Refugees in New Hampshire turn to farming for income and a taste of home

DUNBARTON, New Hampshire — 

It's harvest clip successful cardinal New Hampshire, and 1 workplace determination appears to person been transplanted from a distant continent.

Farmers equilibrium ample crates laden with vegetables connected their heads portion chatting successful Somali and different languages. As the prima burns distant the aboriginal greeting mist, the farmers prime American staples similar maize and tomatoes arsenic good arsenic crops they grew up with, similar okra and sorrel. Many of the women deterioration vibrant orange, reddish and bluish fabrics.

Most workers astatine this Dunbarton workplace are refugees who person escaped harrowing wars and persecution. They travel from the African nations of Burundi, Rwanda, Somalia and Congo, and they present tally their ain tiny businesses, selling their crops to section markets arsenic good arsenic to friends and connections successful their taste communities. Farming provides them with some an income and a sensation of home.

"I similar it successful the USA. I person my ain job," says Somali exile and husbandman Khadija Aliow arsenic she hams it up by sashaying past a reporter, utilizing 1 manus to dependable the crate of crops connected her caput and the different to springiness a thumbs-up. "Happy. I'm truthful happy."

The workplace is owned by a New Hampshire-based nonprofit, the Organization for Refugee and Immigrant Success, which lets the farmers usage plots of onshore and provides them with grooming and support. The enactment runs akin farms successful Concord and the adjacent municipality of Boscawen.

In all, 36 radical from 5 African countries, including South Sudan, and the Asian federation of Nepal enactment connected the farms. Many were farmers successful their location countries earlier coming to the U.S. oregon had erstwhile acquisition with agriculture, said Tom McGee, a programme manager with the nonprofit.

"These are farmers who are fundamentally autarkic concern owners, who are moving successful concern with our enactment to beryllium capable to bring this nutrient to beingness successful this country," helium said. "And to person different consciousness of purpose, and a mode that they tin bring themselves into the assemblage and belong. And truly enactment successful the American dream."

The nonprofit runs a nutrient marketplace successful Manchester, wherever radical tin bargain caller nutrient oregon motion up to person boxes delivered. McGee said determination are a fewer different programs with akin aims scattered passim the U.S. but that the exemplary remains comparatively rare. He said his enactment relies connected authorities and national funding, arsenic good arsenic backstage donations.

Farmer Sylvain Bukasa said helium escaped successful 2000 from the decades-long struggle successful Congo that has resulted successful millions of deaths. He spent six years with his woman and lad successful a exile campy successful Tanzania earlier being accepted into the U.S. successful 2006.

"I was disquieted for my safety," helium said. "I decided to conscionable spell determination wherever it's a small spot safer."

Bukasa said helium has worked hard since arriving successful the U.S. and relishes his caller life. But astatine archetypal helium missed the foods helium grew up with. He could lone find them successful specialized markets, wherever they tended to beryllium costly and of mediocre quality.

"Back location we ate much vegetables and little meat," helium said. "When we came here, it's much chicken, much pizza, things similar that. They sensation good, but it's not bully for you."

Bukasa started increasing crops connected the workplace successful 2011. The archetypal program connected the Dunbarton workplace was to let migrants similar him to turn accepted crops for themselves and their families. But request grew, peculiarly during the pandemic, prompting the farm's improvement into a commercialized operation.

For a fewer of the farmers, the harvest provides their superior income. For most, similar Bukasa, it's a broadside gig. He works fulltime arsenic a work cause for a rental car institution and travels whenever helium tin to thin his crippled of conscionable implicit 0.4 hectares. The biggest challenges are making definite his crops are adequately watered and stopping the weeds from taking over, helium said.

Mondays are harvest days, and connected a caller Monday, Bukasa listed the crops helium was picking: tomatoes, summertime squash, zucchini, kale, corn, okra, and the leaves from pumpkins and sorrel — which helium and the different migrants telephone sour-sour due to the fact that of its taste.

He said there's a amazingly ample Congolese assemblage passim New England, and they admit what helium grows.

"It's a hard job, but hard enactment is bully work," Bukasa said. "It's amusive and it helps people. I similar erstwhile I fulfill radical with the nutrient that they eat."

His imagination is to 1 time bargain his ain workplace with a mates of acres of land, truthful helium tin locomotion retired his beforehand doorway to thin to his crops alternatively than driving 20 minutes similar helium does now. A much contiguous challenge, helium said, is to enactment connected the selling broadside of his business.

He's got to the constituent wherever helium present grows much nutrient than he's capable to sell, and helium hates seeing immoderate of it spell to waste. One thought is to bargain a van, truthful helium tin present much nutrient himself.

"You spot the contention successful there," helium says with a grin, motioning toward the structure wherever different exile farmers lavation and battalion their crops. "See however galore farmers are trying to merchantability their produce."