Russian immigrant farms on S.E. 39th Avenue

By Merry Mackinnon

The Bee, Apr 30, 2008, Updated Oct 30, 2009

Merry MacKinnon / THE BEE

This half-acre facing S.E. 39th Avenue in Woodstock is enrolled in Mercy Corps Northwest’s inventory of land available to immigrants and refugees for small-scale farming. A Russiam immigrant found out about the charity’s New American Agriculture Project, and he is currently raising vegetables on the plot.

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When property owners allow immigrants and refugees to farm their land, through a program run by Mercy Corps Northwest, often the only incentive is the knowledge that they’ve done a good deed.

“A lot of our landowners donate because they know about Mercy Corps, and they want to help by hosting a farmer on their land,” explains Drew Katz, coordinator of Mercy Corps Northwest’s New American Agriculture Project.

Generally known for its international charitable work, Mercy Corps also has a Northwest branch that focuses on improving the lives of low-income individuals in Oregon and Washington through small business development and self-employment.

One of the charity’s initiatives is its New American Agriculture Project, which encourages small-scale farming by refugees and immigrants within metropolitan Portland and across the Columbia River in Vancouver. Not only are the newcomers able to grow their own food for their families, but they also get tools, seeds and advice on selling produce.

This year, a half-acre plot off S.E. 39th Avenue in Woodstock is part of Mercy Corps Northwest’s inventory of land available to immigrants for farming. Located on the east side of 39th between Woodstock Boulevard and S.E. Steele, the plot is owned by an adjacent neighbor — and it’s now being farmed by a Russian immigrant whose name is Alexander Velikoretskikh.

Since the land is not zoned for agricultural use, the woman who owns the land isn’t getting any agricultural-use tax benefit, explains Katz. But, he adds, Mercy Corps is trying to devise some incentives to convince landowners to let their land be farmed.

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