Producer

Dena grew up farming in Burma and is part of the Karen ethnic group. She came to Kansas City in 2006, resettled from a refugee camp in Thailand. She has four sons and two daughters, most of who live with her and help with the garden. Dena was in the New Roots program for five years and in 2011 graduated off the farm. In early 2012, Dena’s family bought a house with a large backyard- about ½ an acre- for a garden. Her oldest son helped her name the business “Mama Tu’s”. Dena grows lots of American vegetable varieties for market, but her favorite crops are still the traditional vegetables from Burma and Thailand: bitter melon, eggplant, Thai chili peppers, chin baung (roselle) and several varieties of beans.