CFFI is Proud of all it's Interns

It is coming onto a full year that I have been in Grenada. We are making strides in many areas of cocoa farming i.e. grafting, composting, crafts for raising money... but the one I love the most is our ever-growing Intern Program. We have had some wonderful, hardworking young people come through our door this past year and bring so much knowledge and hard work to our cause. As you can see below I have cause to be so proud... 

Alexander Thompson

The University of Alabama                                                                             

Bachelor of Science, Biology, Honors College
Alexander Thompson has just arrived in Grenada for three months to focus on composting.  Because of Alexander's interest in nutrition and community gardening he feels his work here will compliment and expand his knowledge when he returns home to pursue a Master's Degree in Public Health.
With the help of our local Board Director, Troy Augustine, Alexander is off to a great start.  We have orders from farmers for 5, 10, and 20 bags of our compost. Now our only problem is getting some for our own cocoa trees (but this is a good problem).
Alexander and Troy are also working on a vermiculite project. They found loads of worms making compost in the sand while we were collecting seaweed. More to come on this in the next blog post.
Alexander will be keeping you updated on all his work during the next three months.

Jake Burdick
Jake was with us for three months, you may have seen him in previous blogs, working on the cocoa farm, building the "bottle" shed and doing some pruning. He had a great time hanging out with the local guys playing soccer and having a beer or two at Shy's Bar See Google Maps
We are proud to see him back in the states representing New Hampshire and Burdick Chocolates in Washington DC. You can see him in this video still tanned from the sun here in Grenada!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Q-B7DnTUqk

Marietta & Jake Burdick with Senator Jeanne Shaheen

Gideon Lovell-Smith

Gideon was with us for a month while on a gap year. He was up early every morning working hard on the cocoa farm, helping with grafting cocoa and becoming a pro with the machete! He made friends everywhere he went and locals are still asking after him. When Gideon wasn't working he could be found at the local beach, riding waves, exploring the sea life or playing soccer. Directly after Grenada he headed to China and had quite an experience there. At the end of this summer he will be attending  The University of Edinburgh. We wish him luck and want to thank him for all his hard work.

Gideon clearing fields for future cocoa trees

Lucienne Cross

Last but by no means least - Lucy was our first intern and set the bar very high for what we expect from our interns. Lucy was great at working on the farm, grafting, giving directions, posting on the blog and in addition having a great time with neighbors and friends here in the small town of Victoria. We were so taken with Lucy that we asked her to be on our Board of Directors and she graciously accepted. She is writing grants as we speak in hopes of being back down here soon.