Day 5 (July 27)
Wow! What an awesome day it was! These kids are really something else. They have learnt so much this whole week and made the most amazing farmers market stand.
In the morning, we completed all our posters that we needed for the market and did the financial calculations of running the market stand.
After lunch they had an amazing time harvesting all the produce they had grown themselves using state of the art hydroponics, acquaponics and different light.
The market stand itself was a complete success. The kids sold so much that Brian and Olivia from Ripplefarms had to keep refilling the supply!
In the end the kids sold over $200 of produce that they had made themselves! They were delighted to give over $110 to the Evergreen Worm Wranglers.
Such an achievement for all these kids. Excellent team work. Loads of work and it all paid off in the end.
Day 4 (July 26)
The excitement as we get closer to our final day is building. It is amazing how much the kids have learnt.
Today, in a span of 45 minutes they sold 6 jars of Pootrients! One client realized she couldn't actually carry the jars but was so impressed by their sales pitch, gave them $5 anyway. We also met a professor from U of T who was having a Masters Level Leadership Class and he brought his entire team to the Farm and made them listen to the kids sales pitch. He said it was a lesson in team work! We are really very pleased with the sales and the compliments.
The Kids have now sold over $50 of Pootrients!! Simply fantastic.
We did some tie-dye in before lunch and this is what they will wear to sell in the Farmers Market tomorrow.
Since we are teaching them about Sustainability, the bits and paper that they would have thrown away are now being transformed into a Karma Jar! Come and pick your Karma tomorrow. :-)
Brian the awesome Manager at Ripple Farms, spent the afternoon playing a game called Feed 9 Billion. In 2050, the population on Earth will be 9 billion and this game drives home the point that we need to start thinking about how all these people will be nourished today. It's certainly an eye opening game.
Don't forget! Friday July 27 at 3pm- 4.00pm is our Farmers Market Stand. Bring your friends and come along. We will be selling:
- Pea shoots
- Onion Shoots
- Lettuce
- Pootrients (order yours today because we can only sell 6 per day!)
- Farm made Pesto (no preservatives)- limit to 6 per day also!
- Animal food
Cash only!
Profits from the sales go to support the Evergreen Brickworks Worm Wranglers so that they continue their mission to support the environment. We are giving back to the community!
Please note: Kids pick up tomorrow is 4.00pm, however we may stay a few minutes longer if they have gotten into the swing of it and want to sell.
Day 3 (July 25)
I can't believe how fast the day goes! Today was one action packed day.
In the morning, the campers created their own mini acquaponics system to grow lettuce. These will be available for sale on Friday.
They also helped set up a solar panel which is the only electrical outlet available to the farm. (We are quite serious when we talk about sustainability).
They also learnt how to test the level of nitrogen in the water and how the color changes depending on how much nitrates is in it. The Pootrients that Ripple Farms sells is extremely high in nitrates and excellent for your plants.
In the afternoon, the campers were ready to sell more. Our first sale was yesterday where after many tries we sold one jar of Pootrient. Today, we sold 6 jars!!! The campers work amazingly good as a team and were great at selling to members of the public. Selling is the hardest part of a business and these kids seem to be mastering it with great ease. Here are my thoughts on this: If someone can sell a jar of fish poop for $5 , I am certain they can sell anything now!
We are starting to get ready for our Farmers Market! Only 2 days left!
We made posters for our market, the camper who is "Marketing Manager" has identified spots where to leave our poster. The camper who is "Financial Manager" has accurately written down all the expenses and income and we have a profit of $16 today! The camper who is "Operations Manager" has started to identify the next level of things needed for the market stand. And our "Sales Manager" pre-sold 4 more jars of Pootrients!
Don't forget! Friday July 27 at 3pm is our Farmers Market Stand. Bring your friends and come along. We will be selling:
- Pea shoots
- Carrots
- Lettuce
- Pootrients (order yours today because we can only sell 6 per day!)
- Farm made Pesto (no preservatives)
- Animal food
Profits from the sales go to support the Evergreen Brickworks Worm Wranglers so that they continue their mission to support the environment. We are giving back to the community!
Day 2 (July 24)
We have had a super day today!
In the morning the campers harvested the pea shoots and had them for snack :-)
They then planted more pea shoots with worm castings that we got from Evergreen Brickworks Worm Composting. The children also learnt the value of giving back to earth and building a sustainable model when the waste from the pea shoots was given back to worms to eat.
They absolutely loved getting their hands dirty with the worms and since most of them have never touched one it was amazing. Slowly, they are becoming experts in vertical farming.
In the afternoon, we learnt about sales. One of the hardest things to do when you have a new business is sell. So, we went out in a group to try to sell a jar of "Pootrient" for $5. The children learnt never to give up and how sales come from the strangest of places. They were overjoyed when they finally sold it.
We also did some A/B Testing with them understanding the value of alternative tests and trying out different strategies.
Don't forget! Friday July 27 at 3pm is our Farmers Market Stand. Bring your friends and come along. Don't forget also to pre-order a jar of Pootrients for your garden!
Day 1 (July 23)
What an amazing fun day! The campers started the day with a short hike around Evergreen Brickworks and then spend the morning planting. They will grow most of the produce that they sell in their Farmers Stand on Friday.
The day was spent learning all about Sustainability and how each of them could make changes to help support our environment. It was stressed that while all of them would like to make money, they need to find ways to do it without hurting the environment.
They also learnt in the morning about oneoponics, hydroponics and used coconut husk based soil and cocoa bean husks as wood chips! Needless to say, everything was fascinating and fun for them!
We then started to learn how to start their own businesses and how to identify a need that they think needs to be fulfilled. After this each person had their own function and off they went brainstorming on what comes next. We have an Operations Manager, Sales Manager, Marketing Manager and a Financial Manager.
It's wonderful being at Evergreen Brickworks because just in an hour, the kids saw several turtles, many different types of fish, birds and bees! They were delighted at this and have even given the turtles names!
Please spread the word about their Farmers Stand on Friday at 3pm. (Check out the poster below!)
