Episode 143. Connecting Refugees to Sustainable Agriculture

In today’s episode of Voices from the Field, we learn about a program in Texas that connects refugees with sustainable agriculture. Colin Mitchell, Sustainable Agriculture Specialist at NCAT’s Southwestern Regional Office in San Antonio, Texas, visits with New Leaf Agriculture’s Director, Matt Simon, and a New Leaf Agriculture farm apprentice Doli Wikongo.

New Leaf Agriculture is a social enterprise of the Multicultural Refugee Coalition based in Elgin, Texas, near Austin. It connects refugees to sustainable farming opportunities by operating community gardens and a commercial farm. Matt discusses New Leaf’s mission, farm practices, and community partners. Doli, a refugee, describes her experiences from her home country of the Democratic Republic of Congo, and her transition to life in Austin, Texas, that led her back to a life of farming.

For more information on this topic, you can contact Colin Mitchell directly at colinm@ncat.org.

Related ATTRA Resources:

Sustainable Agriculture: An Introduction

Other Resources:

Multicultural Refugee Coalition website

New Leaf Agriculture website

New Leaf Agriculture Facebook

New Leaf Agriculture Instagram

Please call ATTRA with any and all of your sustainable agriculture questions at 800-346-9140 or e-mail us at askanag@ncat.org. Our two dozen specialists can help you with a vast array of topics, everything from farm planning to pest management, from produce to livestock, and soils to aquaculture.

You can get in touch with NCAT/ATTRA specialists and find our other extensive, and free, sustainable-agriculture publications, webinars, videos, and other resources at NCAT/ATTRA’s website.

You can also stay in touch with NCAT at its Facebook page.