experiencing harm can be difficult especially if there is a lack of trust in the relationship. We respond to harm and violent behavior according to the depth of the relationship and trust.
We interrupt violent behavior that promotes homophobic, transphobic, misogynistic and/or racist beliefs in order to preserve a safer space built on trust, respect and self-awareness. This is not the space to shame or bully anyone based on appearance, gender identities, abilities or any other factors.
Find ways to repair harm: We collaborate to create repair where harm has been done by upholding our empowering feedback guide and asking for external support from the community when necessary. We seek to include our diverse experiences and meet our unique needs in our accountability process. Collectively, we can find solutions to reduce the potential for harm to happen.
Communicate with inquiry and clarity: We practice clear, active and direct communication with consent (see below) to nurture trust, safety and accountability. We communicate with inquiry as a way to stay curious and hold complexity instead of leading from assumption. We hold grace and compassion for each other, and stay open to learning new ways to collaborate. We encourage curiosity and emphasize knowledge and process sharing as leadership shifts.
Practice giving and asking consent: Consent is crucial to maintaining a safer space for everyone working and visiting the farm. We practice asking for and giving consent that centers the agency to decide for ourselves what is best and right for us at any given time. This is applied to asking consent about:
Emotional labor: “Hey is it ok if I vent about my weekend during lunch?”
Physical touch: “Can I give you a hug?”
Information Sharing: “Can I post this photo of you harvesting carrots on our social media?”
Feedback: “Can we check in about our miscommunication earlier?”
Cultivate relationships: Our relationships with each other, our extended community and the land are sacred spaces where we can build trust, safety, resilience and interdependence. We prioritize practices that help us attune to each other (grounding exercises, storytelling, resonance, playfulness, etc) and deepen our connection. We move at the speed of trust, acknowledging that vulnerability and intimacy is nurtured consensually over time.
Challenge the binary: Our farm team, community and landscape are composed of diverse functionalities, identities, backgrounds, learning styles and needs. We create a culture of belonging by actively disrupting binary thinking that limits possibilities of coexistence. We don’t assume anyone’s gender identity, sexual preference, survivor status, economic status, immigration or documentation status, background, health, etc. Please use people’s correct pronouns. If you are unsure, just ask, don't assume. We invite various learning styles and workflows because there is no one right way to do things.
Learn from mistakes: We challenge white supremacist values of perfectionism by acknowledging that mistakes are ok. Sometimes mistakes can lead to unexpected positive results and opportunities for learning. We are not going to do well all the time and that is ok as long as we stay committed to accountability and being in a learning process together. We encourage each other (throw glitter not shade) and offer support to build new skills when necessary. Our collaboration is based on mutual learning, and the belief that “No one knows everything. But together, we know a whole lot.”
Practice communal care: We thrive on communal care, a practice in giving and receiving care in ways that are consensual to our physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. We value breaks, rest, patience, and mindful pacing to be gentle with ourselves, others and the land. We see these practices as antidotes to the dominant “grind culture” that celebrates overwork and burnout as markers of success especially within agriculture. We agree to also care for each other and our extended community by practicing our COVID-19 policy and air quality policy.
In addition to our agreements, we also commit to respecting Rock Steady’s rules and safety protocols on farm:
Practice lyme prevention: Use protective clothing / do tick checks
No smoking or vaping on the farm.
No alcohol or other substances that impair your ability to work safely
No skinny-dipping in the pond
Clean up / respect shared spaces
Look out for safety and wellbeing of others and self
Adhere to all sanitation and COVID-19 protocols
Remember to hydrate / snack / stretch
For any questions about our Community Agreements, please contact programs@rocksteadyfarm.com
