General Information

The Somali Bantu Community Development Project is very lucky this year to leverage the knowledge and skills of two interns: Carrie McCabe and Katie Spencer.  (Carrie is in the blue, and Katie is in the green.)  Both interns are graduate students at the Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy at Tufts University in Boston.
 

Tibetan Restaurant New American Business Center
What sort of businesses refugees start is an interesting question for the Microenterprise Grantees in the Office of Refugee Resettlement project. Over the period of 15 years, we have seen many restaurants, cleaning busineses, taxis, and they are still some of the most common businesses.  We have also seen new trends: envirnomentally friendly, web-based businesses toname a few.

International Rescue Committee RAPP staff Tim Olorunfemi: "Maker of Okra Kings!"
 
IRC Phoenix and Tim Olorunfemi provide very useful financial and business training to clients enrolled in its RAPP project. We thank IRC and Tim for sharing the attached curriculum which can be adapted for your practice.
 

RAPP clients Anna and Vasily at work in their Mercy Corp sponsored market garden.
 
David Beller, who manages the Refugee Agriculture Promotion Project (RAPP) for Mercy Corps in Portland, Orgeon, assists clients to understand the financial aspects of their farming and gardening efforts by teaching short budgeting classes. David kindly shares the attached budgeting templates. You are free to copy and revise for your practices.

Our colleague Pahoua Xiong, from United Hmong Association of Hickory, North Carolina, has completed research on rules used by organizations to structure and govern Community Garden operations. Attached is the result of her research, which will be used by UHA for their community garden this coming growing season. Pahoua has graciously granted permission to use and adapt.
 

 
The Impacts of Local Markets: A Review of Research on Farmers Markets and Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)