Northern Caribbean Disaster Response Fund

Thank you for supporting the Blue Atlas Projects work in the Caribbean.

We have been busy over the past few months supporting our aquaponics school gardens and farmers. What does this look like, it closely resembles orchestrating tilaplis fingerling deliveries for expanding and new systems, helping to organize shipments of supplies for goods hard to find in the Bahamas and providing 

We are currently carrying out assessments for expanding our Food Equity and Sustainability Training (FEAST) Center(s) to other Bahamian islands. This effort is in partnership with the Agricultural Development Organization, the TK Foundation, One Eleuthera and the Island School. We are looking to expand to both Eleuthera and Grand Bahamas. Grand Bahamas, like Abaco where are pilot projects were located, was devestated by Hurricane Dorian and they are both still rebuilding. These centers will stand as school or community based gardens that are accessible to the children and adults alike for hands -on trainings. 

We are working with teachers in Abaco to develop the Northern Caribbean school curriculum for aquaponic school gardens to help best utilize these systems for school and community inclusion and to grow the most food possible!

While our focus is currently on supporting and expanding the aquaponics network in the Bahamas, we do see the connectivity between aquaponics and aquaculture. The diversity of aquaculture that needs to and will be utilized in the Caribbean is impressive. While most of us think of salmon and tilapia, there is an abundance of sea life and opportunities that could flourish and provide increased food security, sustainabe fishing practices and economic opportunity in the region. 

What are we looking at? Utilizing the aquaponic network to propogate mangrove seedlings to restore the first line of defense against future storms. Mangroves dense root network provide safe spawning habitats for an assortment of fish, while protecting from land degradation during those storms. We want to bring our knowledge of algae growth to the area, to jumpstart protein alternatives such as spirulina and foster growth in seaweed farming. 

We are excited about what has occurred over the past year, seeing the systems and farms grow and overcome challenges. Thank you for your support, it allows us to think bigger and see how together we can create a more food secure world, aiding in food sovereignty in each region we work. 

Please follow along with Blue Atlas on our social media pages for more information about what we are doing and why:

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In gratitude,

Kali Kirkendall

Founder

The Blue Atlas Project