Africulture
Michael Carter
Join Michael to learn about the principles, practices, plants and people of african descent that have contributed to American agriculture.
BIO
Michael Carter Jr. is an 11th generation farmer in the United States and is the 5th generation to farm on Carter Farms, his family’s century farm in Orange County, Virginia where he gives workshops on how to grow and market ethnic vegetables. With Virginia State University, he works in the capacity of the Small Farm Resource Center Coordinator for the Small Farm Outreach Program. He sits on the board of directors of the Virginia Association of Biological Farmers (VABF), Virginia Food Systems Council, The Center for Natural Capital, Virginia Agrarian Trust and Foodshed Capital respectively. He serves as a fellow for the Center for Food Systems and Community Transformation. Michael was recognized as a 2020 Audubon Naturalist Society Taking Nature Black Regional Environmental Champion, the 2020 VSU Small Farm Outreach Agent of the year and Future Harvest Casa Farmer of the Foodshed for 2021. He acquired an agricultural economics degree from North Carolina A&T State University and has worked in Ghana, Kenya and Israel as an agronomist and organic agricultural consultant.
He presently consults with numerous governments, organizations, and individuals throughout the region and nation on food access, food security/insecurity, market outreach, social and economic parity/equity/evaluation programs, racial understanding, immersion, history, and cultural training, among other areas. As a cliometrician, curriculum developer, and program coordinator for his educational, cultural, and vocational platforms, Hen Asem (Our Story) and Africulture, he teaches and expounds on the principles, practicess, plants and people of African descent that have and do contribute to agriculture worldwide and trains students, educators, and professionals in African cultural understanding, racial literacy and cognition, racialized values and implicit bias recognition, among others. He happily assists his sons in running their respective businesses, Carter Brothers and Sunnyside Entertainment, when not homeschooling his three youngest sons.
More Workshops
Inner and Outer Landscape – Reading Patterns of Nature
Ancient healing systems are thriving today as they are based on truths that will never change. The elements of Nature, fire, water, air and earth,...
Flock Walk
Matt and Rachel Palma of Restoration Acres Farm are celebrating their farm's 10th anniversary this Fall and are excited to share a little about...
Chelsea Harlan
Chelsea Harlan is a poet from Sedalia, Virginia. Her debut full-length collection, Bright Shade, was recently selected by Jericho Brown as the...
Exploring the Connection Between Plant Nutrition and Stress Resilience
In the face of climate change and extreme weather events, crops must adapt to stress like never before. Learn about the relationship between plant...
Rosa Mystica
Description: This offering explores the medicine and mysteries associated with Rose. The medicine of Rose is deep heart and spirit medicine. The...
Fundamentals of Fermentation
Making lacto-fermented vegetables at home is a simple and enjoyable skill to learn. We'll cover everything you need to know to make delicious and...
Beyond Organic: Plant & Soil Health
Workshop Description Learn how to push plants to rebuild the soil microbiome, how biology has more impact than chemistry for soil and plant health. ...
Getting Started with Growing Berries
Learn the many types of berries that you can grow, what common berries to start with, the specific cultural techniques for various berry types and...
Growing Quality Tree Fruits Without Toxic Sprays
Learn which tree fruits take little help to produce good crops. We'll go over establishing plantings, which fruits need much more inputs, and how to...
Wild Food & Medicine Plant Walk
Learn about a myriad of late summer/fall wild food and medicine. We'll take a brief walk around Camp Sedalia getting to know a handful of plant...
Wild Watercolors
Create a nature-inspired watercolor art piece. Get into the creative flow by trusting your natural instincts and paying attention to the present...
Live Performance with Acoustic Emphasis
Performing on-stage can be intimidating but the right set of gear and tips to help your playing stand out in a performance setting can give you the...
The Art of Live Looping
Live looping performance has become more and more popular with many different looping effect pedals currently on the market. Anyone who has given a...
Keeping a Family Milk Cow in the 21st Century
After 3 years of walking the legal line to obtain raw milk for our family, in 2007 we traded in the lawn mower for our first Jersey cow, Primrose....
Understanding Soil Testing
Learn the basics of soil testing from a whole systems perspective. We will discuss the overarching tenets of soil health whilst focusing on the...
Eating Acorns
Acorns are one of the most abundant and under-utilized wild foods in the United States. In this workshop we will cover the basics of identification,...
Free Form Baskets and Flower Crowns
Learn how to use local vines to make your own flower crowns and basic whimsical baskets. All Ages (Parental Supervision of children is appreciated)...
Herbal Allies for Stress + Anxiety
In this workshop, you will learn to use 5 herbs that can be used for managing stress and anxiety states. These are nervine herbs that have an...
Flower Dance Workshops
Description: Carli Mareneck will offer two movement workshops that build towards an outdoor performance on the same day. Performers ages 6-adult are...
Exploring Nature’s Plant Mysteries With Printmaking
Description: Using a wide range of materials to create a minimum of 2 print plates, we will explore the mystery, beauty and medicine of three...