Photo credit; Africa News
Refugees in New Hampshire, a state in the United States, have turned to farming for an income and a taste of home.
AP reports that refugees from Burundi, Rwanda, Somalia, Congo, and Nepal have gone into farming. The farm is owned by a New Hampshire-based nonprofit, the Organization for Refugee and Immigrant Success. The organization allows the farmers to use plots of land and provides them with training and support. The organization also runs similar farms in Concord and the nearby town of Boscawen.
Most of the farmers at Dunbarten Farm have escaped harrowing wars and persecution from their countries. They now run their own small businesses, selling their crops to local markets, friends, and connections in their ethnic communities. Farming provides them with both an income and a taste of home.
Khadija Allow, a Somali refugee and farmer, said, “I like it in the USA. I have my own job. Happy. I’m so happy.”
Thirty-six people work on the farms. Many were farmers in their home countries before coming to the US, and some had previous experience with agriculture, said Tom McGee, a program director with the nonprofit.
“These are farmers who are basically independent business owners who are working in partnership with our organization to be able to bring this produce to life in this country. And to have another sense of purpose and a way that they can bring themselves into the community and belong. And really participate in the American dream,” he said.
The nonprofit runs a food market in Manchester, where people can buy fresh produce or sign up to have boxes delivered. McGee said a few other programs with similar aims are scattered throughout the US. He said his organization relies on state and federal funding and private donations.
