How Alquimi Renewables is building national food security throughout the islands

BY SIMONE J. SMITH

Alchemy

“A seemingly magical process of transformation, creation, or combination.”

There is just something about the Caribbean that continues to bring people back there. It could be the sun. It could be the temperature. Sometimes it is because a person sees the need for change, and they know they are capable of assisting with that change. This is the case with Ralph Birkhoff, Director of Business Development for Alquimi Renewables.

It was during my interview with Ralph that I learned about some of the agricultural challenges that are occurring in the Caribbean. Food security can be described as precarious in the Caribbean. With the occurrence of tropical storms, floods, droughts, and earthquakes, agricultural can be difficult to navigate.

You would never think that there would be food insecurity issues in the Caribbean. I was surprised to hear that some islands import 80% of their food.  For natives, fresh fruits and vegetables are out of reach, especially if you are poor and unemployed. This means that food choices for these groups can be limited and often include inferior products (imported processed canned meats and fried foods).

Another major issue is soil conditions due to soil degradation. How do you grow food, if there is no land to grow it on? Human activities and climate affect the depth, organic matter content, pH, salinity and fertility, among other properties, of soil. Inadequate soil management or use in agriculture or mining alters soil properties. Many of these lead to soil degradation, which is a phenomenon that reduces the ability of soil to provide ecosystem services.

These issues have not gone unnoticed, and it is why Ralph took a leap of faith, moved to the Caribbean, and began to utilize his skills to assist the islands with a project that could help revolutionize their agricultural systems. Born and raised in Toronto, there was something about the Caribbean that always intrigued Ralph. As a sailor, he spent some time in the islands and fell in love with the: culture, the people and the freedom he experienced during his time there.

Ralph starts by telling me his vision with Alquimi Renewables.

“Utilizing Island Agtech our mission is to grow food locally, reduce imported food dependency, and create highly skilled jobs for young men and women in the islands. I met my partners in 2014, and Alquimi was loosely formed. We saw the work that islands like Nevis are doing. Nevis is the first island in the western hemisphere, to run 100% on geothermal energy. The opening of the geothermal plant allowed the island to become 100% reliant on zero emission renewable power generation. My thought: what else can be done to make life easier for the people who live in the Caribbean. After what I had learned about food, and food security, I knew what needed to be done.”

Ralph and his team turned to a Dutch solution – protected agriculture.

“A greenhouse is the best way to handle the fresh produce. By growing food locally in climate smart, hurricane resistant greenhouse systems, we could completely disrupt food import reliance and build national food security throughout the islands. We incorporated the latest in high yield sub-tropical hydroponic systems, integrated with renewable energy production and biomass processing technologies.”

There was one problem with greenhouses; whenever there was a hurricane, these greenhouse farms were getting wiped out. Ralph and his team had to come up with a greenhouse system that was climate resistant. What they designed was the first and only engineered certified earthquake resistant, hurricane resistant, and corrosion resistant structure. The greenhouse can be rapidly deployed, is completely scalable, and combined with their advanced food production systems, can ensure that fresh produce supply is uninterrupted.

“We have a social mandate. It is about food security for the nation,” Ralph tells me. “Every pound of food is coming from Miami. A lot of foreign exchange is leaving the region for food. With a decentralized farming operation that is scaled to each island’s consumption needs, a project like this will dramatically improve the reliability, quality, and accessibility of local food supply. It will allow for the training and recruiting of young people, create high skilled jobs, reduce food cost, eliminate food waste, and ultimately reduce the carbon footprint created by food transportation and shipping.”

“Building upon the success of the project,” I asked, “How will locals be affected?”

“Well for one thing, food will be coming right from the farm to the table. Many of the primary schools have food programs, and we will be able to deliver our surplus to help support the schools. Finally, it will improve the tourism industry by improving the dining experience. Chefs are very excited about this. They will be able to use home grown foods in their meals.”

Alquimi Renewables is a small part of the solution, but they are excited to see what can be done globally. They are open to other investors, and partners with this project, and hope that others will see the beauty of ending food insecurity in the Caribbean.

Resources

Island Agtech
https://www.islandagtech.com/

Alquimi Renewables
http://www.alquimirenewables.com/