Building Community Wealth at Hmong American Farmer’s Association Farm
The Hmong American Farmers Association (HAFA) was founded in 2011 by siblings Janssen Hang and Pakou Hang, emerging directly from the lived experience as children of Hmong farmers in the Twin Cities. For many Hmong families, farming had long been both a cultural practice and an economic necessity, carried from Laos to Minnesota after resettlement. But in the decades after arrival, access to land became one of the biggest barriers to sustaining that way of life. HAFA was created in response to that challenge—an effort to move from isolated farming on small plots and leased land toward something more collective, stable, and self-determined. At its core, HAFA also became a strategy for building community wealth—creating pathways for Hmong farmers to generate income, reinvest in their businesses, and build long-term financial stability rooted in land ownership and shared infrastructure.
Today, HAFA manages a 155-acre cooperative farm in Dakota County, one of the most significant Hmong-owned farming landscapes in the United States. HAFA serves as both a working farm and a shared community space where Hmong farmers grow culturally significant crops while building independent farm businesses. Members share equipment, knowledge, and labor, reinforcing a cooperative model that reflects both traditional Hmong values of mutual support and modern goals of economic sustainability. Through this shared system, farmers are not only producing food, but also circulating resources within the community in a way that strengthens collective wealth and reduces barriers for new and beginning farmers.
HAFA represents more than an agricultural organization—it reflects a broader story of resettlement, adaptation, and return. What began as refugee farming communities navigating unfamiliar land has evolved into a structured, farmer-led institution rooted in ownership and collective strength. In the landscape of Hmong Minnesota, HAFA stands as a place where farming is not only preserved, but reimagined as a foundation for future generations and a model for building lasting community wealth.
