CLEVELAND, Ohio— Nestled in the heart of Ohio City sits the Ohio City Farm.
- The farm provides jobs for refugees and helps them acclimate
- Supports local restaurants and their own workers
- Uniquely situated in the middle of the city
Inside are rows of seasonal produce overlooking the Cleveland skyline—and the former refugees who make it all happen.
“To see many different people from different countries and some of them have a similar situation. But all of them, we are refugees,” said Hsar Doe, former refugee/Ohio City Farm manager.
Hsar Doe arrived in Cleveland in 2012 after seeking refuge from the Asian country of Myanmar—also known as Burma.
Doe says the Ohio City Farm helped acclimate him to his new country and new community.
“When we work here, we can see a lot of the visitors or the guests who come to the farm and they are pretty, very nice to us and we don’t feel very lonely... especially when you first arrive here and you don’t know any language and you don’t know anything,” said Doe.
Doe now manages the farm.
He says the best part of working at the Ohio City Farm is serving his community.
The Ohio City Farm grows produce for people to pick up from their farm stand.
The farm also supplies produce to more than 20 local restaurants.
“We know many restaurants support us. We are very happy to grow for them and to serve some of our vegetables that they like,” said Doe.
“It’s truly hyper-local produce right here from inside the city,” said Rachel Ramos, Ohio City Farm marketing director. “It’s so neat to be a part of such a unique organization that not only has you know, provided jobs for people who are former refugees but also is just so uniquely situated here in the middle of the city.”
Not only does the Ohio City Farm employ former refugees— it allows them to take home produce to their families.
“I have a family, plus I have more relatives and friends from the same refugee camp and many of the vegetables here are pretty new to us, but we can still use many of them. Like... the most popular that you can’t find in an Asian market are the tomatoes, beans or the pepper, and we can still use some of them,” said Doe.
Doe is on his way to becoming a citizen.
And he says a good citizen of the United States is exactly what he wants to be.
“I’ve been in this country for a while and personally, I always want to be a good citizen here and we will always keep up good work to serve the community.” said Doe.
