InformEd keeps us on the road (or in the air) often. Earlier this year we found ourselves hiking for three weeks in Nepal to collect data for an evaluation, and along the way we were welcomed into homes for meals and rest in these remote communities. I found myself often reflecting how did I luck into this being my JOB?

International Development is an incredible field to get in to. You grapple with some of the most difficult questions in life. You travel, connect, explore. It’s an adventure. Our team thrives in these situations.

At the end of those adventures we return to the Pacific Northwest, a beautiful corner of the world. Our team has always reflected upon the phrase ‘think globally, act locally” and in team retreats I’ve heard our team members express their desire to serve the local community, our community. Over the last few years we have made an effort to do that, initiating the Seattle Evaluation Association, working with ArtsWA to develop metrics for their art programming, and working with members of the Quileute Tribe in LaPush to reignite their local language.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been hard. Each person in the world is adjusting to this new (temporary) reality, facing his or her own challenges or heartache. We’re thinking of you. We’re wishing we could do more to help.

With that desire to do more to help, we’ve recently connected with the flower farmers from Pike Place and Seattle Neighborhood Farmers markets. If you’ve visited Seattle, you’ve seen the large farm-fresh bouquets of flowers next to the flying fish in the market. You’ve seen people carrying the bouquets along the waterfront and up the steep sidewalks of the city. It’s part of what we do here. It’s one of my favorite parts of living here.

The usual, bustling Pike Place Market flower stalls.

Many of the farmers in the market are Hmong refugees, or now children of those refugees, that came to the US in the 1980s after having provided intelligence or combat support to US forces during the Vietnam War. From 1982 to 1989, The Indochinese Farm Project supported recently resettled Hmong refugees in agricultural techniques, helping them apply their farming skills to growing flowers and creating beautiful bouquets; as well as learning English.[1] Eventually the Farm Project disbanded in the late 1980s, after many farmers had successfully established their businesses. You can read more about their stories in articles from KUOW or Seattle Weekly.

Flash forward to the COVID pandemic; the farmers markets where these flowers are found are closed. The fields of flowers are blooming but they aren’t reaching our dining room tables. We’re no longer able to stroll to the neighborhood farmers market and bring back a bouquet that brightens our workspace. Most importantly, these farmers are facing financial hardship as they no longer have a means of income.

Businesses across the country are finding creative ways to stay afloat and reach their customers. The flower farmers are no different. Inspired by a fellow Seattleite, we posted on our neighborhood blog that we would be willing to coordinate the electronic payments of flowers and contactless pick up/drop off for the immediate surrounding area.

We were so encouraged by the enthusiasm and support. In just 3 days we received 150 orders of bouquets, raising over $2250 for the farmers. Through contactless and safe delivery from the farmers, my yard and garage overflowed with flowers (my dream!) and then we set off with a wagon to drop them on porch stoops and doorsteps.

All communication was electronic, but we actually ‘met’ more neighbors than ever before! We heard stories of people quarantined to basements and just desperate for a little spark of joy on their table. We orchestrated gifting bouquets between neighbors, friends, or co-workers – little ways to say ‘thanks’ for picking up groceries, delivering that meal, sending that text. A little token to show ‘I’m thinking of you’. We even delivered 2 bouquets to a neighbor who was planning on gifting them to her neighbors… only to find that she had already been gifted a few that we had dropped off earlier in the day! People topped off their payment with a few dollars here or there which helped cover costs for those particularly affected by the pandemic and allowed us to gift bouquets as a nice surprise for an unsuspecting neighbor.

This pandemic will have an impact that touches every corner of society. The extent of that impact, we can only speculate right now. At the end of the day, we were just happy to support the farmers, spread some joy, and make some (physically distant) connections with those near us. And, yes, we’re doing it again next week.