This lecture will describe the efforts of the Alliance Community Reboot (ACRe) organization to rebuild a Jewish community farm on the land where the Alliance Colony was founded in 1882 as one of the first Jewish agricultural settlements in the United States. This farm, which remains in the hands of descendants of one of the original settlers of the Alliance Colony, neighbors a historic synagogue and Jewish cemetery. This historic setting informs the vision for the organization but the goals for the farm are also grounded in twenty-first century values including sustainability and food justice. Their combined dedication to Jewish history and environmental values is exemplified by the designation of a large portion of ACRe’s land resources to the Experimental Farm Network, an organization that is breeding seeds to combat climate change.
