Shmita Plot!

What is it?

The Shmita Plot Project is an invitation for modern land stewards to engage in the most visionary piece of Jewish agricultural wisdom.

We are feeling into what it means to let a piece of our land lie fallow and be released into the commons. What does it look like to relinquish control over our land for an extended period of time? What will it do? What will it produce? How will the soil heal? How will I heal?

Participants will designate a piece of land to release into shmita for the duration of 5782 (Rosh Hashanah 2021 to Rosh Hashanah 2022). This piece of land can be as small as a garden bed or as large as your whole farm. The designated shmita plot will not be tilled, weeded, mowed or otherwise messed with for the whole year and any food that pops up should be made available to those in need.

What do I get if I sign up?

In addition to our virtual library of Shmita resources, participants get access to the recordings of all six shmitah sessions from our last conference. These recordings include:

• Reflections on Shmita from Israel Today with Shaul Judelman
• If Shemittah is the answer, what is the question? with Rabbi Nina Beth Cardin
• Fermenting Change: Shmita as Inspiration for Food Distribution & Intentional Pickling with Sarah Chandler
• Learning from the Loopholes with Justin Goldstein
• Intention-Setting for the Next Cycle: Shmita Beit Midrash with Ammud: Jews of Color Torah Academy led by Arielle Korman
• Release & Repair: Shmita & Reparations in Our Lives with Chana Rusanov & Sol Yael Weiss of Linke Fligl

You will get matched (only if you want) with a Shmita buddy with whom you can check in throughout the year about how it feels to let the land lie fallow.

A coupon code for 10% off of all JFN Shmita programming throughout the year.

A sign (design pending) sent to you to put out in your Shmita plot to remind you what this is all about and let your friends/neighbors/visitors know that this piece of fallow land is a commons, available for gleaning.

Pricing:

We believe in the education of our whole community, regardless of financial status. We embody that ethic by offering all our programming on a sliding scale. The true cost of this program is $18/participant but, we encourage folks to consider making a larger contribution to support our work. Feel free to register for $9 or $180! 

If the lowest price point is beyond your capacity, WE STILL WANT YOU TO JOIN! Email liel@jewishfarmernetwork.org with the subject “All of Us” for a coupon code no questions asked!