Amid lease dispute, refugee farmers at City Heights garden form their own group in San Diego
Located in one of the city’s most diverse neighborhoods, New Roots Community Farm is a key cultural asset that has served as a sanctuary for refugees, many of whom have been able to find grounding there after surviving life-altering violent conflict.
By Philip Salata
In resource
January 19, 2024
Excerpt:
Facing eviction threats amid an ongoing lease dispute, a group of refugees who tend crops at the New Roots Community Farm say they’re taking matters into their own hands.
Last week, the farmers filed paperwork to form a nonprofit. Their goal: Bypass the City Heights Community Development Corp., which operates the farm on land the City of San Diego has said is city-owned, and seek permission to manage the garden themselves.
But this week the City Heights CDC made a move of its own – they told some of those farmers that by 6 p.m. Saturday their presence on the farm would be treated as criminal trespassing.
Located in one of San Diego’s most diverse neighborhoods, the farm is broadly recognized as part of a groundbreaking project that has provided a space for refugees from around the world to build community around diverse farming practices and crops.
