Faculty explore impact of refugee urban farmers on Houston’s sustainability at Plant It Forward event
Farming isn’t usually the first thing that comes to mind when people think of Houston, but it was the focus of a recent faculty panel discussion at the Alfred Neumann Library. University of Houston-Clear Lake (UHCL) faculty members Dr. Dawit Woldu, Dr. Christine Kovic, and urban farmer Constance Ungola, spoke during the event. The presentation, “Sustainability and Refugee Urban Farmers in Houston: The Case of Plant It Forward,” highlighted the many valuable farming contributions of immigrants and refugees in the city.
“This lecture was part of a five-part series created by the Human Sciences and Humanities (HSH) associate dean, Dr. Shreerekha Subramanian,” said Kovic, an anthropology professor. “She wanted to create a platform for faculty to share their ongoing research with their colleagues and the rest of the university community. The topic of the farming lecture is relevant to people in the city as it relates to fighting food deserts, flooding, and climate change.”
Kovic, Woldu, and Dr. Femi Ayadi, a UH-Clear Lake healthcare administration professor, spoke with farmers of the Houston community-based organization Plant It Forward to learn more about urban agriculture. This organization provides land to refugee farmers from Africa to grow and sell food in the Houston region. One of the study’s goals was to determine if urban agriculture could transform immigrant communities and build a socially sustainable society.
“We carried out interviews with the farmers of Plant It Forward, visited various farms, and joined several workdays,” said Woldu, an associate professor of anthropology. “Our research attempts to explore refugee farmers’ experience growing different kinds of produce, and how they connect themselves to these agricultural products both at the economic and cultural level.”
A sustainability grant from the UHCL institute formerly known as IHAPS allowed the faculty to conduct the interviews, visit the farms, and engage in other observations. Cross-Cultural Studies Master of Arts student Pete Torres assisted in some of the interviews and other aspects of the research. The professors’ discoveries address how the farmers apply their knowledge and expertise from their home countries to the city of Houston. Kovic, Woldu, and Ayadi also noted how these individuals connect with other Houstonians through farming.
“In our presentation, we shared examples of how the farms make visible the work of producing the food we eat in Houston and some of the ways the farms support sustainability in the Houston region,” said Ayadi. “Our findings show that farming provided an opportunity for these individuals to introduce themselves to different vegetables and fruits from other cultures. It also created the opportunity to educate students from Houston school districts about how food is produced.”
The farmers provided information on what crops they grow at Plant It Forward farms and details on great creativity and cross-cultural communication. Roselle, cassava, chipilin, and sweet potato greens are just a few of the many plants currently growing on the farms.
Although it’s called a “faculty lecture series,” this series is a collaborative effort involving staff, students, and the community. Kovic said some other faculty colleagues have already expressed interest in supporting the overall mission of the series.
Whether you’re a faculty member, staff member, student, or community member, there are ways for you to get involved in the project, too. To learn more about Plant It Forward, including opportunities to volunteer, go to plantitforward.farm/takeaction/.