Manela comes from a farming family. Her parents were part of the Big River Farm incubator farming program early on. Her mother, May, and sister, Mhonpaj, became the first organically certified Hmong farmers in the United States.
After Manela’s father passed away in 2022, she began helping her mother in the farm field. She became increasingly interested in learning the ins and outs of farming and the life cycle of vegetables.
Despite her experience as a farm helper, Manela found she still had a lot to learn. “I thought I could get cucumbers on the vine continuously all summer, but I needed to do a second planting mid summer. Cilantro is another crop you need to plant repeatedly. I didn’t really know about succession planting.”
She joined the Big River Farms New Growers program in 2024.
Manela believes in the healing power of food. At her ½ acre farm, The Healing Garden, she uses sustainable agriculture techniques to produce healthy, nutritional food. In addition to typical vegetables, Manela grows some culturally connected crops: Malabar spinach, purslane, dandelion greens, an English cucumber that is specifically used for sushi rolls, and Thai chili peppers.
In 2025 Manela expanded her growing expertise, renting part of a greenhouse to grow tomatoes and a few beds of raspberries and rhubarb to learn about growing perennials in Minnesota.
In addition, Manela has a side business transforming organic vegetables and fruits into exquisite carvings for events such as baby showers, weddings, and graduations. Her artistic portfolio can be found at Carving Delights.
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