Podcast appearances and mentions of cal ag roots

Taiwanese-American farmer Li Schmidt talks about growing Asian-heritage crops, growing crops for seeds, small-scale farming in Taiwan and preserving cultural foodways. Hear about how Li started her Cultural Roots Nursery, in Northern California, in 2020, as a result of the pandemic rather than in spite of it. Most of Li's customers are Asian American and have encouraged her to grow a broad range of plants from the diaspora community, leading to Li pursuing some creative seed sourcing in addition to looking to a handful of US-based seed companies. Learn how Li has figured out how to grow these mostly subtropical plants in the hot, dry climate of California's Central Valley. Check out a short list of Cultural Roots Nursery's crops: Bitter melon Long beans Taiwanese basil Shiso Bo Ju Hua chrysanthemum tea plant Taro Ginger Goji berries Tong Ho chrysanthemum greens Li talks about traveling in Taiwan, visiting with farmers and chefs, and learning about the food system and farming there. Hear about the accessible small-scale crop processing and infrastructure there and how this interplays with the food culture there. Li gets into the importance of cultural foodways to her work and way of living. Learn also about the California Farmer Justice Collaborative, which started out as a group formed to pass California's Farmer Equity Act in 2017 and now focuses on farmer support and legislation. And Li tells us about the Cal Ag Roots storytelling project that she works on with the California Institute for Rural Studies, unearthing the historical roots of agriculture in California. Listen to the end to hear Li's favorite meal using the Asian-heritage foods that she grows. Cultural Roots Nursery website Cultural Roots Nursery on Instagram California Farmer Justice Collaborative  Email Li

The passage of the Farmer Equity Act, California Assembly Bill 1348, in October 2017 was ground-breaking. For the first time, California acknowledged the racist patterns of systematic discrimination that have been common practice in governmental agricultural institutions which have impacted farmers of color in accessing the most basic thing that farmers need: land. This pattern has deep roots in California farming history through laws such as the Chinese Exclusion Act, the Alien Land Laws, and Executive Order 9066. Recognizing that this history was continuing to play out well into the 21st century, a group of organizers called the California Farmer Justice Collaborative were able to win a victory for farmers of color by passing the Farmer Equity Act. However, four years later, organizers discuss how they see this legislation as just a first step in addressing centuries of land ownership discrimination in California. This podcast was made possible with the support of the 11th Hour Project at the Schmidt Family Foundation. Photo credit: California Farmer Justice Collaborative. This story was co-produced by Héktor Luis Calderón-Victoria and Li Schmidt. Podcast editors and collaborators include Caroline Collins and Ildi Carlisle-Cummins. We give special thanks to those interviewed in the episode: Florentino Collazo, Jibril Kyser, Kellee Matsushita-Tseng, Janaki Anagha, and Mai Nguyen. Audio edits by Li Schmidt. Episode music is by Las Cafeteras and Cal Ag Roots theme music is by Nangdo. Tribe of Noise licensing information can be found here: https://prosearch.tribeofnoise.com/pages/terms. #calagroots #california #history #communitystories #foodjustice #farmerjustice #farmersofcolor #land

Join us for this mini-episode conversation between the current Cal Ag Roots Podcast Producer, Dr. Caroline Collins, and former Cal Ag Roots Producer, Ildi Carlisle-Cummins, who is currently the Executive Director of the California Institute of Rural Studies (the parent organization for Cal Ag Roots). Caroline and Ildi reflect on the challenges of producing community-based stories during a pandemic and give a preview of the next Cal Ag Roots episodes that will be aired in the beginning of 2022. This podcast was made possible with the support of the 11th Hour Project at the Schmidt Family Foundation. Photo credit (Diana Morales: www.arteesmedicina.com). Audio edits by Li Schmidt and Cal Ag Roots theme music by Nangdo. Tribe of Noise licensing information can be found here: https://prosearch.tribeofnoise.com/pages/terms. #calagroots #california #history #communitystories #foodjustice #farmerjustice #farmersofcolor #blackhistory #blacklivesmatter #americanwest #blackgirlmagic #blackculture #black #blm #blackpeople #blackisbeautiful #blackpride #africanamerican

Sneak Preview: Episode 6, our final episode of the Cal Ag Roots six-part We Are Not Strangers Here series, “Still Here: Black Farmers & Agricultural Stewardship in the Modern Age” premieres March 9, 2021. Relationships to the land can be seen throughout African American history and culture. However, Black Californians haven't just long been connected to the natural world in the past. Discover how their connection continues to this day in urban and rural spaces across the state. (Photo: Will Scott Jr. at work on his farm, 2015. Credit: Alice Daniel/KQED). This project was made possible with support from California Humanities, a non-profit partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities (Visit calhum.org to learn more), and the 11th Hour Project at the Schmidt Family Foundation. Music Credit: "Strange Persons" by Kicksta. Tribe of Noise licensing information can be found here: https://prosearch.tribeofnoise.com/pages/terms.

Sneak Preview: Episode 5 of the Cal Ag Roots six-part We Are Not Strangers Here series, “ Back to the Land: Allensworth and the Black Utopian Dream" premieres March 9, 2021. In 1908 African American pioneers established the town of Allensworth forty miles north of Bakersfield. Part of the broader Black Town Movement, discover how these settlers not only built buildings, established businesses, and planted crops--they also inspired the imagination as they tested what was possible in rural California. (Photo Credit: Teachers at the Allensworth School, c. 1915 [090-2156]. Courtesy California State Parks). This project was made possible with support from California Humanities, a non-profit partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities (Visit calhum.org to learn more), and the 11th Hour Project at the Schmidt Family Foundation. Music Credit: "Just Gone" by King Olivers Creole Jazz Band. Tribe of Noise licensing information can be found here: https://prosearch.tribeofnoise.com/pages/terms.

Sneak Preview: Episode 4 of the Cal Ag Roots six-part We Are Not Strangers Here series, “Independent Settlements: Building Black Communities in Rural California" premieres March 2, 2021. Starting as early as the 19th century, Black communities--large and small, loosely organized and formal took shape across rural California. Discover the undertold history of California’s Black rural settlements including how these communities represent the tension between the promises and the challenges of living in the Golden State. (Photo Credit: Goldie Beavers, playing on a rope swing by her home in Teviston, 1964. Courtesy: Ernest Lowe, photographer). This project was made possible with support from California Humanities, a non-profit partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities (Visit calhum.org to learn more), and the 11th Hour Project at the Schmidt Family Foundation. Music Credit: “Over the Water Humans Gather” by Doctor Turtle. Tribe of Noise licensing information can be found here: https://prosearch.tribeofnoise.com/pages/terms. #wearenotstrangershere #blackhistory #california #calagroots #blacklivesmatter #rural #americanwest #blackhistorymonth #blackgirlmagic #blackculture #black #blm #history #blackpeople #blackisbeautiful #blackpride #africanamerican

Sneak Preview: Episode 3 of the Cal Ag Roots six-part We Are Not Strangers Here series, “Cultivating Change: African American Homesteaders, Innovators, & Civic Leaders" premieres Feb. 23, 2021. Black people have long cultivated the land in rural California. And in doing so, they’ve contributed to what we grow and how we grow crops in the state. Discover how early African American farmers and ranchers didn't just grow crops and raise livestock throughout the Golden State. They also cultivated societal change that helped make California what it is today. (Photo Credit: Portrait of Lucy Hinds with infant, Ernest L. Hinds, circa 1886. Courtesy: Roberts Family Papers, African American Museum and Library at Oakland). This project was made possible with support from California Humanities, a non-profit partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities (Visit calhum.org to learn more), and the 11th Hour Project at the Schmidt Family Foundation. Music Credit: "Le Vulcain" by HansTroost. Tribe of Noise licensing information can be found here: prosearch.tribeofnoise.com/pages/terms #wearenotstrangershere #blackhistory #california #calagroots #blacklivesmatter #rural #americanwest #blackhistorymonth #blackgirlmagic #blackculture #black #blm #history #blackpeople #blackisbeautiful #blackpride #africanamerican

Episode 2 of the Cal Ag Roots six-part We Are Not Strangers Here series is "Hidden Roots: Uncovering the Legacies of African American Homesteaders in California" premieres Feb. 16, 2021. One of the most impactful ways we come to know about places is through the stories we tell about them. Discover how Black people in rural California have been remembered--and forgotten--in the stories and landmarks that tell the beginnings of the Golden State. (Photo Credit: Farmhand and horse standing next to a shed, c. 1908. Courtesy: Roberts Family Papers, African American Museum and Library at Oakland). This project was made possible with support from California Humanities, a non-profit partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities (Visit calhum.org to learn more), and the 11th Hour Project at the Schmidt Family Foundation.

Sneak Preview: Episode 2 of the Cal Ag Roots six-part We Are Not Strangers Here series, "Hidden Roots: Uncovering the Legacies of African American Homesteaders in California" premieres Feb. 16, 2021. One of the most impactful ways we come to know about places is through the stories we tell about them. Discover how Black people in rural California have been remembered--and forgotten--in the stories and landmarks that tell the beginnings of the Golden State. (Photo Credit: Farmhand and horse standing next to a shed, c. 1908. Courtesy: Roberts Family Papers, African American Museum and Library at Oakland). This project was made possible with support from California Humanities, a non-profit partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities (Visit calhum.org to learn more), and the 11th Hour Project at the Schmidt Family Foundation.

Sneak Preview: Episode 1 of the Cal Ag Roots six-part We Are Not Strangers Here series, "Freedom Chasers: Early Black Settlers and the California Dream." Thousands of African Americans participated in the California Gold Rush. Some were still enslaved when they did like 49er Alvin Coffey. Join us for Episode 1 to learn more about Coffey's fascinating tale. (Photo Credit: Alvin Coffey. Courtesy of the Society of California Pioneers. Music Credit: Fingerlympics by Doctor Turtle). This project was made possible with support from California Humanities, a non-profit partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities (Visit calhum.org to learn more), and the 11th Hour Project at the Schmidt Family Foundation.

Sneak Preview: On Feb 9, 2021 we'll release Episode 1 of We Are Not Strangers Here, a six-part Cal Ag Roots podcast series shedding light on the history of African Americans in rural California. (Photo Credit: Nine young men and women sitting in a field, Tulare County, 1912. Courtesy of the African American Museum & Library at Oakland.)

California, the golden state, is known for many things, chief among them is its status as the breadbasket of the nation and the world. Yet, the ability to sustain agriculture and support the communities is limited by access to water. This podcast examines how access to groundwater is influenced by drought and climate change, but also, how the persistence of drought conditions can be tied to histories of human decision-making and structural racism within the Central Valley. This story features guest co-producers Dr. Clare Gupta and Cristina Murillo-Barrick; two social scientists on a team of hydrologists, engineers and economists at UC Davis. As part of a larger National Science Foundation research project, Clare and Cristina partnered with the Community Water Center to collect bilingual narratives of impacted residents who don’t have access to safe and affordable drinking water. They spent time talking with people who live and struggle with these issues every day to learn about experiences, strategies and triumphs related to water justice. They also spoke to leading researchers on California water issues. This podcast was made possible thanks to ongoing collaboration with the Community Water Center/El Centro Comunitario por el Agua and funding from the National Science Foundation’s Coupled Natural Human Systems grant. We would like to extend a special thanks to everyone who contributed. Community narratives feature several Central Valley residents and water justice advocates: Lucy Hernandez, Melynda Metheney, Vergie Nuñez, Cristobal Chavez, Tomas Garcia, Daniel Peñaloza and Susana de Anda. Researchers include Dr. Jonathan Herman, Mark Arax and Camille Pannu. Podcast editors and collaborators include Ryan Jensen and Ildi Carlisle-Cummings. Audio edits by Victoria Boston and podcast and Cal Ag Roots theme music by Nangdo. Photo Caption and Credit: Maria Elena Orozco from East Orosi examines a glass of her drinking water, picture taken by Community Water Center

Looking Back to Look Forward asks why in California-- which has been the home of farm labor movements-- aging farm workers are not guaranteed any help in their retirement. The story centers farmworker voices and provides a historical approach to understand why little progress on this important right has been made. We dig into the history of how farm workers were excluded from key protections granted other kinds of workers in the New Deal-era National Labor Relations Act. This show was co-produced by Jennifer Martinez, in collaboration with Cal Ag Roots. (Photo is of Lola Martinez, a farm worker in Bakersfield, CA)

Nina Ichikawa is shaping the conversation about the future of California farming in many different ways. She's the Interim Executive Director at the Berkeley Food Institute, a member of the Farmer Justice Collaborative, the great grand-daughter of influential Japanese American flower growers, as well as a writer about Asian-American food histories. And she’s one of the most insightful thinkers about current issues in California food and farming. Tune in to this Cal Ag Roots episode to find out why Nina wants us all to be telling many more stories about California.

Antonio Roman Alcalá has a lot of ideas to share about power-building in the food movement. He’s an organizer, and a thinker, a theorizer and a farmer. Antonio strikes me as someone who manages to have his hands in the soil AND his eyes on the horizon at the same time. In our conversation at his kitchen table in his tiny Berkeley apartment, I got the impression that he’s often dreaming of possibilities for a collectively-owned, radically diversified farming future, but that he’s also deeply rooted in and actively drawing from history. Which is why, of course, I was excited to talk with him for this podcast. This podcast is part of our series is called Digging Deep: Conversations with Food Movement Leaders about the History of Farming. Tune in to these episodes to learn how food movement leaders’ understanding of the past, and how what they learn from Cal Ag Roots stories, has shifted their thinking about their work. Antonio refers to a few Cal Ag Roots stories that you might want to listen to, if you haven't caught them yet. Those are Podcast 1: There's Nothing More Californian than Ketchup, Podcast 2: Can Land Belong to Those Who Work it? and Podcast 10: Política del Mole/ The Politics of Mole. Check those out wherever you get our podcast!

Dr. Mario Sifuentez is an Associate Professor of History at UC Merced who's done a lot of thinking about the past and future of California's Central Valley. He's been involved with Cal Ag Roots since the very start of this project, both as an advisor and as an interviewee. (You can hear his voice on our third podcast, where he gives us real insight into the Bracero Program.) Mario has deep knowledge about the history of food production, and his current research digs up some interesting new stories about an activist group featured our Can Land Belong to Those Who Work It? podcast, which is why I wanted talk with him for this Digging Deep episode. This is the second episode in our new Cal Ag Roots podcast series--Digging Deep: Conversations with Food Movement Leaders about the History of Farming-- which will be released every other month. I’m talking with people who are working to shift farming right now, bringing California farming into the future. And we’re talking about how their understanding of the past, and how what they learn from Cal Ag Roots stories, has shifted their thinking about their work. Each of the conversations will draw on Cal Ag Roots stories, so if you haven't heard them all yet, take a listen on our Story Hub (or subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher)! Particularly relevant to today’s podcast is the last one we released—#2, Can Land Belong to Those Who Work it. We’ll keep on producing that style of podcasts and releasing them here—there are so, so many more histories to unearth. The two different kinds of podcasts are going to be in constant conversation with each other, so we're hoping that you’ll tune into both and that each episode will be more meaningful that way.

Mai Nguyen is an innovative grain farmer and an influential farmer organizer. In this interview, the first in our new series of conversations with food movement leaders that we're calling "Digging Deep," Mai talks with Ildi Carlisle-Cummins about how examining our agricultural past is the only way to move into a just, healthy farming future. As she puts it, "I, like other farmers, have perhaps 40 tries to grow my crops. That's not many, but we have more data points by looking back and looking around us. Scale isn't about one individual using their monoculture of the mind to manage vast acreage. Scale is time, human history, diversity -- the polyculture of many minds working lands in different ways throughout time and at the same time." This new Cal Ag Roots podcast series--Digging Deep: Conversations with Food Movement Leaders about the History of Farming-- will be released every other month. I’ll be talking with people who are working to shift farming right now, bringing California farming into the future. And we’ll be talking about how their understanding of the past, and how what they learn from Cal Ag Roots stories, has shifted their thinking about their work. Each of the conversations will draw on Cal Ag Roots stories, so if you haven't heard them all yet, take a listen! Particularly relevant to today’s podcast is the last one we released—#5, Borderlands of the SJV. I’ll keep on producing that style of podcasts and releasing them here—there are so, so many more histories to unearth. The two different kinds of podcasts are going to be in constant conversation with each other, so I’m hoping anyway, that you’ll tune into both and that each episode will be more meaningful that way.

Ildi Carlisle-Cummins is Director of the Cal Ag Roots Project at the California Institute for Rural Studies. Cal Ag Roots puts historical roots under current California food and farming change movements by telling the story of California agricultural development in innovative, useful, and relevant ways. There is deep knowledge about the structures, driving forces, and key moments that have shaped California's food system among recognized experts; and those who have participated in the creation of CA farming, but this knowledge doesn't always inform food movement work. Cal Ag Roots shares stories from this wide range of people, opening new lines of communication among them.