Twenty-seven families of African refugees are going to be farming plots in Burlington's intervale this summer.

The New Farms for New Americans initiative is in its first year.

The families will farm the fertile floodplain on rented plots along the Winooski River.

Project coordinator Josie Weldon says the program primarily targets unemployed women.

Officials say most of those who signed up to farm had some sort of agricultural experience in their home countries.

The women in the program come from Somalia, Congo, Burundi and Tanzania.

The food raised in the gardens can be sold at farmers' markets.