A loan helped a refugee farmer build a fence, buy farm equipment, tools and seeds.


Sarment's story

My name is Sarment, and I was born and raised in Congo-Brazzaville. My parents were farmers, and I worked as a truck and taxi driver for many years. Because of violence and war, my family and I had to flee to Gabon. As a foreign worker there, I could not work as a driver, so I began farming. I fell in love with it. With the food I grew and sold, I supported my family, bought a home and some land, but conditions became difficult in Gabon. With the help of the UN Refugee Program, my family and I were granted asylum to come to the US in 2010.

When I arrived here, I began working at a car wash, but my pay was not enough to support my family. I got another job working at a window installation company. It was there that I learned about a nonprofit group called Plant It Forward which was looking for farmers. A friend and I were chosen for their training program. They saw that I was a competent farmer, and in 2012, they gave my wife and I access to our own plot of land in Westbury Community Garden. With Plant It Forward’s assistance, I was a part of a group that sold our produce at farmers markets.

After 10 years of hard work, we have been able to grow our farming business, Louamba Sustainable Farm. I now run my own farmers market booth under Plant It Forward’s brand. Recently, I was able to buy 3.75 acres of my own land in Wharton, Texas to expand my operations. I am happy that I have reached a point where I can provide employment for two workers a few times a month to help us with weeding and harvesting.

While many things have happened since this article from 2017, you can learn more about me and my relationship with Plant It Forward and see a video in this article from 2017: https://bittersweetmonthly.com/stories/plant-it-forward


This loan is special because:

It supports a small business owner with 0%-interest, zero-fee capital.



Loan details


About Louamba Sustainable Farm

Industry: Agriculture
Years in operation: More than 5 years
Website: plantitforward.farm


Lenders and lending teams




Loan details