![](https://knightfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/IMG_17801_3.jpg?w=600)
“Planting seeds of justice and harvesting freedom” at the D-Town Farm Harvest Festival
D-Town Farm is a multi-acre agricultural operation on Detroit’s West side.
D-Town Farm had its annual Harvest Festival, “What’s Growing On: Cultivating the Rich Legacy of the Detroit African American Agricultural Tradition” over the weekend of September 21-22 with a celebration that included food, music, crafts, lectures and a spirit of cultural exchange. D-Town is more than just a collectively-operated farm site; it seeks to reexamine the history of black land ownership and farming, and write a new future for a legacy tarnished by slavery, sharecropping and other negative interference in the beneficial relationship between people and agriculture.
![In the craft area, garden signs with Adinkra symbols, to imbue our gardens with a sense of personal expression and power.](https://knightfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/IMG_17811.jpg)
In the craft area, garden signs with Adinkra symbols, to imbue our gardens with a sense of personal expression and power.
The Harvest Festival is just one way that D-Town reaches out to the community, with delicious and wholesome food, live music, demonstrations, and info sessions on a number of topics pertaining to agriculture, composting, nutritional awareness and better eating habits, food preservation and medicinal use, and bee keeping. They have initiated a formal intern program this season and also have community work days every Sunday, where volunteers can learn how to work the land and keep D-Town running, as well as receive vegetable shares in return for their efforts.
!["All About Bees" taught by D-Town&squot;s own Aba Ifeoma.](https://knightfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/IMG_17871.jpg)
“All About Bees” taught by D-Town’s own Aba Ifeoma.
![D-Town has both indoor and outdoor growing facilities, an apiary, and a massive composting operation.](https://knightfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/IMG_17881.jpg)
D-Town has both indoor and outdoor growing facilities, an apiary, and a massive composting operation.
Celebration with a constructive aim and powerful message was the theme of the weekend, with entertainment provided by the Akoben Reggae Band, a traditional African drum and dance circle by Thiosane Performing Arts Co. and Al Nur Dance Co., and conscious hip-hop thrown down by GMAC.
![GMAC held forth on topics including self-esteem and positive interaction.](https://knightfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/IMG_17901.jpg)
GMAC held forth on topics including self-esteem and positive interaction.
![Dr. Monica White was Sunday&squot;s keynote speaker, sharing portions of her doctoral studies, "Black Farmers, Black Freedom: Fighting for the Right to Grow Food."](https://knightfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/IMG_17931.jpg)
Dr. Monica White was Sunday’s keynote speaker, sharing portions of her doctoral studies, “Black Farmers, Black Freedom: Fighting for the Right to Grow Food.”
Overall, the festival was a great way to celebrate D-Town’s accomplishments, and hear about some upcoming projects, including plans for a collectively owned/operated grocer on Woodward, roughly slated to debut sometime in 2015. But don’t wait until next year to get involved; D-Town is always looking for volunteers with the desire to raise consciousness and promote justice and equality within Detroit’s food system. Asante D-Town!
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