Viet Village Urban Farm – New Orleans

This farm will create green jobs and provide healthy food to the community

The Viet Village Urban Farm project represents an effort to reestablish the tradition of local farming in this community after Katrina. New Orleans East was one of the most damaged areas of the city New Orleans during the storms of 2005. In response to the devastation, the community has organized around the idea of creating an urban farm and market as the center of the community. The farm, located on 28-acres in the heart of the community, will be a combination of small-plot gardening for family consumption, larger commercial plots focused on providing food for local restaurants and grocery stores in New Orleans, and a livestock area for raising chickens and goats in the traditional Vietnamese way.

The BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has been an environmental and economic disaster for communities throughout the region. With a heavy base in the fishing industry, the local Vietnamese community has been one of the hardest hit. Local leaders are working to create quality, long-term green jobs to offset the economic costs of the oil spill.

The Mary Queen of Viet Nam Community Development Corporation supports New Orleans East, a large Vietnamese and African-American community. It provides business development, affordable housing, urban farm, community organizing, social services, healthcare outreach, and environmental justice programs. Now, it is hoping its plans for a 28-acre Viet Village Urban Farm can help lead New Orleans to a sustainable future. This farm will create green jobs and provide healthy food to the community. The organization is hoping to break ground in 2011.

See Winner: Viet Village – 2008 ASLA Excellence Award here.

See more about the Viet Village project here.