Q&A CONVERSATION WITH CORINNE MATTHEWS:
Regenerative Hydroponic Farmer, Educator, Environmentalist, Mom, & Native Meals Advocate
M.F. Espinoza (M): Might you share some highlights out of your background story and inform us concerning the journey that led you to start out farming?
Corinne Matthews (CM): I used to be born and raised in New York and my household is from Costa Rica by means of Jamaica. Costa Rica is my ardour place; that’s that’s love, that’s rest, that’s life, that’s all the pieces for me, and all of this farming for me is follow to start out my actual life in Costa Rica.
I knew I used to be going to homeschool my son in 2020 earlier than the pandemic began. And so, in Could of 2020, we had been supposed to start out our homeschool yr in Costa Rica. After which the pandemic occurred, and people plans went out the window…
We left in Could [of 2022] and stayed for 2 months; it was like one of the best two months of my life. My first job was as a center faculty trainer. I’ve a science background and love environmental science, one of many topics I taught. We talked loads about various things within the atmosphere. Costa Rica is an incredible place as a result of it has so many alternative ecosystems and climates that you would be able to be in. We ended up visiting a whole lot of totally different locations, however my favourite locations had been the permaculture farms.
It was superb to see what occurs when you do not attempt to battle in opposition to Mom Nature and work along with her. You do not see that pale brown mud that so many farmers attempt to develop in. It is so lovely and peaceable; you may hear the angels singing while you see these farms! However in fact, in america, we battle in opposition to all the pieces, proper? We need to give you our personal approach, and no person else is aware of something higher.
So, I actually fell in love with that mannequin. After seeing what was happening in 2020 when it comes to the meals provide chain in a rustic like ours — the place everyone needs to be consuming three or 4 meals a day with out problem — [I find it unacceptable that] now we have people who find themselves ravenous.
[Additionally,] a number of the extra well-liked preservatives which can be used [in mass-produced foods] …they do not actually know what impact they’ve on human consumption. And I am like, what? What? Why are we utilizing them if we do not know what they do to folks?
That was actually the motivating issue behind me beginning to develop meals.
