what we do
at SUSU commUNITY farm, we draw inspiration from the Black womanist lineage of June Jordan, Fannie Lou Hamer, Alexis Pauline Gumbs, and bell hooks. we honor the wisdom of Black women who have historically created homeplaces sacred spaces of care, nurturance, and resistance.
we envision our spaces as Afrophysics portals: living, breathing environments rooted in Black feminist thought that allow us to time-travel into worlds shaped by radical imagination and ancestral wisdom. From our farm, which brings these worlds to life, to our mobile Homeplace Van, which transports sanctuary directly to communities, and our luxury botanicals, which bring ritual and care into your home and body, we create ways for people to access, inhabit, and embody Black womanist worlds wherever they are.
through these spaces and practices, we offer homeplaces as sites of resistance and care, classrooms for liberation, and vessels for dreaming beyond current circumstances. by tending to land, body, and community, we cultivate sanctuary, restore connection, and ensure that the wisdom and energy of Black womanist ancestors remain present, generative, and transformative.
SUSU commUNITY Farm is a 37 acre afroindigenous farm located along the Wantastegok (west river) in so called newfane, vt. we live and work in relationship with land as mother, caregiver, elder and teacher.
we learn from and center tek (traditional ecological knowledge) as our guide in reclaiming access to our cultural and spiritual gardening traditions and practices to co-create beautiful gardens, spaces, and places for people of the global majority to thrive with human and non human kin.
the center of our farm is a beautiful garden designed to represent the dagara medicine wheel, here you will find our sacred circular garden divided into quadrants with plant kin honoring the directions of water, fire, mineral, nature, and earth. beyond the medicine wheel are beautiful spaces that hold ceremony, and ritual, sacred waterways, a baby fruit and nut tree orchard, and native medicinals creating a nourishing container around the land. In reciprocal relationship with earth, we are able to offer over 11,000 pounds of produce annually for our 40-60 global majority CSA families per year through our box of resilience program.
our land consists of prime ag sandy loam soils and is surrounded by a variety of wetlands, native pollinators, grandmother maple trees, hemlock trees, sycamore’s, Japanese knotweed, wild raspberries, mulberries, elderberries, bee balm, poke, nettles, and other sacred medicinals. the river that runs along SUSU lands is honored in the summer through ritual, ceremony, prayer, and is a space of sacred spiritual bath for our commUNITY gatherings and programs through the trauma conscious school of liberation. we currently have a heated hoop house and various tents to offer onsite programming during the growing season for youth, families, and adults along with secluded but close to commUNITY campsites for onsite programming.
we are moving toward a closed loop sustainable farming system to mimic the reciprocal relationships that the land is teaching us about. we engage in regular ceremony and rituals to honor, listen to, and be in right relationship with the land, and non human kin of these lands, and we invite you to join us in this practice.
the farm
Homeplace sanctuary
Homeplace is a space to deeply settle into the immersive sanctuary of SUSU. this 3-bedroom sanctuary and healing retreat center is designed to hold individuals and small groups within a container of restoration, ceremony, and deep remembering. inspired by the ways our grandmothers created portals of care, presence, and radical hospitality that nurture hope, heart, and spirit, Homeplace is where you come to re-member all that our ancestors have left for us.
main sanctuary:
the interior of the 3-bedroom main sanctuary is designed to echo the warmth and familiarity of our Black grandmothers’ homes.
outdoor & seasonal offerings:
canvas bell tents
self-preservation Library
praise house
Homeplace at SUSU is designed as a living, breathing home for restoration, ritual, and remembrance, a place to slow down, reconnect, and inhabit the wisdom of those who came before us.
Black womanist botanica
a lovingly curated collection of small batch spiritual, magical and medicinal herbal products formulated with intention and crafted at the speed of trust. this seasonal rotation of signature products reflects both the rhythmic biodiversity of the lands we tend and the traditional wisdom and creativity of our Afro-Indigenous ancestors.
our products evoke the spirit and energy of Black womanist visionaries. so often in our culture Black women are forgotten and our ways of circulating energy and keeping our communities, families, and homes alive, even under conditions of capitalism, violence, and harm. our products center into the wisdom of Black womanism and are a ritual, a prayer, an invocation, that brings us into this ritual of reclaiming this medicine of healing resistance, love, freedom, breath, ease, and rest. we are crafting 3 luxury products:
face oil
body oil
superfood latte protein powder
immersive medicinal ritual garden spaces
the circle garden
inspired by the dagara medicine wheel, its cyclical shape reminds us of how energy circulates, how time and space move, how breath expands and contracts, and how bodies deepen their connection to land and space. in our circle garden, we cultivate a variety of medicinal herbs and flowers that infuse our Black womanist body care products, creating a direct link between the land, our bodies, and our healing practices. here, we offer immersive workshops that invite participants to connect with plant kin, with the conditions of our liberation and freedom, and with one another. the garden is both classroom and sanctuary a place where ancestral wisdom, somatic practice, and the generative energy of Black womanist care converge.
healing greenhouses
our greenhouses are designed with rhythm and ritual at their core. these are not typical greenhouses, they are sacred spaces to sit, commune with plants, and reimagine your relationship with the natural world. within these spaces, we offer ritual and ceremony, inviting you into the immersive experience of how we work with plants, cultivate relationships, and channel healing energy into everything we create. this energy flows through our products, bringing liberatory time travel into the bodies and homes of our community. here, we host workshops and healing retreats that connect you to your body, the land, community, and radical imagination, cultivating the ability to dream, envision, and inhabit worlds beyond current circumstances, into spaces where you can find home and belonging.
healing retreats
SUSU commUNITY Farm is a sanctuary built for remembrance, repair, and liberation. when aligned organizations gather here, the retreat becomes an opportunity to experience a living Black archive, deepen collective care, and strengthen long term reciprocity that sustains movements.
at SUSU, we offer two types of healing retreats: paid retreats and sliding scale retreats, designed to meet the needs of organizations and communities seeking restoration, connection, and growth.
we welcome groups committed to equity, dignity, and culturally affirming care. these retreats are a fit for aligned organizations and funders, including:
foundations and philanthropic institutions
nonprofit organizations and movement groups
cultural organizations and arts institutions
land based healing and wellness organizations
climate and food justice organizations
BIPOC led organizations seeking sanctuary and restoration
please contact us for more information and custom offerings.
mobile homeplace
(currently being planned)
our Homeplace mobile van brings an immersive experience of SUSU’s field of love directly to communities, festivals, and values-aligned events. designed to connect participants with the healing power of Black womanist visionary wisdom, the van creates a portable sanctuary wherever it goes.
inside, the van offers a cozy, intimate space featuring:
a mini Black womanist reading nook for reflection and inspiration.
botanical products and herbal tinctures to share with the community.
singing bowls and guided quotes by Black womanist visionaries, creating a space for rest, reflection, and gentle vibration-based immersion.
a community journal, where participants can share their visions and dreams for the future, and read the reflections of others.
the interior of the van is designed as a living altar inviting participants to step inside, take a breath, rest, and remember who they are and where they come from. It is a portable space of care, connection, and radical love, reminding everyone that they are seen, held, and deeply loved.
