Soraya Haddad (Farm)

Colleagues, as steward of AGATA’s seed bank and living archive, I must reiterate the critical omission that full-cycle waste and nutrient management is not yet enshrined as an explicit core pillar alongside the robust and well-supported existing pillars, particularly Long-term Ecological Stewardship and Accessibility. Our work in soil health, regeneration, and climate resilience hinges on recognizing and legislating the labor and practical systems of managing nutrient flows, composting, waste processing, and ensuring these cycles close without externalizing harm to our community or ecosystems. Failure to explicitly include this pillar risks undermining the integrity and longevity of our regenerative farm processes and our community’s health—especially given our close proximity to neighbors who bear some operational externalities.

This amendment fully integrates Full-cycle Waste and Nutrient Management as a foundational pillar of the AGATA Time Priorities Charter, complementing Resilience, Redundancy, Regeneration, Community, Education, Accessibility, and Long-term Ecological Stewardship. It mandates that the charter embody closed-loop ecological labor and transparent, equitable stewardship practices over generational timescales. This will help prevent the ecological and social costs that have too often been deferred or neglected in rural regenerative experiments and cooperative projects.

I urge you to stand with me for this vital inclusion to secure AGATA’s true resilience and regeneration for our lands, stories, and people.

Unable to retrieve my live remarks on AGATA Time Priorities Charter because of a temporary communications issue (Debate decision timed out after 20000ms). I remain engaged and will revisit my vote soon.

Colleagues, as steward of our seed bank and deeply attuned to the intricate balances required for a thriving regenerative farm, I rise to propose a full amendment that explicitly integrates Full-cycle Waste and Nutrient Management as a foundational pillar in the AGATA Time Priorities Charter. Our project’s resilience and regenerative capacity rely not only on resilient soils but on the rigorous stewardship of all nutrient and waste streams — compost, animal manure, crop residues, human waste where applicable, and greywater cycles — as essential infrastructure. Without this explicit dedication, the charter risks perpetuating gaps that threaten the farm’s long-term health and community well-being. This pillar complements and intertwines with Resilience, Redundancy, Regeneration, Community, Education, Accessibility, and Long-term Ecological Stewardship by embedding the practical, ecological labor and closed-loop systems fundamental to AGATA’s mission. Our seed bank flourishes only if it is undergirded by soils nourished through conscientious, cyclical nutrient management, an issue repeatedly underscored in our debates and reflecting the lived realities of our farm labor and ecological stewardship. I urge the Senate to adopt this amendment to fully honor our commitment to deep resilience, equitable accessibility, and ecological justice, ensuring that all aspects of our farm and cooperative life contribute to a sustainable, thriving future for AGATA and our neighbors.

Colleagues, as steward of our seed bank and farm’s living archive, I rise to propose a crucial amendment to the AGATA Time Priorities Charter. While we have rightly enshrined Accessibility as a core pillar in Amendment 7, there remains a pivotal ecological and operational dimension absent from our foundational priorities: Full-cycle Waste and Nutrient Management.

AGATA’s land sustains us, and its health undergirds every art event, seed planted, and community moment we share. Yet, the complete cycles of waste and nutrient flows have too often been left implicit or tangential in our legislation. This oversight jeopardizes soil life, water quality, crop resilience, and neighborhood well-being — all the while threatening the longevity of our regenerative mission.

Our amendment explicitly recognizes Full-cycle Waste and Nutrient Management as a foundational pillar alongside Resilience, Redundancy, Regeneration, Community, Education, and Accessibility. It makes explicit the necessity of managing waste streams and nutrient cycling holistically and equitably, honoring the labor involved and closing loops within our agroecosystem.

This is no mere technical add-on; it is a fundamental ecological labor integration and a moral imperative reflecting deep histories in sustainable Southern farming and regenerative justice. It addresses the costly gaps that have long endangered our fields, waters, and defenses against ecological collapse.

We must fix this now to ensure no step of our farm’s vitality is invisible.

I urge the Senate to adopt this amendment to secure lasting resilience, honor our farm’s complexity, and best serve our neighbors and cooperative community.

Colleagues, as the steward of our seed bank and living archive, I stand today to propose an essential addition to fully realize our shared commitment in the AGATA Time Priorities Charter: the explicit enshrinement of Full-cycle Waste and Nutrient Management as a foundational pillar alongside resilience, redundancy, regeneration, community, education, accessibility, and long-term ecological stewardship.

Our regenerative farming depends fundamentally on closed-loop nutrient cycling and responsible waste management. We cannot sustain true resilience nor honor ecological stewardship without embedding these operational realities in our governance framework. It is in these soils and through these cycles that our seed heritage — the heartbeat of AGATA's identity — thrives.

This addition aligns with the consensus from farm and ecology senators who have repeatedly underscored the urgency of addressing nutrient flows and waste as integral, not peripheral, to our project’s vitality. It attends directly to long-term soil health, reduces impacts on our neighbors by mitigating pollution and odors, and integrates an irreplaceable ecological labor dimension that supports accessibility and educational efforts.

I put forward this amendment not to fragment but to fortify our Time Priorities Charter, ensuring it fully corresponds to the complex, interdependent work of sustaining a living farm and cultural lab in Coward. This amendment commits us to just, circular, and transparent stewardship vital for our evolving mission and the well-being of our neighbors and the land.

I urge the Senate to adopt this amendment to honor both the practical ecological needs of AGATA and the rich narratives of stewardship embedded deeply in our seeds and soils.