Aquaponics in Hawaii

I got this forwarded to me by my pastor yesterday.
I had been dreaming about something like this for a while now, and want to post this for anyone who might be interested.
Someone please do this so I can be happy for you, and a little jealous.

Commercial Aquaponics Training

October 18th and 19th, 25th and 26th in Honokaa, Hawaii
Four days/32 hours of classroom time and hands-on learning at our
farm.

Why Take This Training?

· Eat Well:
Feed your family and friends with the highest-quality, freshest
organic food on the planet! When you feed yourself, you are paying
yourself retail price for the food. Always feed your family from your
farm before you sell to others; it gives you the best financial return
for your work, and the freshest food.

· Do Well:
The small commercial system you will learn to build in this course
grosses from $6-8,000 per month on operating expenses of $800 per
month, and costs under $20,000 to build. This pays off the
construction cost of the system in 4 months of growing and puts you in
the black in the first year.

· Save The Planet:
This system uses 70% LESS energy than farming in the ground (either
conventional OR organic), to produce an equivalent amount of
vegetables. Instead of being petrochemical based, the energy is all
electrical, which means it can be run from alternate energy systems
such as solar panels, wind turbines, and hydro electric. This is the
first and only farming system in the world that doesn't require
petrochemical energy. It's also organic. In fact, it doesn't allow the
farmer to cheat at all, because any pesticide or chemical applied to
the vegetables goes to the fish next and kills them. The fish are the
canary in the coal mine and force the farmer to farm organically.

· Save The Planet Again:
With the addition of a catchment tank and a pump, the system supplies
all of its own water in any region with more than 50 inches of rain a
year. Even if you don't install the catchment option, the system only
uses 1,500 gallons of water for a vegetable production of 1,500 pounds
per month. Help conserve valuable water resources.

· For Those Of You Who Are Already Farmers:
There are no weeds. There are no soil pathogens or pests. There is no:
tilling, cultivating, fertilizer spreading, compost shredding, manure
spreading, plowing cover crops in, irrigating, or tractor shed
required. For that matter, there is no tractor, tiller, fertilizer
spreader, compost shredder, etc. There is also no dirt needed: it
works just as well on pahoehoe lava graded flat with a D9 as on
fertile soil. Seeding and a large part of harvesting labor can be done
sitting in the shade, in a Costco tent, or if you prefer, standing and
working at waist level. The only consumable inputs to this farming
system are fish food, fish fry, seeds, and potting media.

· It's Easy and Simple:
My wife Susanne and I have never farmed before (only small home
gardens), and are now producing 4,200 pounds of vegetables and 600
pounds of fish a month from the three systems we've built in the last
year. We've looked for why this is "too good to be true", and in an
entire year of operation, haven't found it. This really works.

· Movable Feast/ Movable Farm:
The whole system can be disassembled and moved to a new location. For
the first time ever, the farm is movable and not tied to a specific
piece of land. This means you don't need to own the land or even have
a traditional long-term lease in order to farm profitably. Although
longer term leases are desirable, you could make money even if you had
to move the operation every few years. It is much easier to lease a
piece of land for 5 years than 25. Owners like to make money off the
land, but don't like long leases that won't allow them to sell the
land if they need to. The short-term lease will allow them to do this
and lease the land to you. And in the meantime, you may earn enough
off the farm to buy the land it's on.

· It's Fun:
We've had the time of our lives planning, building, operating, and
talking about our aquaponics systems. They're hip, slick, and cool.
They're sustainable. Be the first on your block to have one. Imagine
the crowd surrounding you at parties to hear about your cool,
sustainable, energy-efficient aquaponics system. And the fish and
vegetables you farm and bring to a potluck will disappear before
anything else does.



Aloha from

Tim Mann
Friendly Aquaponics, Inc.
PO Box 1196
Honokaa, HI 96727
808-775-7745 training@friendlyaquaponics.com