Along the peaceful North Branch of the Chicago River, nestled right between Lawrence and Sacramento streets, is the Global Garden Refugee Farm. As the name suggests, it is an urban farm run by and utilized solely by Chicago’s refugee community since 2012. Amid limited space and a city with unfavorable winter farming conditions, the farm has been a pillar of support for refugees; while some farmers sustainably grow culturally significant ingredients on their “family plots” for personal consumption, others harvest produce and later sell it at various farmers markets across the city – proving just how impactful community initiatives can be. After visiting the farm a few times in the fall with my camera, I got to know some of the farmers. These are the photos I took to document their work on the farm during the fall of 2024.
Than Naing Oo harvests garlic inside the Global Garden largest hoop house on Monday, November 4, 2024. Naing Oo, a refugee from the Kayin State (formerly known as the Karen State) in Burma, is one of the farm’s seven market farmers and sells his produce to farmers markets around Chicago, primarily those in neighborhoods on the North Side such as Portage Park and Andersonville.
Husband and wife Ma Thenk Aye and Aunte Aye tend to their shared land plot at the Global Garden farm on Monday, November 4, 2024. Many of the farmers’ land plots utilize sustainable homemade tools and infrastructure to help with unfavorable weather conditions.
Celectine Chizanye, a refugee from Burundi who has worked at the Global Garden Refugee Farm since 2013, harvests wild spinach in her plot inside the agriculture tent on Saturday, October 5, 2024. The tent helps farmers extend the warmer seasons for their produce, allowing them to harvest and sell produce for almost nine months out of the year.
Celectine Chizanye washes a freshly harvested water spinach that is designated to be distributed through a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program on October 5, 2024. The washing station is located in the Global Garden Refugee Farm’s community area where farmers prepare produce and share meals.
A farmer tends to his plot designed for market farming on October 5, 2024. The space is surrounded by handmade infrastructure used to protect produce from unfavorable weather conditions.
Paw Ra harvests the last of the season’s pumpkin leaves on her family plot at the Global Garden farm on Monday, November 4, 2024.
Celectine Chizanye poses for a photograph before going to finish harvesting produce for the day and before the sun sets on Saturday, October 5, 2024.
One of the many Global Garden Refugee Farm’s water tanks filled with potable water used to water and sustain produce. Tanks are currently connected to a fire hydrant located on Lawrence Avenue, right outside the farm. However, the farm hopes to build an irrigation system with help from the city of Chicago, according to Development and Programs Manager Jessica Davis. Since the farm began in 2012, it was placed under a land trust owned by NeighborSpace but was sold in 2023 to the city of Chicago, which has assisted in providing the farm with new resources.
A family farmer in the Global Garden Refugee Farm peels vegetables inside his handmade agriculture tent on Saturday, October 5, 2024.
The Global Garden Refugee Farm in Chicago’s Albany Park neighborhood on Saturday, October 5, 2024. The farm, located behind a neighborhood community farm, is designed to be used just by refugees in the city of Chicago and is home to various types of produce including leafy greens, tomatoes and gourds, as well as produce native to Southeast Asia, including Opo squash, Thai basil, lemongrass and long beans.
Header by Jana Simovic
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