Canticle Farm

We are so grateful for our long relationship with Miki Kashtan and Bay Area Nonviolent Communication, which has greatly shaped the principles and practices of Canticle Farm. We're in the final stretches of renovating a community kitchen and teaching space, which post-pandemic will host retreats, workshops, events and meetings, all as a gift to social justice groups and organizations. In the meantime, the space will become the hub for our community apothecary and food distribution efforts, supporting 30+ families in our neighborhood with organic food and medicine. This is an opportunity to support BOTH this vision and BayNVC -- for each $ you contribute to this GoFundMe, a matching donor will contribute the same amount to BayNVC!

Today, on #SolarSunday, we participated virtually in the beautiful Canticle Farm Celebrates Sister Water House event. We had the pleasure of connecting with Ca...nticle Farm earlier this summer and issued the nonprofit organization a #SolarMoonshot Program grant for two solar projects on their property in Oakland, funded by #LeftCoastFund. The first solar project was installed on their Sister Water House of Restorative Justice, a project which was the center of today's celebration. The house supports men who have been paroled from life sentences to do restorative justice work in the community. We heard from men who spent decades behind bars as well as funders and supporters across the world. Learn more about Canticle Farm and its climate justice work by visiting www.canticlefarmoakland.org. at Canticle Farm in Oakland.

Once again, saying see you later to Canticle Farm and this beloved neighborhood of Fruitvale! Here is a little reflection I wrote about this neighborhood: #28... I will miss the people here- folks of all colors and sizes, no large fences on hills, not taking up too much space or privacy, separating themselves from the great, dark world; no pretense of having transcended the full spectrum of humanity, lives out on display to the public eye. All present, humbled by life’s neverending obstacles; grateful for the steam emanating from the freshly made tamales, or was it the pita, the collards, the warm bowl of pho? Children dressed in princess costumes skipping past rows of heroin needlesfolks here hold it all, not bothered by the illusion of anything else. Radical experiences make for radical imagination and personality, and the souls that emanate from these bodies must be intimately laughing with God. Folks in these places dance with a quality of presence folks can only know outside of the context of the colonizer, where there is no people, task, or future they need to conquer; not even the moment! It’s not our moment anywayshere to eventually disappear like the fallen leaves on the Earth, so why not fertilize it with smiles, laughter, and generosity?

Call for support for the hometown community and extended family of Canticle Farmer Niria Alicia. She grew up in the tight-knit, low-income, mixed-status farmworker community of Talent, Oregon, and has watched thousands of her community members lose their homes, livelihoods, belongings and loved ones to the #almedafire. This is climate injustice. Cuz she’s a bad-ass, resilient, courageous organizer she’s jumped right to work setting up this fundraiser to get support to her community, the folks who can least access the governmental response. Please give whatever you can and share far and wide

When fire is in the sky, remember and play with water. Join us this Sunday, 11am - 2pm, for installing a series of cascading fountains that purify groundwater. Work will involve casting flowforms, preparing cob bases and fabricating a small pond. We need at least 5 folks to support so please comment/message if you’re able to come! ... If the air is particularly bad we will cancel, so feel free to RSVP if you are air dependent, and we’ll let you know if we cancel. All work is outside, masked, with easy social distancing.

Just released! An incredible new documentary, The Prison Within, about restorative justice in California prisons. Canticle Farmer Troy Williams was on the team that brought this together over many years, and is also a featured story in the film! It is SUPER moving, thought-provoking and a testament to the depth of human cruelty (mass incarceration) as well as our capacity for transformation and forgiveness (folks in victim-offender dialogues). The more people that watch it in the first two weeks the more likely it is to get picked up by streaming platforms so go, go, go, watch this tonight!

We have a fun, easy, socially-distanced construction task that we need a BUNCH of volunteers for next week! We'll be sanding and oiling salvaged redwood for the trim of our new community gathering space. We'll be out there every day 10am - 3pm, Monday 8/24 to Friday 8/28. We'd love to have you! Email us [email protected] if you're available and excited to join! You're welcome for a full or half (10-1230, 1230-3) day!

Victor has been a great support and mentor to Canticle Farm over the years. Don’t miss this chance to webinar with him!

A San Francisco Chronicle story featuring Canticle Farmers Watani and Troy, sharing their perspectives on the impact of canceled rehabilitation programs at San Quentin. The cover photo - "Zoe Mullery (middle) sits with former students Watani Stiner (right) and Troy Williams (left) sits in a community garden behind their home in Oakland Calif., on Thursday, July 23, 2020. The three met over a decade ago, at San Quentin prison, as Zoe led a creative writing program that Watani and Troy were both students in. Since the outbreak of Covid 19 many programs have been halted and volunteers have been forced to discontinue their efforts inside the prison."

AN OG’S PERSPECTIVE: Aren’t You Grateful You’re Not In Prison Anymore? Canticle Farmer Watani Stiner was interviewed by his former creative writing teacher, Zoe Mullery, on July 22, 2020, regarding the outbreak of Coronavirus at San Quentin State Prison. This was submitted to the San Quentin newspaper. Watani paroled from San Quentin in January 2015 after serving 26 years (5 from 1969-1974, when he escaped; 21 more from 1994-2015 after he voluntarily returned from being a ...Continue reading

Wondering how to visit us during the pandemic? Join this webinar about Canticle tomorrow, 9am PT! "During this interactive webinar with Gaia U International MSc candidate, Dor Haberer, we will explore how Restorative Justice can become integrated into ecological and social projects around the world. Dor will be introducing the community he lives in, Canticle Farm. Located in East Oakland, USA the community has combined four different urban plots with six houses into a thrivi...ng permaculture garden with a pond, they are currently in the process of restoring a creek, and have other structures in the property including a yurt, a tiny home, and a moon lodge. Canticle Farm is also a non-profit and have a house for formerly incarcerated prisoners who were sentenced for life and are additionally creating a space for refugees from Central America." See more

Anyone want to be our next door neighbor? Or buy and donate a house for the community? Or take a house off the speculative market? Or can think of other ways to support this house across the street from us that is for sale to transition in a good way?

We are excited about our new solar panels on Sister Water! Thanks Hammond Climate Solutions, Ian Petrich and Travis Gibrael!