We hear words thrown at us each and every day - most do nothing more than provide us with small bits of information. However, some words change our lives instantly and forever change the course of our lives. Cancer was that word for me. In an instant, these six letters humbled me and arrested my life, yet empowered me.
Of course, at 47 years of age, this is a word I had heard many times, affecting others' family members and friends. But when I was diagnosed with colon cancer, I could hardly believe it. This could not be happening to me, not my body - I take care of myself, I watch what I put into my body, and I had even made a career out of importing extra virgin olive oil from Greece and as the proprietor of an organic produce store. I have been practicing and promoting "clean", toxin- free approaches to my personal diet all of my life.
My name is Asti Benoit. I am a 49-year-old single mother of two, previous organic storeowner, and a brave, empowered, cancer survivor. While talking to some of my customers about what they wanted from the stores that sold their food, many responded that they wanted to know from where their produce was sourced. This question had quite a deep impact on me. Those who held a great deal of knowledge about produce did not want anything but local fruits and vegetables. These conversations and my customers’ passion filled me with a vision.
My vision was put on hold when, in 2013, I started noticing my body becoming weaker and weaker. I ran 4 miles every other a day, but steadily began to gain weight. These changes in my body scared me, but I proceeded on with my life, planning to start my Masters in Business Administration. Nearly a year into this 18-month program, my life was halted when I received the cancer diagnosis. After a difficult battle, I survived this devastating illness. My battle filled me with revitalized inspiration and dedication that further strengthened my resolve to pursue my farming goals.
Holding the belief that food should be clean, as well as transparent in its growth, origin, and processes, I started my own sustainable organic farm in June of 2015. Through this, I came upon a wonderful farming practice and have stuck to it because of its promise.
Aquaponics
This farming process is called Aquaponics. Aquaponics uses a symbiotic relationship between produce and fish to grow our food. This system produces absolutely no waste. The plants absorb the fish waste, which it uses and purifies before releasing back to the fish. In this way, the water remains healthy for the fish and the plant keeps getting their ammonia-rich nutrients from the fish waste.
It’s a self-sustaining solution. It uses no soil, no chemicals, and no pesticides.
This has been a residential, backyard concept that we have implemented for 15 months and now would like to take commercially. Originally, I started with hydroponics and spent ten years learning about this form of soilless agriculture. Adding fish has been the newest addition to my learning, and I am excited to see how this practice can grow.
What we want and impact
Our goal is to produce organic foods (herbs, roots, micro greens, and berries) and provide them to California WIC programs for pregnant mothers and children under five, as well as partnering with the American Cancer Society. We also would like to launch vegetable extractions that can be added to shakes, smoothies, and cooking foods to ensure ultimate nutritional value is in our meals.
Our goals span two phases:
· Education
· Launch
I have begun informally educating myself in this field and have gained a great deal of invaluable practical experience, which builds upon my ten years of experience with Hydroponics. Soilless farming has become a viable passion of mine, as well as a sustainable healthy choice for the planet. My plan is to further my education and absorb all of the knowledge that I can. This education will expose me to professional insights on the practice. In order to finish this education and consult with the few commercial farms in the Industry, I need $5000.00, which will allow me to complete the first phase of my goal.
After I have gained all of the knowledge that I can, my team and I have to build the Greenhouse to house our Aquaponics farm. This is the largest phase of the project, requiring $250,000. However, by using and renting existing greenhouses in our area, we can cut this price in half and speed up the beginning of our project.
I have personally been involved in this project for many years and have contributed about $150,000 of my own money on various aspects of the project. This has helped in many ways and has shown me the feasibility of the plan, while emphasizing my passion and dedication to this mission.
Other ways you can help
Some people may not be able to contribute financially at the moment, but that does not mean that you cannot help. So if you love this idea but lack the resources to pledge to its success, there are other ways you can help support us.
It will be a real help to this campaign if you share the information with friends on social media –Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. This will draw together other passionate people that can support and contribute to our mission. Please, use your social might! Tweet about us, like us on Facebook, or write a blog post! You can win a FREE gift just by spreading the word!
Talk about us and share the link with friends, family, and co-workers! Help us jumpstart this campaign and ensure its success.
You are more popular and more important than you know! Thanks for helping us get the word out.
Of course, at 47 years of age, this is a word I had heard many times, affecting others' family members and friends. But when I was diagnosed with colon cancer, I could hardly believe it. This could not be happening to me, not my body - I take care of myself, I watch what I put into my body, and I had even made a career out of importing extra virgin olive oil from Greece and as the proprietor of an organic produce store. I have been practicing and promoting "clean", toxin- free approaches to my personal diet all of my life.
My name is Asti Benoit. I am a 49-year-old single mother of two, previous organic storeowner, and a brave, empowered, cancer survivor. While talking to some of my customers about what they wanted from the stores that sold their food, many responded that they wanted to know from where their produce was sourced. This question had quite a deep impact on me. Those who held a great deal of knowledge about produce did not want anything but local fruits and vegetables. These conversations and my customers’ passion filled me with a vision.
My vision was put on hold when, in 2013, I started noticing my body becoming weaker and weaker. I ran 4 miles every other a day, but steadily began to gain weight. These changes in my body scared me, but I proceeded on with my life, planning to start my Masters in Business Administration. Nearly a year into this 18-month program, my life was halted when I received the cancer diagnosis. After a difficult battle, I survived this devastating illness. My battle filled me with revitalized inspiration and dedication that further strengthened my resolve to pursue my farming goals.
Holding the belief that food should be clean, as well as transparent in its growth, origin, and processes, I started my own sustainable organic farm in June of 2015. Through this, I came upon a wonderful farming practice and have stuck to it because of its promise.
Aquaponics
This farming process is called Aquaponics. Aquaponics uses a symbiotic relationship between produce and fish to grow our food. This system produces absolutely no waste. The plants absorb the fish waste, which it uses and purifies before releasing back to the fish. In this way, the water remains healthy for the fish and the plant keeps getting their ammonia-rich nutrients from the fish waste.
It’s a self-sustaining solution. It uses no soil, no chemicals, and no pesticides.
This has been a residential, backyard concept that we have implemented for 15 months and now would like to take commercially. Originally, I started with hydroponics and spent ten years learning about this form of soilless agriculture. Adding fish has been the newest addition to my learning, and I am excited to see how this practice can grow.
What we want and impact
Our goal is to produce organic foods (herbs, roots, micro greens, and berries) and provide them to California WIC programs for pregnant mothers and children under five, as well as partnering with the American Cancer Society. We also would like to launch vegetable extractions that can be added to shakes, smoothies, and cooking foods to ensure ultimate nutritional value is in our meals.
Our goals span two phases:
· Education
· Launch
I have begun informally educating myself in this field and have gained a great deal of invaluable practical experience, which builds upon my ten years of experience with Hydroponics. Soilless farming has become a viable passion of mine, as well as a sustainable healthy choice for the planet. My plan is to further my education and absorb all of the knowledge that I can. This education will expose me to professional insights on the practice. In order to finish this education and consult with the few commercial farms in the Industry, I need $5000.00, which will allow me to complete the first phase of my goal.
After I have gained all of the knowledge that I can, my team and I have to build the Greenhouse to house our Aquaponics farm. This is the largest phase of the project, requiring $250,000. However, by using and renting existing greenhouses in our area, we can cut this price in half and speed up the beginning of our project.
I have personally been involved in this project for many years and have contributed about $150,000 of my own money on various aspects of the project. This has helped in many ways and has shown me the feasibility of the plan, while emphasizing my passion and dedication to this mission.
Other ways you can help
Some people may not be able to contribute financially at the moment, but that does not mean that you cannot help. So if you love this idea but lack the resources to pledge to its success, there are other ways you can help support us.
It will be a real help to this campaign if you share the information with friends on social media –Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. This will draw together other passionate people that can support and contribute to our mission. Please, use your social might! Tweet about us, like us on Facebook, or write a blog post! You can win a FREE gift just by spreading the word!
Talk about us and share the link with friends, family, and co-workers! Help us jumpstart this campaign and ensure its success.
You are more popular and more important than you know! Thanks for helping us get the word out.