LION | Growers Grants for Black and People of Colour

Illustration of growers, with text describing application deadlines for grants redistributing resources to BIPOCS, from 20/08/2021 - 12/09/2021 — Illustrations and Graphics by Javie Huxley

We are incredibly happy to announce that we will be redistributing over £29,000 in grants to Black people and people of colour who are either interested in getting into growing, investing in their already established allotment or back garden, investing in their learning and training or their projects/businesses. We have different grants available for Black growers and growers of colour to either take that first step or have that helping hand.

Black people and people of colour have been disproportionately impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic in Britain. On top of this, BPOC are less likely to have access to green spaces and nature than their white counterparts. Taking this into consideration alongside the fact that agriculture is one of the whitest professions in Britain, we believe that it is necessary that we empower our BPOC community.

An illustration of a garden with a hut and three raised beds with chard, kale, and other yummy crops. — Illustrations and graphics by Javie Huxley

We are incredibly grateful to Jess and Sui who set up the Quilt Fundraiser which raised over £19,000 for the Growers Grants. We would never had imagined that we would be donated enough money to support other Black and people of colour pursue growing! This proves to us that a reparative justice framework is possible for our work.

We want this application to be accessible to Black and people of colour around Britain and Ireland. We want this to be for Black people and people of colour who want to take the plunge and buy their first bag of seeds and compost but also for Black people and people of colour who are setting up commercial and community growing projects.

We will be recording an Instagram Live where we break down the different aspects of the applications. Join us and send us any questions you have and we will answer and help however we can. Friday 20th August at 18:30 - instagram.com/landinournames

Am I BPOC?

You may identify as a BPOC (Black or person of colour) if you would fall under categories such as BAME (Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic). We will vet applications to make sure that all applications go to Black people and people of colour.

Some examples include:

People of African descent
Asian descent (east, south-east, south or central)
First Nations peoples & Pacific Islander people
Latinx & racialised South and Central Americans
Arab & other Middle East & Northern African ethnic groups
Multiracial & mixed race peoples

This list is not exhaustive and we rely on trust and honesty in applications.

An illustration of a planter box with flowers.

Financial Privilege

We will be prioritising Black people and people of colour who lack financial privilege, or who might have some financial privilege, are low income, precarious, poor or working class.

Two terms which are mentioned in our explainer images are:

Basic Needs: include food, housing & transportation

Expendable Income: might mean you are able to buy coffee at a cafe, go to the movies or a concert, buy new clothes, books and similar items each month etc.