Grafting Seminar: Day One was a Success!

The first day of our Grafting Seminar was a huge success!  Our original goal was to have 20 local farmers attend, but thanks to such a huge interest the turn out was over 40!

Paula and Dorise welcome the participants and introduce the grafting experts.

In collaboration with the Grenada Cocoa Association and Ministry of Agriculture, we're hosting three leading grafting experts from the Cocoa Research Centre in Trinidad.

We had a great turn out at the community center and Maran Nursery.

Lunch and snacks were served by local food vendors in traditional, hand-carved calabash bowls.

Dr. T.N. Sreenivasan, Annelle John-Holder and Vinosh Jadoo presented to the group in the morning, and in the afternoon everyone got to practice the different techniques on cocoa trees at the Maran Nursery in Gouyave.

Dr. Sreenivasan demonstrates how to cut healthy buds from the branch.

Participants watch a demonstration of Patch Budding.

A fresh bud attached to a small cocoa tree.

Grafting is a technical method of improving the cocoa productivity of an existing tree.  Our seminar provides farmers with the knowledge and tools they need to practice this technique on their own trees.  Grafting can improve the shape of the tree (to make harvesting easier), and allows farmers to reproduce trees that are high in quality (based on productivity, pest resistance, etc.).  It involves taking a bud from one branch and strategically attaching it to an existing tree, from which it will continue to grow!

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Special Thanks to Janice McElroy for the Generous Donation!

Thanks to a generous donation in honor of Janice McElroy's love of nature and wish to make the world a better place, CFFI was able to buy new cocoa trees for our farm.  

See the video below of Paula Burdick hanging a plaque in honor of Janice.

It's not too late to purchase trees!  Click here for more information.

Celebrating Independence Day!

Paula and Dorise are happy to be in Grenada celebrating 40 years of Independence!

School children celebrate National Colors Day (the day before Independence Day) with a colorful parade.

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Cocoa Picking Day!

Tomorrow is cocoa collection day, which makes today cocoa picking day.

Starting at the furthest corner of the property, Rawldon, Kimon, Kelwin (a Grenada Cocoa Association intern) and I began picking early in the morning.  We aimed the long cocoa harvesting sticks and sliced ripe pods from all 274 trees.  Some pods grow high up and require patience and precision – the boys are much more skilled at it than me!

We gathered the yellow, orange and red pods into vibrant heaps throughout the farm to crack open for the pulpy white beans. This creamy pulp surrounding the beans is a sweet snack while collecting the beans, which are purple and bitter on the inside.

With a whack and twist of a machete we opened the cocoa pods.

Dorise joined us to scoop the beans into buckets and pick out the stringy fibers holding the beans together. 

The full buckets will be weighed and sold as “wet beans” to the Cocoa Association, who will dry and ferment the beans.  

Although you can get a better price for dry beans, the process can be a risky and time-consuming process.  Many farmers sell their beans wet, some walking five to six miles with heavy buckets.  This is why our yellow van, Fear Not, has been so helpful with transporting beans!

The leftover cocoa pods are left on the soil, or in our compost bins, and add nutrients back into the ground. 

Yesterday we turned the compost in our bins. It looks great, and will be sold to farmers at a cheaper price than typical fertilizer.  

CFFI’s plan is to use this as an incentive to encourage more farmers to use organic methods to fertilize their crops and control weeds.

Check back tomorrow to find out how our cocoa did on selling day!

Can You Guess How Many Cocoa Trees We Have?

This week we got to work mapping out all of the trees on the land.  Cocoa trees grow best in partial shade, so they are planted alongside other trees, such as citrus or banana trees. This helps keep the soil rich and the cocoa beans flavorful.  Mapping out the property was a tricky but rewarding task that helped us get to know every inch of the land!

Mapping out all the trees on the cocoa farm.

So, how many cocoa trees do we have?  We have 274! 

Tomorrow we will continue to transplant banana trees at the school garden and get the beds ready for a vegetable garden.  The goal is to use the vegetables to supplement school lunches in the cafeteria.  The school garden is part of a 4-H program that students participate in on Wednesday afternoons. Students, program coordinators and the Principal are looking forward to adding veggies like cucumbers and tomatoes to the lunch menu.

The first vegetable beds at the school garden.

CFFI Welcomes our First Intern!

CFFI is excited to welcome our first full-time intern, Lucienne Cross.  Lucy will be helping Kimon and Rawldon in the cocoa field as well as working on projects like the school garden and a training workshop.  Lucy lives in Brooklyn, New York and is interested in sustainable agriculture and food security.  She will be contributing to the blog for the next month and we look forward to hearing updates on these projects!

Kimon, Lucienne and Rawldon in the cocoa farm.

This week they have been clearing the underbrush from the farm, and transplanting banana trees to clear out the school garden for vegetable beds.

Happy New Year from CFFI

A Special Thanks & Best Wishes for 2014 to our Supporters from all of us at CFFI

Dear Friends,

2013 has been a banner year for CFFI, and our accomplishments reflect all three aspects of our mission. With your generous support, we have met and surpassed all of our 2013 goals, including 

• helping cocoa farmers get their beans to market more efficiently;
• providing hands-on education for farmers so they can maximize the quality of their cocoa beans while preserving the benefits of traditional farming;
• providing farmers with an organic alternative to the petroleum-based fertilizers currently being used; and
• securing new sources of revenue for CFFI while creating a variety of new job opportunities for Grenadians.

Helping Farmers Get Their Beans to Market

This year we were able to buy a farming truck to assist in the collection of wet beans across the island. The impact of this purchase has been immediate and dramatic. When farmers don’t have to walk their beans to market, they can spend more time cultivating cocoa trees and learning new ways to enhance the quality and value of their product.

Continuing Education and Other Support for Farmers

In 2013 we turned three acres of abandoned farmland into a model teaching farm and spice garden. At the model farm, visitors and local farmers can learn new techniques in sustainable farming, grafting, and propagation. We were able to hire two full-time employees—local young men who are learning the art of cocoa farming from older, experienced farmers, whom we have hired as consultants. The model farm is a wonderful example of how we can boost economic development while promoting sustainable agriculture and biological diversity.

Our “Buy A Tree—Support A Farmer” campaign has also been a great success. With donations to this program, we have provided high-quality saplings, along with organic planting compost, to over forty farmers. By contributing to this campaign, our donors are providing direct assistance to farmers while helping to preserve a rare and delicate environment.

Looking Forward to 2014

We are looking forward to an even more successful year in 2014.

We can’t thank you enough!

 

CFFI helping farmers deliver their beans to the collecting station

Wednesdays are cocoa collecting days here in Victoria Grenada. Farmers travel for more than 5 or 6 miles to sell their cocoa beans to The Grenada Cocoa Association. And this is where "Fear Not" our trusty van comes in...farmers call us and we meet them to pick up their product. This farmer was lucky enough to find us while he was walking along the road with his daughter. Can you imagine walking 2 miles with all these wet cocoa beans?  Well, that's what they were doing and they sure were happy to see us coming along!

Wet cocoa beans 

Farmer George

Farmer George was not so lucky- he walked from his farm to the collecting station with 10 lbs on his head and 10 lbs in each hand. Next week we will make a point of getting up to his farm.

One of the first trees planted is already bearing cocoa

The "Buy A Cocoa Tree" Campaign is going really well.  Thank you everyone for the support!  We have sold well over 100 trees. People are starting to purchase them as holiday gifts (we are sending out cards with these purchases).
http://www.cffigrenada.org/CFFI_donate.html

Just a reminder...if you are in the Vermont area CFFI will be featuring their crafts at The Cotton Mill Open Studio & Holiday Sale.  Great art, shopping,performances food & fun!
www.thecottonmill.org /802-257-7731
And on Monday The Ruggles & Hunt Bi-annual Fashion Show will be held at The Burdick's Restuarant- it is always a blast!
www.rugglesandhunt.com

Support us in this great Buy a Tree campaign!

 

The First Three Weeks-What a Success

Rawldon and Kimon building a living fence

So much has happened here in Grenada these past three weeks! We have hired our first two employees-Kimon Julien and Rawldon Mark. They have both been working efficiently and with enthusiasm.
They have cleared the cocoa farm land and are now building a "living fence" around the property. We are using razor grass for the fence. It will help keep out the goats and the cows. They also maintain our compost bins, turning them, adding scraps from the nursing home and chicken manure from our local chicken farmer. We now wait patiently for the professionals to come help us prune trees, cut others down and plant new ones.


Besides the purchase of "Fear Not" our beautiful
 new van we also bought boots, gloves and cocoa plants!
 We are definitely in business.
CFFI has a campaign on our website
where people can buy cocoa trees for $10..00. The $10 buys the tree,
 transportation to the farm and organic compost to plant with.
Check it out at www.cffigrenada

Paula with all her new purchases

Rasta John, Lynn & Jim Mort and Dorise 

Last night we had a good bye dinner for Dorise. Everyone in Grenada will miss her energy, good will and hard work. But no one as much as me. She has made my first three weeks so productive and helped me create a home here in Victoria.  I have many local friends thanks to Dorise. I think we all look forward to her return. But she has a husband who misses her back in NH so I am happy that she is going home. Also, she has many craft shows to do. These crafts shows help us bring in money for the farmers and in addition the craft people are getting excellent money for their products. So it is that full circle we are always talking about-people helping people.
The first show Dorise will be doing is:
Christmas Market with a Difference
Now in it's 26th year, 17 organizations will be represented at this year’s Market.
http://www.ccdcucc.org/cmwad/
If you are in the Dartmouth College area of Hanover NH, it is well worth the stop! The dates are: Thursday, November 7   10-6
Friday, November 8      10-6
Saturday, November 9   10-1
Cheers,
Paula