Karen people love gardening, and it’s traditionally a big part of their lives. But growing food in Bendigo is very different from the warm climate of their home country of Myanmar or in the refugee camps of Thailand, where many have spent decades of their lives. So, in a partnership with Bendigo Community Health Services’ and Long Gully Neighbourhood House, we have run two projects to support the Karen community to get active in growing food in Bendigo, through:
- Gardening workshops at Long Gully Community Garden and the development of video and printed resources in Karen language to share with the broader community.
- Supporting active volunteering – where better to combine volunteering and growing food than at our very own Golden Gums Farm
Both experiences have supported the participants’ learning about growing food in Bendigo, but the real value has been in the cross-sharing of gardening knowledge and experience with the group, including how to grow Karen traditional foods.
This was particularly evident during the volunteering pilot at Golden Gums farm, where the Karen participants were able to share their farming techniques with our young staff, creating a sense of contribution and teamwork.
The volunteers also really valued the benefits of physical health, social connection, English skills development and community service.