WATER’S EDGE FARMSTEAD is a seed farm in North Carolina that is the first recipient of a loan under a new partnership with the Persimmon Collective Fund in which we are jointly making low-cost bridge loans for land acquisition by BIPOC farmers.
Sustainability and stewardship are central values of Water’s Edge Farmstead, where they “recognize the increasing urgency of our work as farmers on the front lines of climate change.” A founding member of the Appalachian Seed Grower’s Collective, the farm specializes in producing regionally adapted seeds to empower all kinds of growers to be resilient in the face of extreme weather events like Hurricane Helene and the breakdown of the supply chain that often follows. They also grow produce for vulnerable community members with distribution through the local food bank.
The acreage acquired with this loan offers the opportunity to facilitate variety trials and breeding projects that require sufficient growing space for isolation distances to reduce cross-pollination, while providing space for commercial seed production and community and direct farmer-to-farmer education. Shelby Mandonado, Water’s Edge Farmstead’s manager, says, “Our farm and seed grower’s collective serve as nodes in the larger ecosystem of southern farmers, working to teach and organize more farmers and collectives toward a more robust and thriving southeastern seed industry, and a viable lifeway for seed workers in our region.”