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The farm has potential to serve as a model to teach interested families how to farm again in the traditional way. The ease of securing a plot — combined with guidance and a consistent water source — provides the conditions necessary for any family that desires to successfully harvest a variety of crops.
North Leupp Family Farm: A model to re-teach families how to farm in the traditional way
Leupp lies in the southwest corner of the Navajo Nation, in the Little Colorado River (LCR) valley some 50 miles east of Flagstaff, Arizona. This high desert — with its cool winters and warm summers — averages only 7 to 8 inches of annual precipitation. In good years, the moisture can support sparse growth of grasses and shrubs on the cindery uplands and on the saline Painted Desert and river bottomlands. The past decade has been drier than normal and the land and people have suffered.
Past practices
In the past, agricultural practices in the LCR basin have provided subsistence crops that support local community traditions. However, the fabric of family and community relations has frayed to the point where the retention of traditions and native languages has significantly diminished. Furthermore, not much water has been developed in the Leupp area. The Navajo Nation drilled a scattering of windmill-pumped wells, from which many people haul water daily, for drinking, washing, and cooking water at home, and for their cattle and sheep.
More than a decade ago, in response to these losses, local leaders established a cooperative along the LCR floodplain. The cooperative, North Leupp Family Farms (NLFF), built two wells along the LCR to irrigate several dozen family plots of corn, squash, chiles, and melons. Other than what these wells provide, few families have enough water for gardens or trees to shelter their homes from the sun and wind.
Current status
Over the past year, the Trust has partnered with NLFF to help make it a big success. With funding from the Christensen Foundation, we were able to:
- Re-establish the board of directors
- Hire, train, and supervise a farm manager
- Repair and replace irrigation infrastructure
- Develop a working strategic plan
- Initiate studies and design of a solar powered irrigation system
- Initiate a series of workshops to train farmers, management, and the board of directors
With a re-established operation and leadership, community involvement has increased and the board of directors has grown. A co-manager will be hired this growing season. Thus far, the managers and board have been instrumental in developing a plan for the farm layout, coordinating the distribution of plots, supervising all operations, managing and maintaining farm infrastructure, and assisting community efforts to establish a cash crop area.
In November 2008, Clayton Brascoupe, from the Traditional Native Farmers Association, conducted a workshop on saving seeds and traditional farming practices. The workshop, which had about 15 participants, was very well received by the community. The opportunity also provided the NLFF board with some experience in organizing and marketing workshops. In 2009, additional workshops are planned.
Over the 2008 growing season, a quarter-acre was set aside to grow cash crops. The area was seen as a way of supporting farm operations, which can ultimately lead to its economic sustainability and demonstrate the marketability of traditionally grown produce. Although the financial return on this investment of time and resources was small, it’s a good start. The effort also inspired the NLFF board to consider using the cash crops to develop and catalyze a local farmer’s market and a community supported agriculture program.
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