Immigrant Farmers and Alternative Practices of Sustainability in Creating Climate Havens
In cities like Ann Arbor and Duluth, immigrant farmers are quietly building climate havens, cities of the future designed to withstand the storms of climate change. They are already laying the foundations of resilience through practices ranging from seed saving to mixed farming, sustaining both ecosystems and cultural identity. The term “climate haven” was introduced by Jesse Keenan to describe a strategy for escaping the impacts of global warming. Climate haven describes cities that are expected to be less impacted by the negative effects of climate change. Hirschman et al. (2024) describe the role of climate havens in integrating local populations within community-engaged ecosystems, fostering cohesive social networks. Climate havens serve as refuges for climate migrants, particularly immigrant farmers who draw on traditional knowledge and low-input practices such as water harvesting and integrated pest management, which combine biological, cultural, and limited chemical tools to control pests.
How Immigrant Farmers Build Resilience
Immigrant farmers build resilience by drawing on deep traditional knowledge and by practicing diversified farming that helps buffer climate shocks. Some programs are helping farmers balance competition and collaboration, turning individual efforts into benefits for the whole community (Meenar and Hoover, 2012; Reynolds, 2015). Immigrant farmers are essential to building climate havens because they bring diverse, innovative agricultural practices from their home countries, many of which have already faced severe climate impacts, including extreme weather. Their expertise is key to building resilient and sustainable local food systems. These immigrant farms illustrate how alternative food systems foster “innovation” in food production methods that prioritize community needs through “community-based cross-cultural connections” (Klocker et al., 2018; Wekerle and Classens, 2015), “social inclusion” (Meenar and Hoover, 2012), and participation in the “alternative food movement” (Minkoff-Zern and Sloat, 2017).
Research on immigrant community gardens has grown (Hondagneu-Sotelo, 2017). Farmers’ markets have emerged as trust-based, transparent platforms that enable immigrant farmers to trade with diverse communities. While these markets offer valuable opportunities for immigrant farmers to sell their produce, they also present significant challenges, especially for smallholders. These challenges include navigating bureaucratic systems (Minkoff-Zern and Sloat, 2017; Minkoff-Zern and Sloat, 2020), managing complex race relations (Jentsch et al., 2007), securing access to land (Calo and De Master, 2016), and overcoming structural and institutional barriers, particularly for those new to farming (Calo, 2018; Sowerwine et al., 2015). Urban residents can support immigrant farms by buying local, culturally diverse produce or volunteering at community gardens. Beyond their social and economic contributions, immigrant farmers’ ecological practices further highlight their central role in shaping resilient climate havens.
Sustainable Practices in Action
Immigrant farms strive to provide culturally preferred foods and establish trade networks. They also create self-sustaining enclaves that emphasize both resilience and self-reliance. Immigrant farmers bring valuable agroecological knowledge through practices such as crop rotation and mixed farming. These biodiversity-focused approaches promote social well-being, conserve water, and help communities adapt to climate change, strengthening local food systems and the resilience of climate havens. Immigrant and refugee gardeners draw on traditional knowledge to maintain diverse crops, minimize synthetic inputs, and farm on a small scale, supporting food sovereignty and ecosystem resilience in new environments (Montenegro de Wit, 2016; Minkoff-Zern et al., 2020). Immigrant farmers also use conservation tillage, which leaves at least 30% of the previous crop’s residue on the surface to reduce erosion. They additionally practice cover cropping and return of organic matter to the soil, practices that enhance carbon sequestration and improve soil health. These practices demonstrate that ecological innovation is not confined to laboratories or universities but is already embedded in the everyday work of immigrant communities.
Overcoming Barriers
However, immigrant farmers still face systemic barriers to policy support, local knowledge, and the upfront costs of adopting new techniques, highlighting the need for justice-focused initiatives. Critics of the conventional food system contend that capitalist logic disproportionately harms immigrants and labor migrants, thereby undermining their contributions to community livelihoods (De Haan, 1999; Alkon and Mares, 2012). In the United States, immigrant farmers face not only institutional racism but also limited access to agricultural opportunities (Minkoff-Zern and Sloat, 2017). Many immigrant farmers persist in creating alternative agricultural spaces despite these barriers. These alternatives often take the form of small-scale, diversified, family-run farms that struggle to secure federal aid. Some critics question whether urban agriculture can effectively integrate immigrant farmers into business alliances, arguing that intense market competition leaves little room for immigrant farms to thrive (McClintock, 2014).
Despite a growing body of literature on the inclusive role of immigrant farms and the importance of justice in food security, there has been limited research on fostering cooperation between immigrant farms, alternative food networks, and other producers. The creation of climate havens necessitates collaboration between immigrant and other ethnic groups. However, many studies on alternative food systems fail to account for the distinct experiences of immigrant farmers, often grouping them with other minority populations (Flora et al., 2012; MacGregor et al., 2019). This lack of attention to immigrant-specific characteristics undermines their ability to address climate justice, which in turn hampers agricultural adaptation at both the grassroots and governance levels. Furthermore, it threatens livelihoods by disrupting food markets, water management systems, and climate-smart farming infrastructure (Yazar et al., 2024; Morton, 2007; Howden et al., 2007).
Further Direction
Climate havens enable immigrant farmers to develop resilient farming systems that optimize resource use and strengthen immigrants’ long-term survival. These observations raise broader questions: To what extent do immigrant farmers, as an alternative mode of food provisioning, influence a city’s ability to function and adapt to climate change? How can immigrant farms and their agroecological knowledge be integrated into urban food production while scaling up urban agriculture? What strategies can incentivize a more resilient, inclusive, and sustainable food system? And how can food security be enhanced through collaboration? Understanding how these farms serve surrounding communities is key to envisioning more just, inclusive, and sustainable urban futures. As cities position themselves as climate havens, the knowledge and labor of immigrant farmers remind us that true resilience extends beyond technology to encompass culture, politics, and community.
Author Bio
Ning Zou is a PhD candidate in the Division of Environmental Science at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. Her research focuses on urban resilience, social networks, and food justice. She is a publicly engaged researcher who has built deeper connections with stakeholders actively involved in the local food supply chain in Syracuse. Ning aims to co-produce knowledge with local residents and ensure that the benefits are returned to the community.
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