Organic Soursop Farming Certification in Guyana

By Gabriele Marewski, F2F Volunteer in March 2023

About the Assignment: Gabriele Marewski supported Del Hanna Family Farm as an Organic Crop Production Specialist. Gabriele guided them in innovative and sustainable ways to produce orchard and vegetable crops such as soursop, banana, coconut, peanuts, tomatoes, eggplant, and sweet pepper. Gabriele has worked in the field of organic agriculture for over thirty years, and currently is an agricultural coach and foundations facilitator for Mountain Bizworks.

When I was offered my first Farmer to Farmer assignment to Guyana, I was thrilled. Then I had to look up where Guyana is. I usually had this question when sharing about my assignment with others: Is that in Africa? I explained that Guyana is the only officially English speaking country in South America

I was assigned to work with the best soursop grower and soon to be first certified organic small farm in the country! 

Desk work of completing the organic certification application, was balanced with field work. We had fun days of on farm team building. Everyone pitched in, even our driver. We cleaned to minimize insect habitat, pruned the soursop trees and organized the farm. It was such a pleasure to work with a positive, can do, fun team.

Taking a break to enjoy the delicious lunch prepared by our host was such a treat: it was a chick pea tortilla filled with a chickpea salad and fresh cucumber. The farm harvested coconut water and milk was like a dessert.

 Another Farmer-to-Farmer volunteer was staying at the same hotel. I learned he was a beekeeper and had been working the local bee association. He was at the end of his assignment with a free day so I invited him to my host farm where there were a dozen bee hives. The farm beekeeper and an employee had their bee suits to join the Farmer-to-Farmer volunteer on assessing the bees. 

The highlight of the day was when lunch was served. It was Met-em-gee, a traditional one-pot meal made with cassava, sweet potatoes, yams, plantains all boiled in coconut milk with various spices. A wheat flour dumpling called duff is added that melts in your mouth. Local okra was included as a side, keeping this lunch as a much-appreciated vegetarian dish. The best!

We accomplished our goals and at the end of the day could see the fruits of our labor.

On my day off, was the opportunity of a lifetime to visit the largest single-drop waterfall in the world: Kaierteur Falls! We traveled in a small airplane as the vast expanse of the Amazon rainforest unfolded before us. We also visited Orinduik Falls which is on the Brazilian border and a lot of fun as we got to cool off in the refreshing water.

I enjoyed my time off with exploring downtown Georgetown’s grocery stores and bakeries. My special ritual was at the end of each day: going to the seawall by the hotel picking up trash. The hotel was very kind to give me all the trash bags I requested and would then dispose of them in their dumpster. 

What I learned is that the Guyanese people are very kind and generous and curious. I learned that the simple act of picking up trash becomes an opportunity to meet interesting people who want to engage. My Farmer-to-Farmer field officer, who was great to work with, also joined me in a couple of the outings including an organized beach clean-up Saturday morning at 6 AM!. It was all such a rewarding experience!