Kelp Farmer Innovations: Creative Solutions from the Water

Farmer Stories – This video highlights regenerative ocean farmers sharing their innovative approaches to kelp cultivation, from nursery techniques to harvesting solutions. Featuring Indigenous growers and cooperative members, the video showcases how farmers are developing accessible, affordable technologies and collaborative business models to advance the regenerative ocean farming movement. Farmers discuss their success with seedling cultivation, simple hatchery setups using off-the-shelf equipment, efficient harvesting methods like the “Harvest Buddy” barge, and the benefits of joining forces through the Sugar Kelp Cooperative for resource sharing and unified market messaging.

Transcript

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We have had just an incredible success

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with growing our seedlings,

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and we're hoping to assist other farmers,

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other indigenous groups who are interested in cultivating

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seaweed and bringing this to their communities.

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Um, we hope to be able to be a source provider

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for seedlings.

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Sugar kelp is indigenous to our area.

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Um, the, the seedlings have been very happy in our hatchery.

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They've been thriving. Um,

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it's really been a very positive experience all

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around in the cultivation of the seedlings,

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We've set up a plumbing system

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to direct it into the tanks in the house.

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We had three tanks this year,

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and we're going to double that, I think for the coming,

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coming next year.

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So most of the equipment is, uh, uh,

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right off the shelf from the pet store

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and used on Craigslist

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Project first started.

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You know, we, one of the problems we had is, is I,

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we would harvest into a small vessel

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and the small vessel would fill up very quickly

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and we'd have to stop and run

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and deliver the kelp to like a larger boat, uh,

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or the processor when we're in close.

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So we came up with the idea of harvesting into

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bags in the water and that that allowed a small vessel

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to harvest a lot of kelp.

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At one time, we developed this thing called

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the, the Harvest Buddy.

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And it was, is basically a, a really small barge,

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16 feet long by 10 feet wide.

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And I like the f kind of the,

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what I like the most is we were able

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to really shrink down the footprint needed for

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the machinery that you needed to harvest.

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The Sugar Kelp Cooperative consists of five farmers

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and we all just get together once a month

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and brainstorm and share ideas.

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Goal of the cooperative every year right now is

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to continue putting on this New England Kelp Harvest Week so

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that we can all boost ourselves at the same time,

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the cooperative is also kind

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of more broadly educating the public through kind

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of grassroots marketing.

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And we're being really consistent with how we message,

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how we talk about kelp, how we suggest people eat it,

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how we tell people how to handle it, how to store it.

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Um, we're kind of sharing resources.

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So if I make a video about, um, blanching seaweed at home,

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all of the other farmers can have access to it.

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They don't need to recreate, uh, all

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of these assets essentially.

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And, um, hopefully one day we'll come up

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with a really cool product that can help

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support the cooperative as well.

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And it helps all of the local farmers make a little bit

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of money while we figure out how

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to grow the market in other ways.

Topics:

Farming