Looks like we are not in Kansas anymore

On Monday, Mike, Didi and myself headed down to the farming community on North Andros.  This is an area of the island south of the wellfield and has a surprising number of small farms.  There are two distinct groups of farmers: the Bahamians and the Mennonites.

The Bahamian farmers have settled in an area called the BARC, Bahamas Agriculture Research Centre which started in the 1970s when an area of pine forest was cleared for farming.  There are about 16-20 farmers in this area  (with the farms being between 40 and 80 acres) and most have been established and worked the land since the BARC started.  Its a wonderful small community with its own church and other amenities.  The main crops it seems are fruits (lots of limes) and root vegetates and corn. There are probably more but I am not so good at identifying crops I have to say!

Everyone we talked to was very welcoming and let us sample their wells next to the homes but as it was quite damp outside they were less keen to show us the wells they use for their crops.  We were told on a number of occasions that the water in the BARC is the best on the island and that people stop by to buy a few gallons of water from them sometimes.


The Mennonite settlers have only one large farm which is north of the BARC.  This farm is quite different from the other farms and a sight to behold.  It was like being in middle America, with cows and everything!

Kansas-wannabe

Exactly how I felt about the stench!

We went to sample from the farms boreholes which they use to water the crops with and we noted that we were not the only creature interested in these holes, it seems like the cows and the horse also have been making use of these lovely holes.  That was a treat for all three of us to pump, what a way to round off a lovely day.