The garden is continuing to grow and grow in every sense of the word. The new garden site (still located at Broadway Christian Church) is thriving as refugees put more land into production. Below are pictures taken from this past week. Enjoy!

Be sure to check out this article (click on the words) written by journalists who are much better writers than I am. Fantastic coverage of the success and importance of this garden for our city’s refugees.

Our goal for this program has always been to create opportunities for refugees to regain their farming heritage that was lost during their flight from war torn countries. While 3 opportunities presented themselves, all 3 did not come to fruition. Instead of being disappointed, we were encouraged by the interest, commitment, and creative ideas of the Columbia community. It is amazing to see a city’s desire to not only welcome refugees but also help them regain livelihoods lost.

However, just as we had given up on expanding in 2012, Broadway Christian surprised us again! They have expanded their garden for the 3rd time in 2 years. Because of the short notice, we have gone back to the drawing board to determine what this year will look like. Will refugees be able to sell commercially? Or will refugees utilize the space to just grow more produce for their family and friends? We are not sure, but please check back as we keep you updated.

One thing is for certain, refugees will certainly make the most of the new space and will most certainly surprise us with their ambition and innovation.

Here are a few pictures of the new garden space. There is still much work to be done. Fences built. Brush Burned. Plots marked. But we are thrilled for the new opportunities.

And as always, thank you for your interest in our refugees and our garden!

Wow, we apologize greatly for the lack of posts. We blame the craziness of the holiday season!

The 2011 growing season was a huge success. Our numbers grew. Our farmers grew. The produce grew. And cultural exchange grew. We could not have ever imagined the success that 2011 brought.

In 2012, we are beginning a push for an even greater growth. Stay interested! Many new, HUGE  projects are in the works. We hope to reach the heights we dreamed of since the beginning of this project. We will be sure to keep you updated!

Until then, check out how fantastic our refugees growers performed in 2011!

Burmese Chin Baung growing in full force

How amazing are Columbia’s refugees?? They are survivors who relocate to a world vastly different from their own and succeed in rebuilding their lives from the ground up. Refugees possess a resilience that has brought them from war-torn jungles and deserts that we only read about in the papers to our own beautiful city. Along their journey to Columbia, refugees have gained in innovative spirit towards life that is so evident in this year’s garden.

Refugees have utilized space never intended to be gardened in order to gain a few extra feet of  growing space. They have used a single thread and fallen tree branches to build a trellis system to support their tomato plants. The  use piece of twine to tie their cabbage plants shut to create a tighter head of cabbage. They have built another expansive trellis system from twine and branches that stretches across 6 garden plots to provide support for their squash.

It is simply amazing what our city’s refugees can accomplish given just a few resources. This is why we will begin a campaign in the coming months to identify possible sites to expand the garden. It has always been our dream to create an urban farm where refugees can use their skills to grow commercially and provide a place where Columbians can learn about the world without leaving the city limits.  Know of any possible sites?

Also, check out this article about Refugee/Immigrant Day at the Columbia Farmer’s Market. Next year we will be teaming up with the Farmer’s Market to expand our World Refugee Day!

Until next post, enjoy pictures of our growers’ innovative spirit.

The Path between the fence and the plots is slowing disappearing (Burmese).

Tomato plants growing along the fence where grass used to be  (Burmese).

Trellis system for squash plants (Burmese).

Trellis system for tomato plants (Eritrean).

Tied cabbage heads (Burmese).

However, with a year of growing experience and another year of English immersion came an increased confidence and familiarity in the garden. It is hard not to swell with pride when we see the “Community” aspect taking shape!

I was sent a story earlier this week about an interaction between one of our refugee growers and a Columbia native. I have omitted names for confidentiality purposes.

As you probably know, the refugee families are out in mass every evening working in their gardens.  It’s almost impossible to get a hose when they are there, so I have avoided evenings and decided to go in the morning, when fewer people would be out there and I could water without waiting my turn for a hose (which could be a long wait.  So, there I am: hose by a tomato plant slowling soaking each tomato as I prepared a bed for beans.  Here comes a [refugee] couple.  Then, the woman approaches me and asks if they can use the hose.  I told her I was watering the tomatoes.  She said, “Not very long…just 3 minutes”…”Sure, that’s fine” I said.  Then, I noticed that the gentleman had watered their plot and was way over in the other garden watering…more like 20 minutes later.  She was all this time, right in the next plot and we had talked about them being from Burma and what she was planting.  I am getting perturbed and thinking, ” I’m never going to get that hose back!  What was I thinking telling them they could use it?”  Pretty soon, back he comes with the hose.  I set it on my tomatoes that were left and continued with the bean bed.  Then I noticed that he has taken the hose again and is watering my tomatoes!  I’m not happy!  He wants the hose back and is giving them a quick water so he can have it!  The lady says to me, “He just loves watering.” I am grumbling to myself…great plan getting there in the morning…heh?  As I am about to leave she comes over to me and says, “You are our neighbor.  Any time we are here, we will water your garden for you”.Then, I saw how our cultures had bumped up againt each other: me, the greedy, grabby American “Christian” face to face with a kinder gentler culture….lessons to be learned here.

1,000 blog posts could be written about this story. It simply speaks volumes to the importance of our refugee program to our community. It is such a perfect example of how we can learn from each others differences while sharing our similarities.

Our growers have not only engaged with the “locals,” but they’ve also begun to teach each other. Last year, our Burmese refugees learned that the soil in Missouri is heavy with clay. Many abandoned their first crops, built trenches and mounds, and began again.This year, the Burmese are putting to use the knowledge they gained from last year. It is easy to spot a Burmese garden plot because they sit a full foot taller than the surrounding plots with deep trenches running between their planting sites.

And our Eritrean refugees have taken notice. Eritrea has a drought prone climate, which affects the way the Eritreans farm. Many of the Eritrean growers dug the same mounds and trenches that the Burmese did; however, they then planted their seeds and seedlings into the trenches. What a great insight into the diverse livelihoods that they have come from! The Burmese come from a wet climate and plant in mounds (to increase drainage), but the Eritreans come from a dry climate and plant in trenches (to conserve water). Being the resilient people that they are, the Eritreans quickly saw the need to adjust and have begun planting in the mounds.

This has been one of the more exciting posts to be written. It has been such a good growing year as our refugees have begun to integrate into the “community” aspect of the community garden. One could have never anticipated the overwhelming success of this garden and the hope that it gives.

The 2011 Refugee Garden season has begun as refugees have begun to plant. We are excited because our growers are getting a much earlier start this year than last, and we cannot wait to see what the refugees can do with an extra month of growing! It has been a much slower start this year though. Much blame falls on the all the rain we have been receiving in the last 2 weeks. Also, refugees have not been able to get to the garden as much as they did last year. You would think we would be discouraged, but no! This is actually a great sign of the success of our program. Last year, many of our growers were not working and had much more free time. This year, a large majority of our growers are working full-time jobs. We gladly welcome a slow start if it means our growers are working!!!

The Iraqi brothers are back. They dedicated 1 plot to growing 42 tomato plants! Like last year, they dedicated another plot to growing only flowers! In a few months, the back plot of the garden will be full of marigolds!

One of our new growers and newest arrivals was the first of the Burmese to break ground. When watching the Burmese garden, I am always amazed at how confident and skilled they are even if they have only been in Missouri for a few weeks. We’re excited to see the garden fill with Chin Baung again!

Our new Eritrean growers were the first in the garden. It will be exciting to see a new culture and new farming techniques in the coming weeks. I made an interesting observation about the diversity of our growers while watching the Eritreans garden that I will save for our next post.

Thanks for reading and please feel free to come visit the garden! We are planning an event at the garden for World Refugee Day on June 18th. Stay in touch for details!

First, thank you to Jenny and her husband Isaac for their financial donation to this year’s garden. Jenny brought our office’s filing system up-to-date, while working for our office. She continued to support Columbia’s refugees with her donation all the way from Louisville, KY.

Secondly, thank you to The Crossing Church for their financial donation. We received their donation this morning and are excited to announce that we have reached our funding goal for this year!

Both of these donations will be used to purchase seeds and seedlings for our growers in this year’s garden.

Thirdly, thank you to Broadway Christian Church for being so accommodating and allowing so many of our growers to access their community garden. It has truly impacted our refugee community in an unmeasurable way.

Lastly, thank you to all of you who follow this blog and continue to support our refugee community. We could not possibly offer all these wonderful opportunities to refugees without your help!

The first step in the process is always discovering the interest to grow in the garden within our refugee community. Last year was our first year. You can imagine the difficulties in trying to explain what a community garden is and how it works to people from all over the world. However, this year, the word has gotten out about the garden. Before I even mentioned the 2011 garden to any of our refugees, I had an email in my inbox with a list of 25 Burmese growers. As word of the last year’s garden spreads, the list of this year’s growers continues  to grow!

The 2011 Garden by the Numbers.
37      The number of expected refugee growers.
17     Growers returning from last year.
20  New growers.
3    Iraqi brothers who will return to the garden this year.
25   Estimated number of tomato plants they will plant this year.

This year, we will be getting a much earlier start on planting than we did in 2010. We cannot wait to see what the refugees can do with a year’s experience and a full month longer of growing season!

Be sure to check back for updates as each day brings us closer to planting! If you are interested in getting involved with the garden, we are accepting cash donations to purchase seeds and seedlings and tool donations. Contact Phil at 573-442-7568 for more information.

This could not be more true than for the refugee growers who have had both times of sorrow and times of joy that we could only imagine. As the season comes to an end, hopefully the garden has provided our growers with a few more times of laughter and joy.

One of our growers who had a particularly difficult year had this to say, ” For me the garden is helpful for a healthy life, [it] gives me happiness whenever I was sad and unhappy. And I can eat fresh curry too.”

His only hope is that next year he can have some more space to garden in next year so his curry tree can grow even bigger. I think we can make that happen.

Thanks for following all year long!

At the beginning of the season, many of our refugees heavily planted peppers, tomatoes, corn, and eggplants in their plots. Unfortunately the rain has limited these plants’ production. Once again though, our refugees not only adapted but have succeeded in their plots.

It is hard to tell which African plot belongs to which African as they have allowed their beans to all grow together.

The Iraqi brothers have forgone their tomatoes to focus on their flowers. They have the most colorful plot at the garden.

Our Burmese have removed their corn, tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant and focused on growing okra (above) and Chin Baung (below). They have even found a small market for the Chin Baung.

Thanks for reading. I hope you can make it out to the garden before the growing season comes to a close. Thank you for all your support and interest that has made this year possible for our refugees.