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| Limited tour space slots. Please email Bill Yaner, Goat Lady coordinator, at yaner.bill@gmail.com |
Directions & Parking
 
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Weather forecast for August 25: 20% chance of isolated showers, 77 degrees
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Montagnards excel in settled farming techniques and are expert foragers for seasonal wild foods like mushrooms. Vietnam is a tropical growing zone, while the Central Highlands have cooler weather. Before the wars, farmers practiced older swidden (slash-and-burn) agriculture.
Southeast Asia was a great trade crossroads that brought plants and food influences from India, China, and the Americas. Popular veggies of American origin include chili peppers, pumpkin, tomato and eggplant.
To know requires some detective skills. Although many adult Montagnards have limited reading and writing skills, they are experts in spoken languages. Some speak several tribal languages, Vietnamese and some English. Some will know the English vegetable or food name but more likely, its Vietnamese name. Finding the English or Vietnamese common plant names are useful to identify plants and cultivars with precision because standard dictionaries do not exist for tribal languages.
Go to ethnic markets or outdoor markets for samples. Be aware that the names you read on labels might be inaccurate.
• Ask questions! We’ll have an interpreter present and the women are eager to practice English. Since they’re still learning, be persistent and don’t hesitate to ask the question twice.
• Share your life! Although they have been here for 25 years, few newcomers have friendships or regular exchanges with native-born Americans. People talk about kids, home, neighborhood and food — and will have an interest in your daily life, too.
• Don’t expect an immediate connection to American food trends. Want to talk about nose-to-tail eating, certified organic veggies, and the joys of locally produced food? Montagnards are experts in these subjects, but they don’t give them these kind of labels.
• Don’t romanticize traditional people. Small farmers throughout the world live hard lives. The most immediate problems newcomers face today are paying bills and understanding the complex demands of living in an urban environment. Most adults want to carry on traditional ways but often lack the resources to do so.
• Come with an open mind. Greensboro has been slow to acknowledge its exploding diversity while newcomers like the Montagnards are forced to rapidly adapt to new ways. Let’s try to bridge that gap.
• Have fun. Food is one of the easiest and most enjoyable ways to communicate across language, culture, and social differences.
Who are they?
Montagnards are indigenous people originally from the Central Highlands of Vietnam. They are organized into over 50 tribes with separate languages and traditions, none of which should be confused with the county’s dominant Vietnamese culture.
What does “Montagnard” mean?
Montagnard is the name given to traditional peoples by French colonists who controlled much of Southeast Asia. It means “highlander” and distinguishes them from the Vietnamese, who were a coastal people.
How did they come here?
Many indigenous peoples like the Montagnards came here because they allied themselves with US military forces during the Vietnam War, hoping to gain political autonomy. The war was a disaster for the Montagnards, who were eventually granted refugee status by the US government. Because vets living in North Carolina championed Montagnard resettlement, the first group arrived in the mid-1980s. Today, our region is home to the largest community of Montagnards outside of Southeast Asia. The total Montagnard population in NC is about 9,000.
How important is food to Montagnard people?
While we think about what we eat as a lifestyle choice and a reflection of our class and status, traditional people put food at the center of life. Despite decades of violence and dislocation, most Montagnards remained country folk growing food and raising animals to feed their families.
As refugees they were able to bring few material goods with them to the Triad, but inside they carried their cultural history, individual memories and agricultural expertise. In their new urban lives they turn over soil (when they have the space), plant food and cook meals with homegrown vegetables. Kids are heavily exposed to American food culture, which means illness and a growing disconnection from their parents’ lives. |
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EXCLUSIVE TO FOODIE TOURISTS!
MONTAGNARD HANDMADE GARDEN HOE
Profits help the Women’s Learning Group
 IT’S EASY on the lower back (important!) and can do a lot of the heavy work usually done by a mattock. It is the indispensable, all-purpose farm tool used by Montagnards. Just about everyone in the community uses his garden hoe!
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ABOUT ROSEWOOD AND
THE WOMEN’S LEARNING GROUP
ROSEWOOD IS AN OLD MILL, working class neighborhood that now has a 25% Montagnard population. Many families have young children.  IN SPRING 2012, three Montagnard women applied for a grant from Building Stronger Neighborhoods. They organized an English class so moms and grandmas could get out of their houses, walk to class, and share experiences.  THEY BOUGHT soil mix to help boost garden yields and rain barrels to reduce water bills. They help women access health services and teach health literacy to prevent high blood pressure, diabetes and other chronic diseases.
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An Acoustically Rich World
English cucumber, Jarai tmun, Rhade kmun, Bahnar pia, Bunong rapung, Vietnamese, qua dua chuot
Bahnar, Bunong and Koho are Mon-Khmer languages.
Most adults find English difficult only because they learn it late in life and they rarely have opportunities to practice. Of course, we Americans rarely speak more the language we were born with.
VIDEO LINKS
Sustainability for Everyone: Rethinking Piedmont Ideas About Green, Living and Local (2012) was created with Montagnard high school kids from the Rosewood neighborhood. It includes footage showing harvested rice (see below) being pounded in a traditional mortar and pestle. Second Place winner in UNCG’s Sustainability Shorts festival. How to Make Bahn Cahn (2011) is a simple slide step-by-step slide show demonstrated by community health workers to explain typical ingredients in their diet. |
