Droupada Luitel chatted with friend Parvati Subedi as they walked to their garden plot at the Winooski Valley Community Garden area in Burlington recently. They had been working on their gardens for five days straight and May 20 they had some broccoli seedlings to plant. The produce they grow they will sell at local farmers markets.
Translator Bhakti Adhikari of Burlington helped New Farms for New Americans program specialist Josie Weldon explain the different seeds she handed out and the plan for next week. The program is part of The Association of Africans Living in Vermont which serves all local refugees now, including this group of refugees from Bhutan. Many are experiencing their first summer in Vermont. The New Farms for New Americans program serves 50 refugee households.
“We help folks sign up for community gardens for their households and more,” Weldon, 27, said. “This is our incubator garden and it serves about 40 households. We have been training through the winter to learn about how to market produce in Vermont and how to garden here because there is a definite difference in farming from where they come from.”
Adhikari said the Bhutanese people who had come to garden are no strangers to the trade. “They have spent most of their lives farming 12 months a year, but because of the climate in Vermont, there is not much time to farm like in Bhutan,” he said.
Sha Mongar, 62, said through translator that he came to America six months ago because of the political climate of his country. One son is here with him, and he’s waiting for another son to join them.
Adhikari said that in Bhutan there is no electricity and people live in small huts “with nothing to remove those conditions so we are here.”
Back home, Mongar grew beans, corn, peas, onions and rice.
Weldon said the goal with this garden is to support market gardeners. “Last year we were at five local farmers markets,” she said. “These farmers are growing organic, fresh foods for their family and community. This program fosters entrepreneurship. People have grossed up to $1,000, but most will make about $100 or $200.”
The wheelbarrows and hand tools they are using are falling apart. They do everything by hand and need work gloves, spades, harvest knives, bins and hoes.
“Immigrants are one of the most rewarding parts of the community,” Weldon said. “You put in a little bit of help, and they take really great strides. Everyday is interesting. It’s pretty amazing. I can stay home and feel like I’m traveling.”
Laxmi Neopeney, 72, of Burlington is the oldest of the group. He came to Vermont 16 months ago from Bhutan. He said he likes Vermont because there’s not as much farming and more time for visiting with neighbors.
“In our culture if they are not working they gather,” Adhikari said. “They sit and drink tea and everyone visits each other every day. Now we brought that custom here. We share everything with each other and are always visiting and sharing meals together.”
Back home Adhikari was a math teacher. “Now I am a very busy translator,” he said. “I have many jobs.”
To donate or volunteer call Josie Weldon at 343-7007 or e-mail he at josieweldon.aalv@yahoo.com.
Source: Burlington Free Press
By Lynn Monty
