A trio of local women who are making waves in the farming sector have shared how their successful partnership came about, the challenges they face and the importance of local entrepreneurship. Roberta Williams, 72, is proud to be the oldest of the business team, which also includes Carolyn McCoy, 60, and Kathleen Forde.
"We are a part of Seasonz, that is the name of our business. Roberta and I are agriculturists by training, Carolyn is a banker by training, we are all now into agriculture," Forde told Observer. She said the farming venture the ladies launched earlier this year in Freemans Village uses the soil-less practice of hydroponics.
"There are different types of hydroponics: ours is the nutrient film technique. It basically has the nutrients in the water which pass over the roots and provide the nutrients for the plants," Forde explained. "We have three different types of lettuce thus far - romaine green leaf and red leaf. We anticipate that we will go into other leafy products in the future such as kale, arugula, and other sorts of shallow-rooted, greeny leaf products. The beauty about the hydroponics system is that it recycles the water, and we are helping the environment in terms of conserving water," Forde said.
Read more at the Antigua Observer (Shahein Fitzpatrick)