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Karen Community Farm at Oaky Grove is a community farm supporting Karen refugee farmers in Wendell, NC.

KCFOG provides land access and resources to Karen refugees who wish to farm.

Karen farmers are using chemical-free, environmentally responsible methods to grow

Asian vegetables and flowers on historical farmland.

Farming at Karen Community Farm at Oaky Grove

KCFOG was started in 2018 on historic farm land named Oaky Grove donated by Talmage Brown

This is the first refugee farm project of this type in Wake County.

The thriving Asian population in the Triangle region of NC, and the increasing demand for Asian cuisine has greatly increased demand for Asian specialty foods and produce.

Currently, there is no local production of some of these foods popular in local communities and at restaurants.

Karen Community Farm at Oaky Grove has the potential to become a local Asian vegetable supplier with the right infrastructure and support.

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Farmers at KCFOG have their own individual plots to grow produce, flowers or herbs.

All farmers grow without the use of chemicals or pesticides

Some farmers sell their products to local businesses and others grow for themselves and their families.

The farm is actively recruiting additional Karen farmers.

The Karen have been under oppression in Burma for hundreds of years, with the tension reaching a high point after World War II. As a result, the Karen have fled to Thailand and resettled to third countries as refugees.

Read about more about Karen history here.

Originating in Burma, the Karen have carried their cultural traditions and social norms to the United States other countries throughout the world. Learn about Karen arts, celebrations, economy, education, family and relationships, food, health, language and customs, and religion.

Who are the Karen?

Much thanks to the Karen Organization of Minnesota for being a rich in depth resource for the above Karen community information

Karen refugees lived in difficult and uncertain circumstances in refugee camps for 20+ years before being resettling in North Carolina thanks to the United Nation High Commission for Refugees and Lutheran Family Services.

Many Karen refugees have become US citizens. Maintaining a connection to their culture is very important.

Many of the KCFOG Farmers were farmers before they went into the refugee camps, and had small gardens in the camps to feed their families.

The KCFOG provides land and farming resources to Karen who want to farm and grow traditional Asian produce and flowers.

This allows farmers to maintain a tangible connection with the food culture they brought with them from their home country

Karen Refugees

Maintaining a connection to culture and community

KCFOG provides a place to grow traditional Karen food for farmer’s families and communities but it is also a place of community and healing.

KCFOG is also a place where the Karen community can gather to host events, eat food and reconnect.

What is Oaky Grove?

In 1798, Thomas Price purchased an estimated 353 acres in eastern Wake County for 400 pounds. At his death in 1830, the “farm” was a plantation with over 4,500 acres, five grist mills, a plantation home (circa 1818) and a store.

Today, 118 acres remain of the original farm and the homeplace, listed on the National Historic Registry, is being restored. The property is owned by Dr. Talmage Brown, the great, great, great grandson of Thomas Price. Of the 118 acres, 80 is planted in loblolly pine, 13 acres of open fields is rented to a local farmer and 3 acres is leased to the Karen Community Farm. There is room for the Karen Community Farm to eventually farm 8 acres.

In an area of North Carolina that is losing precious farmland at an alarming rate, 10 Numbers That Show How Much Farmland We're Losing to Development, the formation of Oaky Grove - Karen Community Farm assures that this historic farm will remain a farm for perpetuity.