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Want to experience the South in a whole new way? A new Airbnb experience lets you stay with Black farmers at their historic farms while you share in their homes and their lifestyles.
The first-of-its-kind collection comes from a partnership with the Southwest Georgia Agri-Tourism Trail and New Communities Land Trust, an organization founded during the Civil Rights Movement to support Black farmers. It began as a collective farm in 1969 to help families threatened with eviction because of their Civil Rights activism. More than 50 years later, New Communities preserves natural habitats, helps farmers produce profitable crops, and creates a cultural gathering place to discuss race equality, economic disparity and empowerment.
At Resora farm in Albany, Georgia, visitors can soak in the vistas of massive cypress trees and ponds as well as the disturbing history of an 1800s mansion that was once part of the largest slaveholder estate in Georgia. It’s also an active farm and agricultural research lab, and is meant to provide a restorative, meditative stay. Resora’s 1,638 acre property has four cabins and cottages, three of which are named for Civil Rights movement leaders. Walk the trails and enjoy the 85-acre lake. Or you can sit back and take a ride through the farm on the Bird Wagon to see the 200-acre Pecan Orchard, the Muscadine grape vineyard, the bee boxes and a duck pond. The tour also stops at the Satsuma Orange Grove, where visitors can learn the history of citrus production in the area and hear about Mrs. Josie Miller, a hero of the southwest Georgia Civil Rights Movement; a historic building near the orchard is named for her.
Another experience is geared towards those who love barbecue. At the Vicks Estate, Farm & Fishery, also in Albany, you can indulge in a Taste of the South, where farmer Clinton Vicks serves up traditional barbecue fare cooked over a charcoal and wood fire pit. Guests can pick their own greens and herbs to accompany the meal in the farm’s market garden beds, play a few rounds of corn hole and then sit down to lunch, where Clinton shares stories from four generations of farming history.
It’s a win-win situation, as the farmers gain financially by hosting, and visitors discover incredible natural beauty and learn about Black farming communities and the area’s history.
Love farms? Try the best farm stays in the US.