The Rotary Club of Armidale received a state government grant for close to $30,000 in December to enhance the facility, but the Northern Settlement Services' Regional Employment Agricultural Project (REAP), which provides access to farmland for people from migrant and refugee backgrounds to apply and adapt their existing rural skills in the Australian context.

The idea for the project began nearly three years ago, and to date, eight families have been successful with the harvest beginning last month.

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What is not used by the Ezidi community is sold at the Armidale Farmers Market and Markets in the Mall. The group also run a weekend stall in the Armidale Pine Forest car park on Rockvale Road, which essentially provides a 'farm gate' retail outlet for them as it is near the property that hosts the garden.

"That catches people going in and out of town and dog walkers," said Grant Harris, who is the Rotary coordinator for the project. " And except for one wet day, there's been quite successful sales of a large variety of vegetables that are coming on now."

The garden has produced tomatoes, cucumbers, rockmelons, watermelons, sunflowers, chillies, eggplants and more. And the community also makes naan bread along with traditional sweet and savoury treats to sell.

"I don't know how we'll go with the melons in a dry or normal season, but we've cracked it this year thanks to all the rain," Mr Harris said. "All eight families have had some level of agrarian background, and a couple in particular certainly know what they're doing. This project helps them to understand local seasonal factors and market and business development opportunities."

The gardens are situated across two farms on land donated by two Rotary Club members.

The project has been recognised as one of global significance by Rotary International, and the Armidale Club is expecting future financial support from a Rotary Club in New York State, USA.

All money earned from the garden is kept by the families involved.

"We give them a hand up, not a handout," said Mr Harris. "So we get them started, and then they have free access to the land. Then from the second year onwards, they provide their own inputs, and it basically goes to fund their activity."

More Ezidi refugees are coming to Armidale this year, Mr Harris said. He believes that following the gardens' success to date, others in the existing 615 strong Ezidi Armidale community will want to participate.

"There are people in the community who are now looking at these guys thinking maybe I can do that too," Mr Harris said. "So I'm expecting that we'll get requests from within the current community."

Altogether Rotary has 20 acres available to them, which is more than the existing gardens take up, so there is plenty of room for expansion - as long as the rain keeps falling.

"We're not even using anywhere near 10 acres, but I expect expansion will depend on water availability," Mr Harris said.

Armidale is home to more than 600 Ezidi from northern Iraq, survivors of the 2014 Sinjar massacre - the 74th massacre of these people in 300 years. Isis militants killed and kidnapped thousands of Ezidi men, women and children from the ancient ethnic minority and forced them into exile from their religious homeland.

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