Newsletter: February 2016
Farm Report
The time in Belize was outstanding. The stewardship happening at this Fish Farm location, confirms that when you present people with the ability to achieve success, they learn, grow, and respond.
Our farm coordinators just returned from our most recent FFC project in Toledo, Belize. Construction of this aquaponic fish farm was completed April 2015 by collaborators working together to give this amazing school new tools to help them move towards self-sustainability. TCA students in Southern Belize come from a diverse community of cultures, with a plethora of diverse needs. The staff and teachers here lead by example as they provide education, practical skills, and love to children who are eager to find hope in the future.
Emerson Mangar, TCA director, has done an excellent job running this farm. After only 9 months of operation, TCA has already begun to sell Tilapia and vegetables locally. Additionally, the farm is providing food to the school lunch program, where over 200 meals are served daily. The fish and the system are developing well, and the school is reaching children and families trying to keep up with a changing economy and ever-present needs.
We have now installed a complete aeration system that will expand their ability to raise greater numbers of fish, and achieve even higher growth rates. We have also enhanced their filtration and growing ability by adding 10 new ‘flood and drain’ systems to their grow beds. This component will increase effective filtration and improve the diversity of vegetables that will be grown. We are excited to include this component in the design for new installations in Thailand, Myanmar, Kenya and Rwanda for 2016 and beyond.
1st Annual Fundraising Banquet
We're happy to announce our 1st annual fundraising banquet! Join us at Portland's premier MAC club on March 4th as we celebrate the great work we've been able to accomplish together, and look ahead at the exciting new prospects awaiting us.
For tickets and more info click here.
Back to Thailand- May 9th-25th
Collaborators Spotlight
Craftsmanship, artistic balance and viewing fly fishing through a classic lens are just the beginnings of James Reid’s story. Through his work, James is intentional about using his passions for more, and his heart is a rhythmic beat at the center of fly fishing’s legacy to serve children.
Craftsmanship, artistic balance and viewing fly fishing through a classic lens are just the beginnings of James Reid’s story. Residing in North Vancouver, B.C. James is a passionate steelheader and wilderness seeker. And, from his home shop he assembles some of the world’s finest custom bamboo fly rods and classic flies. Internationally, fellow rod builders and anglers seek him out for guidance, quality and the nostalgia of “the way things used to be done.”
However, his handmade creations go much further than the delivery of fine fly rods and flies, ones that often end up in the corner of an angry steelhead’s mouth. Through his work, James is intentional about using his passions for more and his heart is a rhythmic beat at the center of fly fishing’s legacy to serve children. Like you, he is one of many who contribute, and for his and your collaboration, an appreciation must be shared. Together you are each creating opportunity, fundraising and communication that is directly leading to more orphanage fish farms and gardens, ones that give life opportunity to hundreds of kids.
James Reid, Fly Fishing Collaborative and all those involved would like to express specific thanks to you for building and donating a classic fly rod. Your generosity of giving a bamboo trout rod will help ensure five new new orphanage fish farms and gardens will be built in 2016. And, through this, farm kids who were once at-risk to traffickers will experience a life free from slavery.
Want to see or purchase James’ donated fly rod in collaborative support for kids? Or, do you want to collaborate with him too and donate to this year’s fundraising needs? Then please accept this invitation to visit flyfishingcollaborative.org today, sign up online to attend the March banquet in Portland, OR and email Bucky@flyfishingcollaborative.org to indicate how you want to collaborate in your own unique passions.
What’s Ahead
We're very excited about the development of an enhanced, smaller aquaponics system. With this latest development of our aquaponics systems, we can now offer these villages sustainable economic resources, enabling them to provide for and protect their vulnerable. We are thrilled to head back to Thailand May 9th - 25th to install the first system!
This new design will provide fish and vegetables to homes and small communities. The system is energy efficient, and is easy to maintain and operate! It will allow us to take our work to a whole new level, specifically to the hill tribe villages of Northern Thailand where resources are scarce and young children are at high risk. Because traffickers target communities living with very low economic stability, their young often fall prey to sex traffickers. Promises of work, money or a better life are used to manipulate families into giving up their children. In almost every circumstance these children end up living in squalor and depravity, victimized over and over again. The life expectancy of a child in this situation is less than 10 years after they are forced into the world of sex-trafficking.
With this latest development of our aquaponics systems, we can now offer these villages sustainable economic resources, enabling them to provide for and protect their vulnerable. This is very exciting!
The first of these farms will be built at a central location in Thailand where village leaders can come to learn aquaponics, and then be assisted in developing aquaponics farms in their own homes and villages. This is what we've been aiming for since the conception of FFC - placing power into the hands of the powerless - to provide sustainable solutions for people, when they thought they had none.
If you'd like information about joining a work team on this project please email brenda@flyfishingcollaborative.org.