Billy Delfs: Urban Farming With Refugees

For the past few months Ohio-based photographer Billy Delfs has been working with nonprofit organization The Refugee Response (TRR) to document their programs. Refugee Response, based in northeastern Ohio empowers refugees to become self-sufficient and contributing members of their new communities through various programs. Billy was contacted by the organization and asked to produce images for a fundraising event at which the Indian-American activist Arun Gandhi would be speaking. The images ended up being printed at 20×30 for display at the event.

According to TRR each year 1,300 to 1,900 refugees settle in Ohio. Since 2007, Cuyahoga County has welcomed 862 refugees from countries including Burma, Bhutan, Somalia, Ukraine, Russia and Iraq. When these newcomers arrive in Northeast Ohio, they often have little money, few contacts and a limited understanding of U.S. culture. The primary goal of REAP is to empower the refugee trainees participating in the program by helping them acquire transferrable skills that they can continue to use, long after completing the program. To this end, TRR conducts biweekly workshops that focus on agricultural education led by the REAP program director. REAP is the Refugee Empowerment Agricultural Program that operates the Ohio City Farm, the largest contiguous urban farm in the nation which was recently named a national model for urban agriculture by the USDA. The Ohio City farm nourishes the community with local food by employing refugee trainees from around the world teaching them employable skill sets that will in turn stimulate the region’s economic development.

To see more of Billy’s work visit billydelfs.com and to learn more about TRR visit therefugeeresponse.org

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