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WITH ROOTS AS DEEP AS OURS,
FLAVOR IS ASSURED
The farmers of the Women in Agriculture initiative grew up in the fields of the South. Our ancestors were slaves. But our ancestors were also free men and women,
farmers and civil rights activists. The memories and stories - both good and bad - have made us who we are. We are proud to call this place our home.
FOR US, FARMING IS NOT A JOB
IT IS OUR CALLING
We aren’t just farm workers or farm owners. We are both.
We are the women who till the soil, sew the seeds, and
perform the harvest.
We are a collective act of agricultural pride, standing proudly
on the shoulders of generations of African-American farmers
in the South.
Our family trees have deep roots in this soil.
Does this make a difference in the quality of our products?
Of course, it does.
We invite you to enjoy the results of our heritage, our hard
work, and our generations of farming secrets.
CONSUMERS WANT TO KNOW
WHERE THEIR FOOD COMES FROM.
WITH US, YOU CAN TELL THEM.
• The number of farmers’ markets reached 5,274 in 2009, up from just
1,755 in 1994.
• US agricultural cooperatives now provide over 250 thousand jobs
and annual wages of over $8 billion.
• Fair Trade sales in the US grew 75% in 2011 alone.
In other words, consumers are spending their money in a way that
expresses their values.
Many of us grew up in the Civil Rights Era, so the growth in ethical
consumerism is a welcome development for us.
We believe that hard work should be rewarded and that business
should be conducted with integrity. Each time a consumer chooses
one of our products, they are building a stronger economic system
right here in the United States.
But supporting agricultural cooperatives like ours is about more than
just values or politics. In a world of commodities, consumers are
hungry for information about the food they are feeding their families.
We are always happy to tell our story
A SHORT HISTORY OF
AFRICAN AMERICAN
FARMING
Our ancestors, West African
slaves and Caribbean and
Mexican migrants, brought with
them advanced agricultural and
environmental knowledge. From
the healing properties of plants to
elaborate agricultural systems, Black
Americans played a pivotal role in
the development of North American
agriculture.
With the end of slavery, black
communities took charge of our own
affairs – forming hundreds of “land
based institutions” which became
primary providers of academic,
vocational, and agricultural education.
Cooperatives like ours are an extension
of those traditions. We build on the
hard work of our ancestors to create
economic opportunity and community
wellbeing, and we do so while
nurturing soils that our families have
tended for generations.
THE BEAUREGARD
Copper colored skin, a deep rich flesh, and a sweet,
buttery flavor like no other sweet potato.
THE HEALTHIEST
GREENS
Sweet potato greens were a traditional
staple of our West African ancestors.
When sautéed, they have a distinct,
spinach-like flavor and are said to have
a higher polyphenol content than any
other commercial vegetable.
You can sautee them in olive or canola
oil, butter or bacon fat. You can
steam them or boil them. Try them
with a touch of garlic, hot sauce or a
sprinkling of lemon juice for a little
extra kick.
When our ancestors grew sweet potatoes on plantations
and farms in the South, they called them “nyami”after
the starchy, edible tuber that grew in their homelands of
West Africa.
The Senegalese word “nyami” was eventually shortened
to “yam”. Whether you call them sweet potatoes or
yams, this vegetable has become a staple of North
American cuisine.
We grow sweet potatoes in open fields as nature
intended, on soils our families have tended for
generations. The variety we grow - beauregard - was
developed in Louisiana and is ideally adapted for the
growing conditions of the South.
We are actively exploring a wider variety of crops,
including a purple sweet potato that is said to have more
nutrients and better flavor.
Members of the Women in Agriculture
Initiative gather at the Georgia Agricultural
Extension Research Farm to learn about soil
conservation and watershed management.
COLLECTIVELY GROWN.
COMPETITIVELY PRICED.
Cooperation has always been central to African
American cultural survival.
By working together we improve our community,
we grow better crops, and we keep costs down for
our customers.
SRBWI’s Women in Agriculture program coordinates
family farmers across five counties in Mississippi,
coming together to work the land cooperatively.
In keeping with our heritage, any crops that are
not harvested for sale are left in the field for the
community to use.
THE SOIL IS OUR
HERITAGE
You can’t keep growing good food
without replenishing the soil. That’s
why SRBWI’s Women in Agriculture
program is working to improve
environmental stewardship - not just
on the land we farm collectively, but on
each of our own farms too.
From no-till practices that prevent soil
erosion and protect water ways, to
minimizing fertilizer and pesticide use,
our farmers are serious about their role
as stewards of the land.
We are developing a full program
of training and environmental
management.
YOUR CUSTOMERS
WILL LOVE OUR STORY
(WE’D LIKE TO HELP YOU TELL IT)
PRODUCE
STICKERS
$X.XX/LB
THE R N R U RAL
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WOM
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WOMEN IN
AGRICULTURE
EN’S INIT
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WITH ROOTS AS
DEEP AS OURS,
FLAVOR IS ASSURED
THE BEAUREGARD
Copper colored skin, a deep rich flesh, and a sweet, rich flavor like no other
sweet potato. Developed in Louisiana, we grow the beauregard in open
fields as nature intended, in the climate it was created for.
RECIPE & INFORMATION CARDS
WITH ROOTS AS DEEP AS OURS,
FLAVOR IS ASSURED
We aren’t just farm workers or farm owners.
We are both. We are the women who till the
soil, sew the seeds, and perform the harvest.
SAUTEED SWEET
POTATO GREENS
MISSISSIPPI-STYLE
by Bonita A. Conwell
We are a collective act of agricultural pride,
standing proudly on the shoulders
of generations of African-American
farmers in the South.
Our family trees have deep roots in this soil.
Does this make a difference in the quality of
our products? Of course, it does.
We invite you enjoy the results of our
heritage, our hard work, and our generations
of farming secrets.
Delicious with a spinach-like texture, sweet potato
greens have more cancer-fighting polyphenols than
any other commercial vegetable. They are a staple
of West African cooking.
INGREDIENTS :
1 tbsp chopped garlic
1 tbsp chopped onion
Hot sauce
One bunch beauregard sweet potato leaves
salt to taste
SO U
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DIRECTIONS
• preheat the pan or wok with 1/2 cup cooking oil.
• stir in onion, garlic and sautee until fragrant.
• stir in sweet potato leaves and cook under high
heat.
• add in salt and hot pepper to haste; and turn off
the heat, once the leaves became soft.a
WOMEN IN
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Our point-of-sales materials
are strategically designed
to help you leverage that
message. They include:
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As a buyer of our produce,
you support that history.
POINT OF SALE CARDS
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SRBWI’s Women in
Agriculture program is
more than just a co-op.
It’s the manifestation of
a history that goes back
generations and spans
continents.
EN’S INIT
IAT
Bonita Conwell farms 23 acres in
Washington County, Mississippi. The land
has been in her family for 3 generations.
WE ARE SOUTHERN
RURAL BLACK WOMEN.
Civil rights marchers in the sixties
demand equality and an end to
segregation. Our work is a direct
extension of their efforts.
The Civil Rights struggle didn’t end in the Nineteen Sixties. It didn’t begin there either.
Women in Agriculture was launched by the Southern Rural Black Women’s Initiative
– a collective of women leaders across Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia. We are
dedicated to celebrating the achievements of our ancestors, and we are determined
to continue their efforts to push our communities forward.
We’ve started a worker-owned sewing company. We’ve established a women’s
agricultural cooperative and commercial kitchens. We’ve created a transportation
business run by women. And we have established human rights commissions in
communities that are all too often forgotten about by mainstream America. We also
have an active program promoting young women’s leadership and cultural heritage
celebration.
In isolation, each of these initiatives achieves important goals. But collectively, they
represent a larger vision: a world where Southern Rural Black Women are recognized
for the hard-working innovators, business people, mothers, community leaders and
activists that we are.
WHEN YOU ORDER OUR SWEET POTATOES,
YOU ARE TAKING A STAND WITH
SOUTHERN RURAL BLACK WOMEN
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WOMEN IN
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Your support means a lot. We take our commitments seriously and we always deliver on our promises.
Ordering information
Bonita Conwell
EMAIL: [email protected]
TEL: 662 719 2656