Sahaka Gardens
Montreal, Quebec
Tiohtià:ke in Kanien'kéha (Mohawk)
Cultivating Solidarity Beyond Our Community
Sahaka Gardens is a community urban garden located in Tiohtià:ke (Montréal, QC), focusing on growing culturally appropriate produce for members of the Asian diaspora. With a focus on Southeast Asians of Khmer, Laotian, and Vietnamese backgrounds, these gardens give community members access to familiar foods while creating a space for learning, solidarity, and (re)connection to the cultural significance of growing food. Through workshops, booklets, and gardening, Sahaka Gardens carves out a space for members of the Asian diaspora to reconnect with their cultural roots and cultivate cross-cultural and intergenerational connections.
At the produce table—preparing baskets for Asian senior community members
“Overall, I felt the impact of this project through the conversations I had with people who were involved in it. For some participants, this was their first time learning how to harvest vegetables. For others, it was the first time they saw vegetables that they grew up eating being grown in a setting they weren’t used to seeing them in. An impactful moment was when one participant FaceTimed his mother, who lives several provinces away, about him volunteering at the garden; he was able to connect with her through the harvest and her sharing ways he might go about preparing the vegetables. The joy and revelations felt through our project were the biggest impacts from the project for me.”
Impact
Harvested several Asian herbs and vegetables, including chili varieties, eggplants, and lemongrass.
Provided produce to 20 families for 8 weeks by contributing produce to a pilot food basket program.
Built a network of over 20 volunteers to host community engagement opportunities.
Organized 4 workshops and community outreach events in 2025, including:
An educational session on various Southeast Asian vegetables.
A chili oil making workshop using garden-grown produce.
A collaboration session with the Alliance Alimentaire Asiatique (AAA Collective) on food security amongst elder Asian communities in Montreal
Participation in a biocultural diversity panel at a local CEGEP
Core team members at garden
Chilli oil they made