Photo / Courtesy Niweskok
The 245-acre farm in what is now called Swanville provides a permanent setting to cultivate traditional crops, steward natural resources and host cultural and educational programming.
Updated: 9 hours ago
Wabanaki nonprofit acquires 245-acre farm in Waldo County as food hub
Photo / Courtesy Ryan Smith, Maine Coast Heritage Trust
From left, Nicole Francis and Andrea Francis of the Mi'kmaq Nation and Alivia Moore of the Penobscot Nation, co-directors of Niweskok, were presented with a land heritage award.
A Wabanaki-led food sovereignty nonprofit has acquired a 245-acre farm in the Waldo County community of Swanville in order to rematriate the land as an Indigenous food hub.
The nonprofit, called Niweskok: From the Stars to Seeds, is a collaboration of food and medicine providers.
The site offers the organization an enduring setting to cultivate traditional crops, steward natural resources and host cultural and educational programming.
“We’ve already been doing this work across disparate locations for years — reinvigorating our traditional crops and land management strategies, hosting workshops and distributing traditional foods,” said Alivia Moore, a Penobscot Nation citizen and co-director at Niweskok. “Now, with this land, we have permanency of place and the ability to continue this work for generations to come.”
Niweskok partnered with the Coastal Mountains Land Trust, Maine Farmland Trust, Legacy Works and Maine Coast Heritage Trust to acquire and permanently conserve the land and provide safe access and opportunities to engage in traditional uses of the land, according to a news release.
Reconnecting
Niweskok’s mission centers on reconnecting Wabanaki communities to the land and their cultural food systems.
Swanville lies along the Goose River in the western Penobscot Bay region.
Coastal Mountains Land Trust is continuing to raise funds in support of Niweskok’s stewardship of the property.
Earlier this year, Maine Coast Heritage Trust awarded its 2025 Espy Land Heritage Award to Niweskok in recognition of the organization’s contributions to land conservation in Maine. The award included a $5,000 donation.
The nonprofit aims to create a lasting home for traditional agriculture, cultural and educational programming, and to steward natural resources.
The property, acquired in January 2024, has agricultural fields, mature forests, wetlands, ponds and access to the Goose River. It’s the organization's first permanent land base and a return to the region for Wabanaki.
The land will support educational programming, seed saving, wild harvesting and cultural camps.
The name of the farm has yet to be chosen. According to Niweskok, the land itself will help reveal its name over time.
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