Gerdau Provides Garden Area for Burundian Refugees

Gerdau donated land for this community garden on Louisiana Avenue in Lonsdale. The plot is tended by Burundian refugees living in Lonsdale Homes and Western Heights and provides food for their families.

Burundian refugees living in Lonsdale Homes and Western Heights are able to garden and produce food for their families thanks to the Gerdau steel mill. The mill, which is located in the Lonsdale community in Knoxville, is providing land for the garden.

"Gerdau has a long history in the Lonsdale community, and we work hard to be a good neighbor," said Johnny Miller, vice president and general manager of the Gerdau Knoxville steel mill. "In 2009 we donated land for El Puente, a Lonsdale community garden, and we were happy to provide additional property after hearing there was a real need for another garden."

The garden, located behind the Gerdau mill on Louisiana Avenue, is tended by a group of Burundians who were relocated to the United States from United Nations refugee camps in Tanzania due to extended civil war in their home country of Burundi. The refugees have a strong tradition of gardening. In Africa, they moved from camp to camp and carved out little gardens on any available land, sometimes renting from local villages that surrounded their camps.

Robert Hodge, a member of the Knoxville-Knox County Food Policy Council and executive director of El Puente, a local civic organization that works to bridge the gap toward sustainability by providing community gardening and business mentoring, praises Gerdau's generosity. "Gerdau has been a wonderful host," said Hodge. "They made land available for the community, and did so with an enthusiasm that has made this effort an easy exercise in cooperation and partnership."

The El Puente and Burundian Gardens are multi-ethnic community gardens in Lonsdale, one of Knoxville's most culturally diverse neighborhoods. At a time when household budgets are shrinking, the gardens provide an excellent opportunity to assist families in feeding themselves, as well as adding beauty to the neighborhood.

Published June 28, 2011, 5:29 p.m.

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