Mandeville, Manchester – Since 1998, New Beulah Moravian Church on McKinley Road in this south central town has provided skills and academic training for young people.

The programme expanded a year ago with the development of a horticultural course.

One thing has led to another and now the horticultural aspect has blossomed into the Mike Town Horticultural Project.

It’s aimed at producing edible flowers in greenhouses while training young people in the Mike Town community and beyond in greenhouse farming.

Edible flowers such as nasturtiums, thyme, violas and rose petals are used as spices and increasingly as appetisers as well as culinary decorations at upscale restaurants.

The Mike Town project is being made possible by a $1.5-million grant from the Arthur Guinness Fund, which honours the name of the founder of that 250-odd year-old world-famous Irish brand, Guinness.

“We want to be able to sustain (the project) to produce edible flowers and at the same time train and employ people on the farm and help them set up farms for themselves…,” explained Wayne Williams, a member of the project committee at New Beulah.

During a recent site visit, Raquel Nevins, Guinness brand manager, and other members of her team witnessed a classroom setting at the church hall with a few young people receiving instructions in greenhouse farming. There was also a trip to the farm site at Mike Town about a mile from the church, where a laboratory greenhouse has been set up.

Preparations are at the infancy stage for the development of a three-acre greenhouse farm which will include the production of edible flowers and other vegetables; and over the longer term, a 400,000-500,000-gallon pond to store water.  A sustainable supply of water is being described as crucial for the survival of the project.

Nevins said her company was happy to be part of a project which was enabling a community to help itself by “doing something different”.

“This is just the start-up phase and we will come back to see the second and other phases,” said Nevins.

Jervis Rowe, greenhouse farmer and agricultural consultant, who is providing hands-on guidance for the project as well as instruction for the greenhouse trainees, said there was logic behind the choice of edible flowers.

Not only would there be a ready market — locally and overseas — for the product but it would be less attractive for farm thieves because of the specialised demand, he said.   

“If we are doing non-traditionals, such as edible flowers, I am pretty certain persons would not be tempted to mess with it as easily as they would for traditional crops which can be easily filtered into the market,” he said.

Trainee Keisha Thomas Lindsay told the Jamaica Observer Central that while she has never done farming she has always wanted to. Now she believes she is closer to achieving that dream.

“I can see where this can take me,” she said.