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Farmer

The future of food starts with a seed. But who gets to save those seeds, grow them, and pass them on to the next generation? It's a question at the heart of food sovereignty and who has a voice in shaping our food systems. This week, as we celebrate #WorldFoodDay and #InternationalDayOfRuralWomen we are recognizing the contributions of women who grow our food and preserve agricultural knowledge. On a day like this, it's fitting that DIG Kenya's Program Officer, @Electa Arua, spent the past two day with @ISFAA Kenya and @Seed Savers Network at the 5th Indigenous Seed, Culture & Food Harvest Fair where she joined a panel discussion exploring indigenous seeds, farmer's rights, seed governance, and the role of women and youth in building resilient food systems. Because the future of food is not just about what we grow, it is also about who gets to decide, we stand with the women farmers leading this way.

Some of the best food starts with the simplest ingredients and just a little creativity. And that is exactly what Chef Justin Dixon of Humble Mumble does best. Justin’s cooking is all about taking what feels familiar and turning it into something memorable, with a deep respect for seasonality, sustainability, and the way food brings people together. We are so excited to have Justin joining us again for Cocktails & Castoffs in Atlanta on Sunday, September 20! And the excitement is building… our intimate Chef’s Dinner at Heritage Supper Club is officially SOLD OUT! But the party isn’t full yet! Join us at Halfway Crooks Brewery starting at 5 PM for cocktails, incredible bites, live + silent auctions, and a chance to experience the creativity of chefs including Justin, all while supporting DIG’s farmer-led work across Africa. 🎟️ Grab your Cocktail Party tickets or join the Chefs Dinner waitlist through the link in @dig_org bio!

How do you visualize change? When two Batwa farmer groups in Uganda were asked to draw what their food systems used to looked like and what they look like today, their reflections surprised us. Swipe through to see some of what they shared. Then read the full story in the comments below. We'll be sharing what farmer groups in Kenya and Senegal chose to highlight as they reflected on their own food systems.

It was graduation day in Senegal. This month in Senegal, we gathered to celebrate the graduation of the Soucoupapaye (Été ké Diaw) youth group after six months in DIG's Farmer Field School program. Surrounded by family, community members, and local leaders, each graduate received a certificate recognizing their knowledge, dedication, and hard work.

Farmer graduations in Uganda kick off this week! Over the next three weeks, DIG UGANDA will celebrate farmers who have spent significant time and energy diving deeper into the practices and principles of agroecology alongside DIG. As Gloria Mushabe, Director of DIG Uganda, shared "We are happy to witness farmers' hard work paying off." Graduation is just the beginning. These farmers have new tools and knowledge to use and share with their communities, all in the spirit of growing in a way that gives back more than it takes. These photos capture one group preparing vegetables for their graduation celebration. It's is a chance to gather, reflect, and celebrate the progress they are making for themselves and their community.

Meet Tegera, a DIG farmer and elder from the Mukungu Batwa group. After the Batwa were forced from their forest home, much of what once sustained their community was lost. Today, in her garden, Tegera is reconnecting to her cultural heritage, growing the foods from her childhood and holding onto the knowledge of her people. Women farmers like Tegera carry important knowledge of the past, knowledge that can shape decisions and hope for our future.

Last Week, DIG KENYA spent time with researchers from Colorado State University implementing the Farmer Research Network (FRN) approach through a partnership with the Manor House Agricultural. One thing that strongly stood out to the fellows was the deep involvement of farmers in the research process itself. Through this farmer-led research approach, farmers are actively exploring agroecological soil improvement practices and assessing how these methods influence soil health, from particulate organic matter and soil macro-organisms to the long-term availability of plant nutrients. The approach not only strengthens locally driven learning and innovation but grounds the research in the realities, knowledge, and priorities of farming communities.

Join us in welcoming Mourine, DIG KENYA's newest team member 🌱 Mourine’s journey with DIG began as a farmer in one of our 2018 Farmer Field Schools. Through the program she gained practical agriculture skills, which she implemented at home and went on to share with her neighbors. Today, she serves as a Mentor Mother at Rangwe Sub-County Hospital where DIG's Priority Household Program helps children recover from malnutrition. Also a mother of five, Mourine walks alongside mothers as they improve the nutrition, health, and overall wellbeing of their children through nutrition support and garden creation. We’re grateful to have Mourine on the DIG KENYA team and are looking forward to continue growing together.

DIG is an Action Word – My Trip Back to Africa Fifteen years ago, Bill Collison joined a small group of travelers on DIG’s very first field trip to Africa, an experience that would change the way he saw the world. This year, he returned to see how far those early seeds had grown.� What he discovered was both familiar and deeply inspiring. The same heart that shaped DIG’s beginnings continues to thrive in every garden, every farmer, and every community we partner with. Be part of the next DIG Field Trip in 2026. DIG Field Trips are life-changing opportunities to visit our programs, meet the farmers leading this work, and see the impact firsthand. Sign up here to be the first to know when 2026 trip dates and details are announced! https://bit.ly/DIGFieldTrip Read Bill's Full Reflection: https://www.dig.org/dig-is-an-action-word-my-trip-back-to-africa/

Meet the woman behind the bar. An award-winning bartender, storyteller, and founder of @asipofparadisegarden , Keyatta Mincey brings the "culture" to agriculture, mixing in her Liberian/ American heritage into every glass. Her drinks tell stories about what we grow, where we come from, and the possibilities hidden in ingredients we might otherwise overlook. We're excited she’s bringing her creativity to Cocktails & Castoffs this Sunday. Our Chef’s Dinner is waitlisted, but we hope to open a few extra seats, and we still have a handful of spots left for the Cocktail Party which starts at 5:00pm. Come raise a glass with us and celebrate the first 20 years of DIG. 🎟️ Reserve your spot at the link in @dig_org bio

A chef’s dish can tell you where they’ve been, who shaped them, and what they care about. Max Hines’ dishes tell us a lot. Max has cooked with DIG before, and this September he's back for a milestone worth celebrating: 20 years of DIG, marked with a very special Cocktails and Castoffs. Chef Max Hines of Stolen Goods and Breaker Breaker marries local Georgia ingredients with global influences, creating dishes that are refined, approachable, and rooted in history and culture. With more than a decade in Atlanta’s restaurant scene, his cooking reflects both experience and a deep love of storytelling through food. Come find out what he's cooking up this time. Event Details 🗓️ September 20, 2026 🍸 Cocktail Party | Starts at 5:00 PM at @halfwaycrooksbeer 🍽️ Chef’s Dinner | Starts at 7:00 PM at @heritage.atl Secure your spot + all the details at the link in @dig_org bio

We can't stop thinking about Sunday. There was something so special about being together, even in the heat, that felt so good. The energy, the conversations, the memories, Atlanta, you hold a special place in our past, but also in our future. We want to take a moment to say thank you! We also planted six different trees in Africa to honor six Atlanta supporters who have gone above and beyond to champion our work and ensure DIG's work continues to grow. Those trees: moringa, avocado, tree-tomato, oil palm, filao, and mango, are an expansion of our work and an expression of our gratitude for the lasting impact this community has had on DIG. One more round of applause for our chefs. A huge thank you to our chefs @chefs_state_of_mind @chefmaxbreaux @issablackchef and mixologist, @picturesandcocktails_ for the incredible time, care, and creativity they poured into making this such a special experience. And to the Heritage team @heritage.atl , thank you for opening your doors to us. Thank you again to our Sponsors. 🥂 @bayabgin and @edmondshonorbourbon for keeping our glasses full. 🌻 @southatlantafarms for filling the evening with the most beautiful locally grown flowers. 💐 @ronishaarlene for bringing the flowers all together into such beautiful arrangements. 🍽️ @stonemountaincattle for providing the beef behind Chef Max’s incredible Brown Stew Osso. 📸 @wildgrainphotography for capturing the evening so beautifully.

This is a big year for DIG; we’re celebrating 20 years! And what better way to honor this milestone than around the table with Chef Demetrius Brown in Atlanta at his highly anticipated @summerhill_atl restaurant, Heritage Supper Club. On Sunday, Sept. 20, we’re gathering at the table around a shared belief: food carries stories, holds tradition, and connects us to the land and communities that nourish us. Demetrius Brown, now a member of DIG’s Advisory Board, is partnering with us to bring our 20th anniversary edition of Cocktails & Castoffs to life. 🥂2 Event 1 Night | Event Details This year, Cocktails & Castoffs is a movable feast Cocktail Party at @halfwaycrooksbeer | 5PM Specialty cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, and more. 🎟️ Cocktail Party Early Bird Special: Save 20% with code EARLYBIRD. Chefs’ Dinner at Heritage Supper Club | 7PM An intimate dinner with Chef Demetrius Brown. Only 10 seats remain! 🔗 Grab your tickets through the link in @dig_org’s bio.

Last year, over 100 guests were served, and when the night was done, just five pounds of food waste remained in the kitchen. We think that matters. DIG is always exploring what it looks like when a meal is rooted in the land it came from, and finds its way back to the land. When food is grown, shared, and returned in a cycle that strengthens the community around it. This year, we're welcoming someone who's been asking the same questions. Paula Thomas is a Denver-based food anthropologist and sustainability educator whose work explores the deep relationships between food, culture, and the land. As co-founder of @grappolowineschool and Director of Sustainability at @olivia_pasta Restaurant Olivia, she is working to embed more intentional food practices into the restaurant industry, asking the same questions DIG farmers return to every day: how food traditions, land stewardship, and community knowledge shape resilient food systems. Join us on Sunday, April 19, 2026, for a special 20th anniversary edition of Cocktails & Castoffs, an evening rooted in food, culture, and what becomes possible when we rethink waste and reconnect with where our food comes from. Secure your spot: 🔗 in @dig_org bio

As DIG celebrates 20 years, we are looking back to where it all began: a conversation between a doctor and a patient in a hospital room in Dakar, Senegal. What followed was a lesson in listening. This is the story of Professor Papa Salif Sow, the hospital garden that grew from a conversation, and the partnership that helped shape what DIG would become. Over the coming months, we will be sharing more stories that shaped DIG: the people, the conversations, and the moments that shaped who we are today. Whose story would you like to hear next? Let us know in the comments.

Join us for a special 20th anniversary edition of Cocktails & Castoffs on Sunday, April 19th in Denver, CO. When DIG was just an idea twenty years ago, Denver was one of the first places we came to share it. Many of the people who believed in this work back then are still part of the community, helping it grow today. That history makes celebrating this milestone in the Mile High City feel especially meaningful. What started with a single garden at Hospital Fann in Senegal has grown into a global network of farmers restoring soil, strengthening local food systems, and ensuring families can grow nutritious food year-round. Come be part of the story. Guests will enjoy signature drinks and curated bites inspired by DIG's gardens in Kenya, Uganda, and Senegal, along with a thoughtful conversation exploring how food traditions shape resilient communities. 🔗 Link is in @dig_org bio to secure your spot!

Do we go to market? For the women of DIG's Fara Badji women's group, it wasn’t really a question, it was the only option. If their families were going to eat, if there was any hope of earning income, they had to make the 13-mile journey to Ziguinchor. Nearly half a week’s income spent just getting there. Pooling what little they had, buying food in bulk, and carrying it back under the heat. And then the waiting. Hoping it would sell before it spoiled. Hoping what little they earned would stretch just enough. Hoping the risk would pay off this time. And all the while, some piece of land sat unused, having been abandoned for more than 30 years. But the women of DIG's Fara Badji group saw something different. They saw potential. So they began. Over the course of their DIG program, they restored the soil, reintroduced local crops, and grew a community garden in that unused land. Today, what once required a 13-mile journey is growing just steps from their homes. Food within reach. Less risk. More stability. Not because the challenges disappeared but because these women led a different way forward. Let the women lead. Read the full story: https://www.dig.org/the-garden-women-farmers-brought-back-to-life/

What’s growing in DIG’s gardens right now? 🥬 Cabbage and lots of it. In Southwestern Uganda, cabbage has fed families for generations. It shows up in stews, in side dishes, at the center of meals. It’s also a practical crop for farmers. Cabbage matures quickly, stores well after harvest, and gives families flexibility, whether that means bringing it to market or bringing it home for dinner.

This year's DIG Kenya Field Trip is an invitation to slow down, listen, and learn directly from the people who are shaping resilient food systems and caring for their communities in the face of profound challenge and change. Rather than a traditional tour, this journey blends community-led learning, cultural exchange, and time in nature, guided by long-standing relationships and grounded in respect for local expertise. And sometimes, if you're lucky, between the conversations, garden visits, and shared meals… someone will invite you to dance. This experience isn’t only about observing the work. It’s about being welcomed into it. Our time is designed to build understanding, not spectacle, and to highlight how community-led solutions are addressing complex health and nutrition challenges with dignity, care, and a beautiful vision for a long-term future. Ready to experience Kenya in a deeper way? Learn more: 🔗 Link in bio

At 90 years old, Mauda Nyiravuguwenda carries a memory few Batwa still hold. She remembers the forest. As a young Batwa woman living inside the Bwindi Forest, food wasn’t something you searched for; it was something you lived within. “When we were in the forest, food was everywhere,” she recalls. That was her world. Until it wasn’t. When the Batwa were evicted in the early 1990s from their ancestral land, everything changed overnight. The forest that had sustained generations was no longer accessible. The foods she once gathered freely were suddenly out of reach. Without income to buy food, Mauda began sending children into the bush to search for whatever greens they could find to feed her household of twelve. But Mauda is more than her hardship; she is a knowledge holder. A caregiver. “We cannot return to the forest,” she says, “so we must look forward, our future is here.” Through DIG’s training, Mauda began rebuilding, not just her garden, but her connection to the foods that once surrounded her. She learned how to cultivate indigenous vegetables using practices rooted in her local environment and seasons, while saving seeds to carry her harvest forward year after year. This is not a return to the past. It is a future she is growing herself.

There is something powerful about writing down your goals. Across Uganda, farmers sat down with a DIG facilitator to reflect on what they want to achieve in the coming months, and wrote those goals down together, a simple exercise that becomes a daily reminder of the future they're working toward. One farmer shared, "Whenever I look at my written goals, I remind myself that I will achieve them."

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There is something powerful about writing down your goals.