Photo: Tara Clark. Mee Cha and Long Cha harvest dahlias on their farm.
Not many people are aware that most of the beautiful flowers sold at the Pike Place Market in Seattle, Wash., over the past 30 years have been grown and harvested by Hmong farmers. Tara Clark, a self-proclaimed "Human Connectivity Conservationist," professional photographer and social entrepreneur, connected with one of the farmers, Xee Yang-Schell, who was born in Laos and came to Seattle with her family in 1980. When the pandemic forced Pike Place Market to close, Clark contacted Yang-Schell and created a no-contact streetside pop-up, where she sells flowers she purchases from Hmong farmers. What started with one Hmong family farm supplying flowers has since blossomed into more than 50 Hmong family farms providing various types of flowers for sale in pop-up markets. Not only has flower selling brought happiness andbrightly colored blooms during the dismal days of the pandemic, it has also helped Hmong families sustain their farms.
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