Reisha Lewis-Adams

A Navajo farmer based in Shiprock, NM, with a background in public health, Reisha practices regenerative agriculture through Muddies Farm, with a focus on restoring land health, improving water efficiency, and building long-term food sovereignty.

“Through the support of the Stars and Seeds grant, I have strengthened my ability to care for the land and practical and sustainable ways. I implemented a solar-powered drip irrigation system, and water pump to reduce waste and improve consistent watering in an air climate. I expanded soil used by preparing and leveling land for planting and increasing crop diversity through a wide range of seeds. I also use hand tools and machine machinery to maintain and clear land, responsibly supporting the healthy growing conditions. My approach prioritizes working with natural systems, conserving resources and rebuilding productivity in ways that respect the land and cultural knowledge. This grant has helped me deepen my commitment to regenerative community-rooted farming practices.”

I do not approach the Earth as something separate from me.

In my work in regenerative agriculture,

I feel myself in relationship with her every day—

in the soil I touch,

in the water I try to conserve,

in the seeds I place back into the ground

with the hope that they remember how to grow.

I have learned that caring for land is not about control.

It is about listening.

Listening to what the soil is trying to recover,

what the water is trying to teach me about scarcity and balance,

what the plants reveal about patience and timing.

When I work the land,

I feel that she is not without hope.

Even in difficult seasons, there is something still reaching forward—

a quiet insistence on life continuing.

And I feel myself included in that process,

not as separate from it, but as part of it.

In regenerative agriculture, I find relationship everywhere:

in the way I restore soil instead of taking from it,

in the way I try to leave the ground better than I found it,

in the way I learn to slow down enough to notice change that is not immediate.

And in this practice, I also find connection to others—

because life is never isolated.

It moves through everything:

through the wind that carries scent across fields,

through breath that rises and returns,

through the sight of green returning where there was once struggle,

through the feeling of land responding to care.

I experience regenerative agriculture as more than farming.

It is my way of being in relationship with the Earth I love.

And in that relationship, I feel held as much as I am holding—

life responding to life,

forever connected,

forever becoming.