This week we fed the masses with plantains and fishes. On Monday 25 people – our staff at the Center and the Genesis Co-op – enjoyed a lunch of fried tilapia, plantains, rice and salad, thanks to the miracle of aquaponics.Many of you have read about our aquaponics system that can grow up to 100 pounds of fish and several hundred pounds of vegetables in a backyard. The setup cost is around $300, and when 1/3 of all Nicaraguan children are chronically malnourished, providing families with a source of vitamins and protein is invaluable.
Our volunteer, Jason, the mastermind who has set up the aquaponics system, headed home to visit his family for the first time in nine months. While Jason will be back to continue his work in aquaponics in the new year, he felt that it would be best to shut the system down, especially since we will be closed over Christmas. So we had a fish fry…
Josefa and Nubia stuffed the tilapia with cilantro and fried them, along with plantains, and complimented it with rice and salad. The meal was enjoyed by all, and we look forward to re-stocking the fish tank in January, this time with tilapia of staggered ages to try to achieve a steady reproduction (and harvest) rate.-- Becca
