CHICAGO - Hidden in a quiet corner of Chicago's busy Albany Park neighborhood lies the Global Garden Refugee Training Farm.

The 2-year-old farm was founded with government money and covers slightly more than an acre. It is tended by people from the African country of Congo and the Asian nations of Bhutan and Myanmar. All of them were forced to leave their home countries. They are called refugees. It is the only refugee farm in the state of Illinois.

The farm gives refugees living in the city a chance to return to the farm lives many were forced to leave behind. They can grow fresh vegetables for traditional dishes, get fresh air, exercise and socialize.

No Worries Here

"When I get here, I'm so happy," said Matun Myint, 43, a refugee from Myanmar. "I don't have any worries."

She and the other refugees have had plenty of worries elsewhere.

The Burmese refugees from Myanmar escaped when their country, once called Burma, was under military rule. They spent as many as 20 years in a camp for refugees in Thailand.

The refugees from Bhutan are a minority in their country. They fled Bhutan after the government banned the free expression of their original Nepalese culture in 1989. They spent years in refugee camps in Nepal before they started moving to the U.S. in 2008.

"These are people who never chose to leave their homes; they were kicked out," said farm manager Linda Seyler. "When they arrive here, they don't speak English."

The farm encourages meetings among refugees and with neighbors at the twice-weekly farmers market, she said.

"You come to the market stand and there is so much that happens between the farmers and their neighbors," she said.

Sharing Recipes

They share recipes and learn from people from other places how to use the same vegetables in different ways.

"This is a place to socialize, to learn, and a place to relax," said Hasta Bhattarai, who until recently was the program coordinator of the Bhutanese Community Association of Illinois.

Some 100 families, mostly from Bhutan and Myanmar, use the farm plots. Another portion of the farm is planted and worked by the rest of the local community. Vegetables grown there are sold at farmers markets twice a week. The proceeds from the sales help pay for the farm's costs.

Families can sell their extra produce at the markets too. Last year, farmers earned as much as $980 in a season. The farmers could earn even more this year because they will also be selling at the Horner Park Farmers Market.

Many of the refugees were farmers in their native lands, some on very large farms. "Most of us, including myself, had big plots in Bhutan," Bhattarai said.

They grew grains like rice, millet and wheat. Some raised cows and made their own butter and cheese. Sha Darnal, 26, said his father had 20 acres in Bhutan and plowed the fields using bulls.

However, farming in Albany Park is different because of the size of the plots and the colder weather.

Surprised By Winter

The refugees from Burma had never seen winter. The first time Myint saw snow on the ground, she was so curious that she ate some.

They were used to planting year-round, said Tah Mae, 40. "Here, when the weather gets cold, all the plants die," he said.

Working such small plots also has taken some adjustment.

In Bhutan, "we had big land," said Buddhi Darjee, 42. "Here we have a very limited space."

Even so, she is very fond of the farm. "Once I am in the garden, I don't want to go home," she said. The farm is good for refugees' physical and mental health, said Yvette Kyaw, a health promoter for the Heartland Alliance.

"They come here and they are depressed. They miss their country," she said. "But they say, 'When we get stressed out, we just come down to the garden.'"

Healthy Food, Extra Money

The refugee farm was born when Seyler saw a notice about money support from the Refugee Agricultural Partnership Program (RAPP), a government office.

RAPP supports small farms across the country to help refugee families grow healthy food, earn extra money and encourage better physical and mental health.

Seyler, who used to volunteer in Thailand, wrote a letter asking for support and in 2010, received a three-year startup grant for a refugee farm in Chicago.

Refugees began working on the plots at four community gardens in 2011. Then, LaManda Joy, who worked at the garden project, spotted a big empty space in Albany Park. That plot was also closer to the homes of many refugees.

The lot turned out to be owned by the city. But the City Council approved its use for the refugee garden, and in 2012 the farm was finally opened. ]]>