Making Strides on CFFI Projects!

Here at CFFI we’ve been making huge strides on some of projects!

Organic composting on the farm:

Thanks to the guidance of local organic agriculture expert Troy Augustine, we re-vamped our composting system. We now have a series of accessible bins with compost at 3-5 different stages of decomposition. The compost looks great and has been recording temperatures of over 100 degrees Fahrenheit.  The sequential bins are a great visual demonstration of the stages of compost.  

Compost will be turned every three weeks, and a new bin created each time.

Crafts: 

A huge shipment of beautiful, handmade crafts returned to the US with Paula for sale at L.A. Burdick stores. A second shipment is returning in May with Dorise!

New hand-painted placemats and napkins!

Dorise continues to train our official CFFI craft employees, Trisha and Donna.  She is currently working on transforming the cellar of the factory into a creative space for making and displaying crafts.

Dorise is also constantly finding remarkably talented Grenadians and supporting their own craftwork.   We recently attended a Rastafari celebration hosted by I-Free, a Grenadian famous for his work with natural weaving.  

Hand woven, one-of-a-kind bag from I-Free

In addition to I-Free, Dorise works with a number of talented weavers who make cocoa baskets that were traditionally used to harvest and hold cocoa pods on farmers’ heads.

Traditional cocoa harvesting baskets.

Grafting

We have been grafting cocoa trees at Maran Nursery nearly every week.  We are practicing side, top and micrografting and working with Nigel Gibbs from the Ministry of Agriculture to perfect our technique.  Grafting is all about timing and precision!

Our new tool shed:

Our team has been working hard this past week to build a tool shed by the farm.  

We’re recycling bottles from this weekend’s St. Marks Day Festivities and building glass bottle walls.  We’re excited to try this innovative and green method of building.  Stay tuned to see how it looks!

Craft Production with CFFI

CFFI fundraises by employing local women to create beautiful crafts with local and natural materials.  These crafts include bags, scarves, jewelry, napkins, and Dorise is always creating new designs!  Everything uses recycled materials, local fabrics, shells, sea glass or seeds collected in the wild.

For the past few days we've had a crew of women working and designing beautiful new crafts.  These skills generate employment and income, and teach women news skills.

Check L.A. Burdick stores in Walpole, NH and Boston, MA soon for new merchandise that will support CFFI projects with local farmers.

Crafts workers Kimon, Donica, Donna, Trisha and Dorise.

Materials used for jewelry making. 

Donna's son Nedon helps his mother drill seeds to make beads.

Finished jewelry waiting to be delivered to L.A. Burdicks in the US.

Summer Composting Internship Opportunity

The Cocoa Farming Future Initiative, located in Victoria, Grenada, is looking for a student intern who is passionate and knowledgable about composting and producing organic fertilizer.  We are looking for a two to three month commitment for summer 2014.  The start and end dates are flexible.

Background:
In 2004 and 2005, hurricanes devastated the rain forests where Grenada's cocoa, fruit, and spices grow. CFFI was established to aid farmers as they clear and re-establish their lands in a way that promotes economic development while conserving the island's unique, diverse ecosystem.

CFFI achieves its mission through a variety of projects-clearing farmland, helping cocoa growers get their beans to market, and providing ongoing training in grafting techniques, to name a few.

This year we are turning our attention to composting. On the site of our model teaching farm, we are establishing a micro-business producing organic fertilizer from compost. Our aim is to sell the fertilizer to local farmers at a low cost. With this project we are advancing many of our goals at once-creating jobs in the community, generating revenue for CFFI, and providing assistance to cocoa farmers.

Opportunities:

• Apply your skills and knowledge while gaining practical experience in a developing nation
• Lead a team in establishing a farm-scale composting program
• Work alongside otherUS interns and local employees
• Report directly to the president of CFFI
• Spend a summer on the magnificent Caribbean island of Grenada

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Maintain existing compost sites
• Collect waste from local establishments
• Manage compost and soil analysis
• Develop training materials
• Educate local apprentices

Qualifications and Experience:

• Prior experience in composting
• Ability to work well individually and on a team
• Leadership and decision-making experience
• Comfort working in diverse settings
• Valid drivers license (experience driving standard cars preferred)

Compensation:

CFFI provides room and board, and stipend.  The size of the stipend depends on the candidate's prior experience and knowledge.  Interns are responsible for their own transportation to and from Grenada.

Please send resume and cover letter to Paula Burdick at Grenada.cffi@gmail.com

Diamond Chocolate Factory Opening Ceremony!

Congratulations! Yesterday was the official Opening Ceremony for the Diamond Chocolate Factory!

Numerous community members and representatives from factory partners (Grenada Cocoa Association, the government of Grenada and USAID) attended the beautiful ceremony. In addition to performances by talented youth from St. Marks Secondary School, there were inspiring remarks from Roland Bhola, Minister of Agriculture, Clarice Modeste, Parliamentary Representative, Larry Burdick of L.A. Burdicks Chocolate, Lary Palmer, USAID Ambassador, and Grenadian Prime Minister Keith Mitchell.

Island Catering provided lunches for everyone and Grenadian chocolate was in abundance.  Guests took home samples of the Diamond Chocolate Company's trademark Jouvay chocolate bars and sampled Grenadian rum truffles.

Making truffles with Grenadian Jouvay chocolate and Grenadian rum!

Speakers and special guests praised the work and dedication involved in opening the factory and look forward to increased culinary, tourism and economic opportunities that promote authentic Grenadian culture and agriculture. What a successful, beautiful and delicious day!

Thanks Ruggles & Hunt for Supporting CFFI with Fabulous Fashions Shows

Click here to see the Video!

Another Successful Day of Grafting

Local farmers and agriculture experts were enthusiastic about putting their knowledge into action and practicing their new skills on the second day of the Grafting Seminar.

In the morning, Dr. Sreenivasan described the history and advantages of grafting as a natural way to control and improve tree productivity. Grafting encourages farmers to think critically, observe, and monitor their trees to identify the healthiest trees with the highest yields.  Young branches or off-shoots (called scions and chupons) are collected from these strong trees and attached to seedlings.  If the grafting is successful, the genetic material from the healthy tree will grow on the seedling, passing on its strong characteristics.

Nigel Gibbs from the Ministry of Agriculture helps participants find branches to use for grafting.

Participants watch a grafting demonstration by Dr. Sreenivasan

Participants watch a grafting demonstration by Annelle John-Holder

Special thanks to Maran Nursery for hosting the seminar and helping provide trees for all our participants!

So far, participants learned about grafting and budding.  There are a few different techniques for each, and farmers were encouraged to experiment with all of the techniques.  Once they become familiar with the techniques, they can learn to perfect and focus on one or two of them.  It takes up to a few months to see the results, so grafting requires a lot of patience and practice.

Nigel Gibbs from the Ministry of Agriculture gets a better view of the demonstration!

The participants were a diverse group of farmers, agriculture extension workers, representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture and young people interested in farming.  Everyone brought a unique perspective and all were excited to learn new skills.

Greenhouse facilities at the Maran Nursery.

Our workers Rawldon and Kimon practicing grafting techniques.

A side-grafted seedling by our employee Rawldon!

After the seminar finished, Dr. Sreenivasan, Anelle and Vinosh got a tour of the chocolate factory with Jim Mort. The factory will produce authentic Grenada chocolate with cocoa beans from many of the farmers we work with!  

Jim Mort, building manager at the chocolate factory, giving a tour.

Afterward, they came to tour CFFI's cocoa farm. They were impressed with the work we've done so far, and gave us valuable advice for the trees. They helped us to identify healthy new trees to nurture, and suggested monitoring which trees produce the most in order to start grafting.

Dr. T.N. Sreenivasan, Annelle John Holder and Vinosh Jadoo tour the cocoa farm.

The Cocoa Research Centre experts giving Paula and Larry Burdick advice on grafting opportunities on the cocoa farm.

Paula and Dorise with the grafting experts from Trinidad

Grafting is a great way for farmers to gain control over their trees.  The seminar is so important because it exposes the farmers to advanced techniques they can do themselves.  With these skills, farmers are empowered to improve their yields and even control for flavors, without having to rely on external resources or agencies.

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!