At New Roots, we don’t just work with farmers, we work with farm families. It is typical to see farmer’s partners helping in the field or their kids running around the farm. Farmers are teaching their children how to grow food and the value in nurturing the land and each other through food.
Nowhere is the concept of a farm family more apparent than Ki Koko Farms, a 2.5-acre farm in central KCK. Ki Koko, which translates to ‘two sisters’ in their native language, is owned by sisters Beh Paw Gaw and Pay Lay, who were early graduates of the program in 2011.
Beh Paw, who grew up farming, is an excellent grower and an energetic presence, but she is at the point in her life where she would like to step back from the day-to-day operations of the business. With the help of New Roots staff, she is now transitioning the business to her youngest daughter, Ta Eh Gaw. This is one of the first, but likely not the last, multigenerational farms to begin at New Roots.
What is New Roots:
Since 2008, Cultivate KC and Catholic Charities of Northeast Kansas have been collaborating to manage New Roots, a four-year training program that supports new Americans with agricultural experience to become independent farmers. The goal for farmers in the program is to learn how to successfully grow in the Kansas City region and to acquire the marketing skills and confidence to start – and grow – their own local farm businesses.
The four-year training program includes (but is not limited to):
- Workshops and demonstrations covering topics from pest control to marketing
- Access to a quarter-acre plot on the training farm, infrastructure (greenhouse, washstand, coolers) soil preparation, farm equipment and supplies
- Regular field walks with trained staff
- Assistance with selling their product at local farmers markets, wholesale to restaurants and through an aggregated CSA program
Farmers in the program commit to:
- Attending workshops and classes
- Saving a percentage of their sales for future farm business purchases
- Selling through three sales outlets during their time in the program, including: market(s), wholesale, and the New Roots Farm Share CSA
Graduate Farmer support may include:
- Assistance finding land to buy or lease
- Technical assistance applying for funding opportunities through the USDA, FSA, and other organizations
- Help setting up independent farm business logos and insurance
- Continuing on-site support: field walks, farm management consultation, and new project ideation
As the program capacity and base of graduate farmers has grown, New Roots has expanded the services we’re able to provide program graduates as well as build stronger community relationships with other area growers and neighbors in Northeast Kansas City, Kansas.
