Breadfruit
Breadfruit (Arthocarpus Altills) is a very common crop in Puerto Rico. I think there is a great market opportunity to produce this fruit. There is an organization called Global Breadfruit that is successfully reproducing various varieties of bread. There is a dwarf variety called Ma'fala that has great yields. I think there is a great opportunity to grow this crop and sell it in the island. Also, there is a bigger niche market of exporting bread fruit to satisfy Puerto Ricans that have moved north. This recently published article shows how the population of Puerto Ricans moving to the US has significantly increase in the last decade.
I have a more ambitious vision with this project. I believe a breadfruit processing plant could be a good entrepreneurial venture. My idea came from noticing all the bread fruit trees growing around Puerto Rico. I haven't concretized the idea but I envision a type of “bartering” with the owners of this bread fruit trees. Working something along the lines of exchanging a whole bread fruit with a portion of already processed breadfruit. I will like to have a creative approach to this plant.
In order to accomplish this I am reading Charles Einstein's Sacred Economy book. I keep up to date with the feeds from the Global Breadfruit society. I recently found this incredible initiative for the commercialization of gluten free bread fruit flour. I had a meeting with my friend Paul Zink from the Global Breadfruit management team and were both very excited about future opportunities.
I am very passionate with this idea because I have a strong connection with breadfruit and my family. I have memories of eating my grandma's tostones de pana from the tree that my grandpa planted. The anecdote in the end of the out put package involves a bread fruit. Lastly, my cousins Jaime y Javier, made the cover page for lolo's book with the zap of the breadfruit.
Lerenes
Leren (Calathea Allouia) is perennial crop native from the tropical america. It was widely cultivated in the home orchards of indigenous people. It grows well in terrains that are humid and above sea level. The tuberous roots of the leren are boiled and then eaten. They look like a small potato. It's texture remains very crunchy and the taste is compared to green cooked corn.
Leren is readily found in Finca Carite. My uncle, Tito believes that there is a good potential to cultivate this crop. Most of the adult population remembers eating leren in their youth. Now days is hard to find in the local markets. My uncle Tito started doing his market research and talked to a local chef that owns 2 important restaurants of Puerto Rican cuisine and he showed interest in the crop.
Rent
Any of the houses that will be constructed have the potential to generate income from rent. There is a market for foreign and local people looking to spend time in a paradise like Carite Lake. I believe that if it is well advertised, and using platforms like airbnb there is a good niche market to reach. Here is an example of another house in Carite that is posted on airbnb.
Hector's and Enei's Vision
Hector and Enei are developing a new vision for their farm. To have a context I want make note that Enei retired in 2014 and Hector go laid off due to employee cutbacks. They are now in a position of been able to stay at the farm and cultivate. They both love working the land and over the years have been able to have a large variety and quatity of edible plants. There idea is to start selling them at nearby markets. In my time there I push for them to start being more proactive about selling their produce. But I remember my lesson learned in the community of el Ahumado in Guatemala, where we made the mistake of not empowering the people to develop their own projects. So I am hoping that both Hector and Enei engage in selling the products that they are cultivating. They have a really good potential to make a substantial living from this. I hope in the future our family can facilitate this for them!
Ecolodge and Retreat Center
Finca Carite has the potential to become a small eco lodge and retreat center. The beauty of the lake and the forest around make it an ideal place. Locally grown food could be served for the guests. Kayaking and paddle boards could be fun activities to do. A yoga house could be done in the shore of the lake. The retreat could be used to host permaculture courses, yoga retreats and other workshops. The eco lodge could become sister sites for up and coming centers for organizations like Seres and La Ecoversidad.
Food Forest
This project is underway. I already planted different types of fruit trees and a variety of crops in between. There is an area that we call “las chimbas” that faces south and has good quality soil that is already amended with old char from ancestors. There is a great opportunity to grow a combination of trees like breadfruit, avocados, citrus, zapote and mangosteen. In between we could grow a mix of annual and perennial plants like yucca, plantain, bananas, sweet potatoes, cilantro, cucumber, turmeric and ginger. I believe there could be speciality herbs and vegetables that could be grown in between for white cloth restaurants, hotels or cruise ships. There is a big culinary industry in Puerto Rico to be targeted.
The food forest can also serve as an demonstration system for educational purposes. There are over 50 varieties of plants already thriving. There is more work that can be done every year. We are lucky to have Hector, the neighbor taking care with the maintenance of the beginning of this food forest.
Family Haven
My family have always been very united. My grandparents did a great job of building a house right on the caribbean ocean where they enjoyed their retirement. For the last 40 years that has been the place that the family has always gathered. My grandpa passed away 3 years ago and Grandma is 93 years old. It is unsure what is going to happen with the beach house after my grandma is not here with us.
I think the farm could give the family another gathering option. Recently we have gathered at the farm and had fantastic . Now there is a container where there is a canoe, tools and a boat. There are benches and a fire pit in the lake front area. There is food that can be harvested. Furthermore, with the construction of the first house the farm is going to be more comfortable and we could spend the night there.