Events

Join us for the Farmer Training Convergence

The fifth annual Convergence is coming up on August 28 & 29! 

This year's event will feature opportunities to learn directly from farmers and food systems advocates with hands-on workshops and educational sessions focused on skills and farming practices that cultivate resilience and joy. Topics include biochar, dryland farming, vermicompost, and flower farming alongside discussions focused on local food production, traditional ecological knowledge, land access, and regenerative practices. Simultaneous interpretation in Spanish will be available both days.


Register Here


Event Schedule Sneak Peak:


Friday, August 28 (8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.)


  • Keynote by Carlyle Stewart ( Llano Seco Land and Livestock)
  • Regenerative Farming Year Round - Dean and Susan Vidal ( Brightwood Farm)
  • Presentation by Tracy Raymond ( BeeSézí Navajo Corn Products Company)
  • Land Access Possibilities in the Southwest - Evanne Caviness ( CDA Community Land Partnership of the Southwest Colorado Land Link ), Mike Morris (), Emma Lietz Bilecky () and more!
  • Presentation by James and Joyce Skeet (Spirit Farm)
  • Tour of the Old Fort's new Long Term Land Access Plot for prospective farmers
  • A Beginner's Guide to Poultry - Samantha Griggs ( Griggstead)
  • Vermicompost Workshop - Frank Dean ( 4 Corners Worm Farm)
  • Food Processing, Wash, Pack Demo in the Old Fort's recently completed Community Processing Barn
  • Conservation Implementation on the Rez - Yolanda Benally
  • Old Fort Field Tour
  • Locally-catered lunch catered by Sage Farm Fresh Eats
  • Ice Cream Social, networking opportunity featuring goodies from Cream Bean Berry

Saturday, August 29 (8:30 a.m. - 1 p.m.)


  • Flower Farming Basics & Bouquet Making - Mindy Perkovich ( Mountain Roots Produce)
  • Biochar Basics & On-Farm Demonstration
  • Hopi Dryland Permaculture Plot Workshop and Tour - Matthew Bahnimptewa (Old Fort Field Assistant)
  • Fort Lewis College Food Intern Presentation Panel featuring students working with Four Corners Food Coalition, Skoden Farm, Sweetlove Farm, the FLC Indigenous Garden, and more.
  • Locally-catered lunch catered by Zia Taqueria
  • And more!

Registration & Cost


Friday August 28, 8:30am to 5pm 

Saturday August 29, 8:30am to 1:00pm


Single Day Ticket: $35.00

Two-Day Ticket: $60.00


Registration includes lunch

Scholarships available, email oldfortathesperus@fortlewis.edu to request.


Register Here


Vendor booths and sponsorship opportunities available, contact us for more information


LandLink Colorado
Native American Agriculture Fund
USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Quivira
Colorado Department of Agriculture

Events questions and inquiries

Please contact us with event questions, or to host an event.

The Old Fort

18683 CO-140
Hesperus, CO 81326
 oldfortathesperus@fortlewis.edu
 970-385-4574

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Land Acknowledgement 

We acknowledge the land that the Old Fort is situated upon is the ancestral land and territory of the Nuuchiu (Ute) people who were forcibly removed by the United States Government. We also acknowledge that this land is connected to the communal and ceremonial spaces of the Jicarilla Abache (Apache), Pueblos of New Mexico, Hopi Sinom (Hopi), and Diné (Navajo) Nations.

The Old Fort and Fort Lewis College are committed to reconciling their history as a federal Indian Boarding School from 1892 to 1909.

Learn more about reconciliation

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The Old Fort is owned by the Colorado State Land Board and managed by Fort Lewis College.


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