Cosechas Terra Viva

“The Internet of Farming” is Cosechas Tierra Viva’s slogan. Run by Franco Marcano and his partner Natalia in Las Piedras, it refers to using technology to help farmers collect information from their environment to work more efficiently. “Back when our grandparents farmed, they didn’t have so many distractions, so they could observe, their senses were more acute, they could see things, feel things, understand the patterns [on the farm] better than we can,” Marcano says. Now, Marcano uses technology to track rainfall, pressure, temperature, moon cycles, and gather years of data to begin to understand his microclimate. “Patterns are changing, and we need to understand patterns. Technology, a weather station, can be the most basic tool in implementing technology.”

Once this field is planted, Marcano’s goal is to turn the smaller area of raised beds on his property into a teaching garden. When he started his small farm, he had a difficult time finding information about small-scale farming, and he wants to make it easier for other farmers in Puerto Rico to learn. Plow to Plate funds will help Cosechas Tierra Viva create a health department-compliant produce packing area complete with cold storage.

ARECMA

When Richelle Van Dusen and her partner, Dallas Tate, were planning their vacation to Puerto Rico, they knew they wanted to volunteer somewhere for a day. They reached out to World Central Kitchen’s Puerto Rico team, who coordinated a visit to ARECMA, where they helped farmer Jose Soto for the day. Pictured above: Van Dusen and Tate.

ARECMA’s Plow to Plate grant money will be used for several different projects on the farm, including building a greenhouse in the cleared space pictured.

ARECMA is a non-profit community organization in Humaco, Puerto Rico, whose mission is “to work and ensure the welfare and integral development of the neighborhood and its people.” As part of their efforts, the group cooks low-cost lunches for people in the community each day. Pictured above: Margarita stands ready at the sales window for the steady stream of lunchtime customers.

Desde Mi Huerto

Desde Mi Huerto is the only farm in Puerto Rico dedicated to growing organic seeds to sell to both farmers and home gardeners on the island. Pictured: Co-founder Ivonne Reverón demonstrates how to remove seeds from a luffa, part of the cucurbit family.

The Plow to Plate grant for Desde Mi Huerto will be used to build out this structure into a kitchen.

Alexandra Robles, a Desde Mi Huerto employee, transplants seedlings in the greenhouse.

F&A Finca

Alfonso Díaz, owner of F&A, walks with his dogs on the private road that winds through his farm in Utuado. The visible rain clouds are typical here in central Puerto Rico, even now, when much of the island is in a drought.

Most of the heat-loving crops Díaz grows to sell wholesale to major retailers on the island, like Econo Supermercado, prefer drier soil, so he grows them under a protective canopy to enable him to control how much water they receive. He will use his Plow to Plate funds to build more canopy structures, like this one, on his farm.

Alfonso inspects damage to a pepper from a thrip infestation. As an agroecological farmer, rather than spray chemicals to kill the insects, he feels he’s been able to harvest enough peppers from these plants, and will tear them out and replant another crop in this space to eliminate the pests.

La Microfinca

La Microfinca gets its name from its first iteration as microgreens garden started in Tadilka Rivera’s San Juan apartment. After Hurricane María, Rivera was laid off from her job, and jumped at the opportunity to take over family land in Camuy in northwest Puerto Rico to start a suburban farm.

Now more of a mini farm than a micro farm, La Microfinca produces greens and root crops to sell at farmers’ markets, restaurants, and CSAs.

Rivera is using her Plow to Plate grant to build cold storage for crops she harvests—a necessity in this subtropical climate. Pictured here, Rivera’s uncle, father, and farm helper begin construction of the cold storage unit. Once the room is built with plywood, it will be insulated with foam, and an air-conditioning unit will keep the space cool. In the background, Rivera packs radishes while her stepmother cleans them.