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

DUNBARTON, N.H.-- It's harvest time in central New Hampshire, and one farm there appears to have been transplanted from a distant continent.

Farmers balance large crates laden with vegetables on their heads while chatting in Somali and other languages.As the sun burns away the early morning mist, the farmers pick American staples like corn and tomatoes as well as crops they grew up with, like okra and sorrel.

Many of the women wear vibrant orange, red and blue fabrics.Most workers at this Dunbarton farm are refugees who have escaped harrowing wars and persecution.They come from the African nations of Burundi, Rwanda, Somalia and Congo, and they now run their own small businesses, selling their crops to local markets as well as to friends and connections in their ethnic communities.

Farming provides them with both an income and a taste of home.“I like it in the USA.I have my own job," says Somali refugee and farmer Khadija Aliow as she hams it up by sashaying past a reporter, using one hand to steady the crate of crops on her head and the other to give a thumbs-up.

"Happy.I’m so happy.”The farm is owned by a New Hampshire-based nonprofit, the Organization for Refugee and Immigrant Success, which lets the farmers use plots of land and provides them with training and support.

The organization runs similar farms in Concord and the nearby town of Boscawen.In all, 36 people from five African countries, including South Sudan, and the Asian nation of Nepal work on the farms.

Many were farmers in their home countries before coming to the U.S.or 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," he said.

"And to have another sense of purpose, and a way that they can bring themselves into the community, and belong.And really participate in th...