Bringing Southeast Asia to the Southeast United States: New forms of alternative agriculture in Homestead, Florida

Abstract

Immigrant farmers from Southeast Asia have brought knowledge of tropical fruit and vegetable production from their home countries to Homestead, Florida. They have developed a new style of farming, one that most closely resembles agricultural systems described as “homegardens.” Although biodiverse agricultural systems are generally thought to be commercially unviable, homegarden farmers successfully manage crop diversity as an economic strategy. By focusing on growing a mixture of specialty Southeast Asian herbs, fruits, and vegetables, the farmers have created their own economic niche and have shielded themselves from the competition of high-volume, single commodity producers. This paper shows that the Homestead homegardens constitute an alternative form of agriculture that is defined by their agroecological and socioeconomic attributes. It also shows that although the homegarden farms are a form of “alternative agriculture,” they do not operate outside of conventional, global systems of agricultural trade; rather the homegarden farms are embedded in global agriculture. The Homestead case problematizes the tendency to delineate between the global and local scales, and alternative and conventional sectors in agriculture today. This paper concludes that the emergence of the Homestead homegardens can only be understood by taking a place-based approach to studying the environment in which the homegardens are situated as well as identifying the large-scale influences on Miami-Dade County.

Appendix

List of plants found in Southeast Asian homegardens in Miami-Dade County, Florida.

Use	Latin name	Khmer	Vietnamese	Thai	Lao	English
HERB	Acacia pennata	cha om	Keo	cha om		acacia
VEG	Allium tuberosum	slak katjhai	He		pak pen	flowering chives
HERB	Alpinia galangal	mt daeng	rieng	khaa	Khaa	Galangal
HERB	Anethum graveolens		Thia la	pak chi lao	pak si	dill
FRUIT	Annona cherimola × Annona squamosa		Na			Atemoya
FRUIT	Annona muricata	tiep banla	mang cau xiem	ma thurian	mak khiap	soursop, guanabana
FRUIT	Annona squamosa		Na	noina	khieb	sugar apple, annona
VEG	Apium graveolens		can tay	khuen chai	pak si sang	chinese celery
FRUIT	Artocarpus heterophyllus	khnao	qua mit	ka noon	mak mi	jackfruit
FRUIT	Averrhoa carambola	pla-ay spoeu	qua khe	ma fung	mak feuang	carambola, star fruit
HERB	Azadirachta indica	sa dao	sau dau	sa dao	sa dao	neem leaves
HERB	Barringtonia acutangula		loc vung	chik	ka don	cut nut, wild almond
VEG	Basella alba var rubra		mong toi	pak ptang	pak pang	ceylon or Malabar spinach
VEG	Benincasa hispida		bi dao			fuzzy melon
VEG	Brassica integrifolia		cai ngot	pakkat khieo plee		mustard leaf
OTHER	Canaga odorata		ngoc lan tay			ylang ylang
VEG	Capsicum fruitescences	mate hel	Ot	prik	piik thai	chile pepper
FRUIT	Carica papaya	pla-ay lehuang	trai du du	Ma lakaw	mak huong	papaya
HERB	Cassia siamea		muong xiem or muong den		key lek	glutinous soup herb
HERB	Centella asiatica	trachiek kranh	Rau ma	bua bok; pak nok		pennywort
OTHER	Cestrum nocturnum		da ly huong			night jasmine
FRUIT	Chrysophyllum cainito		vu sua			star apple, caimito
FRUIT	Citrus aurantifolia		chanh ta	ma nao	mark nao kiao	lime
FRUIT	Citrus grandis		Buoi	som o	mak kiang ny ai	pummelo
HERB	Citrus hystrix	kraunch soeut	chanh sac, truc	bai makrut	kok mak khi hout	kaffir lime
VEG	Coccinia grandis		Bat	tamlueng	thum nin	tindora
FRUIT	Cocos nucifera	dong	Dua	ma phrao	mark phao	coconut
VEG	Colocasia esculenta		cu khoai so	bak ha maruni	thoune	taro stem
VEG	Cyamopsis tetragonoloba		Cau			guar, cluster bean
HERB	Cymbopogon citratus	culs la kray	Xa	ta krai	si khai	lemongrass
FRUIT	Dimocarpus longan	pla-ay min	nhan	lamyai	mak lam nyai	longan
FRUIT	Diospyros dignya		Thi			black sapote
FRUIT	Diospyros kaki		hong	lhok phub; phlap chin	mak phueang	persimmon
HERB	Elsholtzia ciliata		rau kinh gio’i			rainbow plant, vietnamese mint
FRUIT	Eriobotrya japonica		nhot tay			loquat
HERB	Coriander sativum	vann sui	ngo tay; mui tau	pak chi	pak hom pom	cilantro, coriander leaf
HERB	Eryngium foetidum	chi bonla		pak chi farang	hom pen	culantro, saw tooth herb
HERB	Glinus oppositifolius		rau dang			glinus
HERB	Houttuynia cordata	diep ca	rau giap ca	kau tong	pa kau tong	chinese lizard tail, fishwort, heartleaf
FRUIT	Hylocereus undatus		thanh long; tuong lien			dragon fruit, pithaya
VEG	Ipomoea aquatica		rau muong	pak boong	pak bong	water spinach
VEG	Ipomoea batatas	damlo ng chvie	rau lang	man thet	man kew	boniato or potato leaf
VEG	Lablab purpureus		dau van; bach bien	thua paep	mak thua paep	hyacinth, indian bean
VEG	Lagenaria siceraria	khlook	Bau	naam tao	namz taux	long squash
HERB	Limnophila aromatica	ma om	rau om, ngo om	cha yang		rice paddy herb
FRUIT	Litchi chinensis	pla-ay koo lain	Vai	linchi	mak lin chi	litchi, lychee
VEG	Luffa acutangula	ronoong chrung	muop khia	buap	mak noi/loi	chinese okra
VEG	Luffa cylindrica	ronoong muul	muop huong	buap hom	mak bouap	thai okra, smooth luffa
HERB	Marsilea crenata		rau deu rang		pak van	water clover
FRUIT	Mangifera indica	pla-ay mukhot	xoai	mamuang	mark muang	mango
VEG	Manihot esculenta		la mi, khoai mi	mansampalang	bay man ton	yuca leaf
FRUIT	Manilkara zapota	pla-ay kom ping riedj	hong xiem	lamut farang	lamud	sapodilla
HERB	Mentha piperita	ci poho	Bac ha	bai saranai	pak hom	peppermint
HERB	Mentha spicata		cay bac ha luc			spearmint
VEG	Momordica charantia	mreah	kho qua; muop dang	mara khinok	mak khao	bittermelon
OTHER	Morinda citrifolia			yo baan	ba yall	noni, awl tree
HERB	Moringa oleifera	daem mrom	cay cai ngua	ma rum		horseradish tree, drumstick
HERB	Murraya keonigii	xxx	cari; nguyet quoi	bai karee	khi be	curryleaf
FRUIT	Musa spp.	cheek namva	chuoi	kiew hom	mak kuay	banana
HERB	Ocimum americanum	thjee		mang lak	pak etu	hoary or white basil
HERB	Ocimum basilicum	ju liang vong	hung que	bai horapa	pak etu	Thai basil
HERB	Ocimum tenuiflorum	mareh preuw	e tia: e do; hoang nhu tia	bai gaprow	pak etu holy	holy basil
HERB	Pandanus odorus	taey	Dua thom, la dua	bai toey	bai toey	pandan leaf, sweet leaf, fragrant screw pine
VEG	Parkia speciosa			ga teen; sator		cabi bean
HERB	Perilla frutescens		Tia to	nag mon	nga chien chin	perilla, balm mint
FRUIT	Persea americana	avokaa	trai bo	awokhado	mak avocado	avocado
VEG	Phyllostachys sp.		mang			bamboo shoot
HERB	Piper betle		trau khong	phulu	pu	pan leaf
HERB	Piper lolot	chi’ pluh	la lot	cha plu	la lot, pak ileut	pepper leaves
HERB	Polygonum odoratum	chi krassang tomhom	Rau ram	pak chi wietnam	pak payo	Vietnamese coriander
FRUIT	Pouteria campechiana		qua trung ga			egg fruit, canistel
FRUIT	Psidium guajava	trapaek sruk	Oi	farang	mak si da	Thai guava
VEG	Psophocarpus tetragonolobus	prapiey	dau rong	thua phuu	mak thua phou	wing bean, asparagas bean
HERB	Sauropus androgynus		rau ngot	pak wan	pak wan	sweet leaf bush
VEG	Sesbania grandiflora	angkiedei	So dua	dok khae, khae ban	dok khae	white flower
VEG	Solanum melongena	traap veing	Ca tim	mak heva muang	mak
kheau	Chinese eggplant
VEG	Solanum undatum		ca phao	mak heva	khun	thai eggplant
VEG	Solanum torvum		ca hoang; ca nong	mak hua puang	puang	cherry eggplant, pea eggplant, turkeyberry
FRUIT	Spondias dulcis	mokak	qua coc	makok	kook hvaan	june plum
FRUIT	Syzyguim samarangense	man	Roi, man	chom phuu		wax jambu
FRUIT	Tamarindus indicus	am peuhl	me chua	mak kham	mak kham	tamarind
VEG	Trichosanthes dioica					parvar
VEG	Vicia faba					valor or Indian broad bean
VEG	Vigna sesquipedelis	sang dek khoua	dau dua	tua fak yao	mak thoua frang	long bean
FRUIT	Ziziphus jujuba	pla-ay poo tree e	tao ta	phutsa cheen	mak ka than	jujube