Farming comes quite naturally for Zhour Naim. Her father taught her how to farm as a child while living in Morocco. Although working land in North Africa was not ideal for a child, Naim did anything to help feed her family.
“In many countries, people depend on their agriculture to put food on the table and to sell the rest of the surplus to have extra money,” Naim said. “My father passed away, but we had to help him on the farm … at the time we were not very happy working hard on the farm.”
She especially hated collecting olives during the winter because the land was frozen. However, today, she draws from those same farming techniques that she learned as a child and applies them to the international urban farmland she helps manage for SEED St. Louis.
“I personally feel there is some positive energy I feel [when I garden] early in the morning,” Naim said while picking fresh vegetables. “This is my choice, just to make my hands dirty.”
Naim is one of 39 immigrant and refugee farmers who rent out rows of land on the 42,000-square-foot public-facing farm in the Botanical Heights neighborhood in south St. Louis. It is nestled between homes and the Willert Home Products manufacturing company off Folsom Avenue.
The farmers are Congolese, Tanzanian, Moroccan, Nepali, Burmese and Afghan. They grow greens, potatoes, beans, radishes, walking onions, corn, lettuce, garlic and cilantro. They also use the land to grow vegetables and fruits that are native to their homeland and are hard to find in St. Louis grocery stores or farmers markets.
Many refugees and immigrants long to feel at home while in a new land. To help them stay connected, they bring seeds from their home countries and plant them each season.
“I hardly can find fava beans, artichoke or the stems of the artichoke … those are kind of rare,” Naim said.
The International Institute of St. Louis started the international farm in 2008 with funds from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Office of Refugee Resettlement. In 2018, the international farm was added to SEED St. Louis’ land trust and in 2020, it took over the farm from the International Institute. It is funded through donations and a grant from the USDA’s People’s Garden program, which helps connect people to community gardens to produce local foods and practice sustainability.
“The more we can engage communities, the stronger our communities become, especially for New Americans, bringing knowledge of a different country into our farming situation, helping us understand much of the produce and the crops that we grow in the United States,” said Brian Guse, USDA’s Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovation Production director. “We learn from immigrants that came in or [from people who] were brought in through slavery. A lot of the food that we grow now is very diverse because of that.”
In St. Louis, nearly 5% of the population is foreign-born. Thirty percent of the immigrant and refugee farmers at the international farm receive federal assistance and harvest food at the south city farm to feed their families for months. The garden is one of 17 urban farms in the U.S. that is a part of the People’s Garden program.
SEED St. Louis also provides farming tools and materials, soil, compost and continuing education for those who rent parts of the land from the organization. Farmers can lease plots of land for one year. Short beds are $3 and $5 for long beds.
SEED’s international farms play a vital role in giving immigrants a chance to grow fresh food that is culturally significant to them, said Matt Schindler, CEO of SEED St. Louis.
“In addition to providing nutritious produce, the farm promotes physical activity and mental well-being,” he said. “It also creates a supportive community where immigrants from around the world can connect, share experiences and support each other in their new home.”
Naim said when she first moved to St. Louis 15 years ago, she started working the land before it was an international farm because she missed her family and wanted to participate in something familiar to her. She has seen the farm flourish and die due to changing seasons or infestation.
She is tied to the land now and treats it as if it were her child, caring for it every chance she gets.
“It’s also a nursery as if you have a baby every morning. I have to come out and see what's growing and what's coming out, and sometimes it's a big surprise like, ‘Oh, I didn't see this growing here.’ … It's like treasure, and it’s an amazing feeling,” Naim said.
With the rising costs of groceries, she said her garden is a bonus that has saved her hundreds of dollars over the years.
“I was saving even before COVID when the food was not that expensive. I cure my garlic, and I don't buy garlic for six months and that in itself is a lot of savings,” Naim said. “When there are plenty of tomatoes, I will puree them and freeze them, and because I don't buy the canned ones, it's fresh, it's organic and it's free.”
Through grant programming and educational courses, Guse said, the USDA wants to help teach the next generation of farmers.
“Agriculture is one of the easiest ways to bring people together because no matter what your differences are, you have to do exactly the same type of work to grow,” he said.
Naim's sons began helping her weed, irrigate, plant seeds and pick food to eat for the day since she started working on the farm. Farming has become a norm in their family.
“It is definitely obvious to them that they are going to continue and see the benefit of it after their hard work. You go home with a basket of fresh produce, and you enjoy every bite that you grow,” Naim said. “I feel proud that this is our movement.”
