From morning devotions to helping a local farm, the first day of the Celebrate Church’s IMPACT trip was full of purpose! Read all about their visit to Driftwood Farms and how both groups are making a difference.
Started the day with morning Devos.
We then headed to Driftwood Farms for the day.
We met Tracy Kelly and Glen Kelly. They are the owners of the farm.
On the farm, they use hydroponics to grow all sorts of produce to sell throughout the community and donate produce towards the First 1000 Days Program run by Many Hands.
The First 1000 Days Program is what Many Hands does for new mothers and children; they provide food and parental support for the first 1000 days of life which helps get both the new mother and new baby off to a good start.
At Driftwood Farms they started growing food in 2012 for their neighborhood and have grown substantially into what they have now.
They are heavily involved in the community and are doing everything they can to help turn the island around.
The rocky soil here, composed mostly of limestone, is difficult to dig in and lacks the nutrients that most plants need to thrive. To overcome these challenges, farmers here have adopted hydroponic systems, which grow crops above ground using a nutrient-rich water solution.
We helped them tear down for the summer season. This seems odd since our prime growing season in Iowa really starts right about this time of year, but it gets way too hot down here during the summer season and with the Hurricane season starting in June and going through November, they wind down their growing season to avoid the peak Hurricane season in September.
We removed the plant containers from the watering stands, removed the root balls from them, and salvaged as much of the soil as possible so they could reuse that soil/compost for next season’s crop.
We were able to help out with the farm project last year on our first trip out here, and to see how they have grown in that time is exciting. As fellow gardeners we enjoy helping and learning the different ways to grow produce and how a small farm operation can affect a community in a big way.
At the end of the day, we were able to enjoy some sand volleyball at the farm and some homemade ice cream from the local farm, Abaco Big Bird.
How did we see Jesus today?
Whenever a community comes together for the good of the people, you can see how hard work can bring Joy and comfort to those needing food.
Brought to you by Mike Bender and Mike Caulkins
