{"id":340365,"date":"2025-04-21T16:32:09","date_gmt":"2025-04-21T20:32:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/?p=340365"},"modified":"2025-04-22T12:45:46","modified_gmt":"2025-04-22T16:45:46","slug":"dawn-francis-sustainable-agriculture-and-organic-farming-advocate-and-a-model-for-small-farmers-in-her-native-dominica-is-named-an-iica-leader-of-rurality-of-the-americas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/gender\/dawn-francis-sustainable-agriculture-and-organic-farming-advocate-and-a-model-for-small-farmers-in-her-native-dominica-is-named-an-iica-leader-of-rurality-of-the-americas\/","title":{"rendered":"Dawn Francis, sustainable agriculture and organic farming advocate and a model for small farmers in her native Dominica, is named an IICA Leader of Rurality of the Americas"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Francis founded her own organization, EcoBalance Inc., which has implemented training programs for producers and equipment acquisition plans. Photo: IICA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dawn Francis left a job in the corporate world to pursue her true passion, agriculture. She rolled up her sleeves and got to work, \u00a0even as she remained mindful of her neighbors operating other family farms. Eventually, she was able to arrange for technical cooperation in the district and even established her own organization.<\/p>\n

The Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) has named this Caribbean rural farmer as one of its \u201cLeaders of Rurality of the Americas\u201d, and as such she will receive the \u201cSoul of Rurality\u201d award. This organization that specializes in agricultural and rural development created the award to turn the spotlight on men and women who are leaving their mark and making a difference in rural areas of the Americas.<\/p>\n

With a warm smile that never fades throughout the interview, Dawn tells us that \u201c[she] worked in a bank for twenty years\u201d. After a decade and a half as a supervisor in a branch of a well-known international bank in Rouseau, the country\u2019s capital, she confessed that, \u201cI realized that although I loved to help people, I no longer enjoyed the corporate world\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had a dream\u2026\u201d\u2014she continues\u2014 \u201ca dream that I was in a forest, and I looked so content and happy\u201d. In the dream, Dawn had a \u201csecret garden\u201d in the forest.<\/p>\n

That moment prompted a change in the direction of Francis\u2019 life, which began with her learning about sustainability and organic agriculture, in particular through programs organized by international agencies.<\/p>\n

One of these projects took her to Wa Samaki Ecosystems in Freeport, Trinidad and Tobago, where she was introduced to a practice that enticed her: permaculture. Permaculture is an agricultural design system in which production areas work in close harmony with the surrounding natural environment.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I learned about permaculture, I realized that I was in the right sector. I felt that I could fulfill my passion, and I discovered my reason for being on Earth\u201d, Francis recalls.<\/p>\n

Subsequently, thanks to an IICA program, she traveled to Mexico to pursue an earth sciences course, which she describes as \u201ca marvelous experience\u201d. \u00a0During that visit, the Dominican farmer recalls that, \u201cthe thing that struck me the most was when I spent time with a farming family that consumed only food grown in their own fields\u201d.<\/p>\n

These practices became a goal for Francis, a type of sustainable criterion that stipulates that at least eighty percent of what is consumed in rural areas, should come from the land itself.<\/p>\n

Mexico left her with unforgettable memories, such as sitting at nights with the rural women and watching them knit together. \u201cFor me, these moments represented peace and tranquility\u201d, she reflects.<\/p>\n

On returning to Dominica after her educational tour, Dawn found a two-and-a-half-acre farm waiting for her \u2013 a gift from her mother. She was able to establish \u201can adorable family farm, D-Smart Farm\u201d on a piece of land \u201cwhere [she has] been practicing organic agriculture for more than twenty years\u201d.<\/p>\n

She also established a biodiversity center to teach primary and secondary students about agriculture and the environment. The children enjoyed the field activities, and for Dawn, these were moments of fun on the farm.<\/p>\n

The situation changed in September 2017, when a devastating force visited the Caribbean. Hurricane Maria, a tropical cyclone, ravaged Dominica, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, leaving hundreds of deaths and immense material damage in its wake. Experts consider it to be the deadliest Atlantic hurricane since Jeanne in 2004.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything was damaged\u201d, says Francis. Maria \u201cbroke our hearts and I am still emotional when I remember it\u201d.<\/p>\n

However, not even this terrible tropical cycle could extinguish Dawn\u2019s dream. \u201cI am resilient; I am a resilient black woman\u201d, says the farmer. In fact, she insists that, \u201cBeing close to the land makes you strong and resistant\u201d. Furthermore, watching the forest renew itself after the hurricane, \u201cmade me stronger and my family and myself began to rebuild\u201d the farm, which is located in the village of Pont Cass\u00e9.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Francis has had a significant impact on sustainable agriculture and organic farming in her native Dominica. Photo: IICA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Strength and hope\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Francis has a solid relationship with multilateral institutions and in 2011 even formed her own organization, EcoBalance Inc. Its Board of Directors is one hundred percent female, and it is positioning itself a conduit to nurture the future of Dominica \u201cthrough environmentally conscious and purposeful initiatives that aim to achieve green transformation\u201d. Through this effort, they are \u201cUniting for a Greener Tomorrow: Inspiring Hope, Catalyzing Progress\u201d.<\/p>\n

Thanks to funds mobilized through EcoBalance, Dawn and her partners have organized training programs for farmers and implemented plans to acquire equipment for the region. One of these programs, funded by the Government of New Zealand, enabled them to introduce poultry rearing to a dozen farms in the area, supplying the farmers with feed for the chickens, offering management classes and sharing agribusiness secrets.<\/p>\n

By the end of the project, Francis reports that the participating farmers \u201cwere already selling eggs\u201d. More importantly, they were using the manure from the birds to cultivate their vegetables, thereby applying less inorganic fertilizer.<\/p>\n

Dawn shares her view that the results demonstrate that, \u201cEvery venture led by women succeeds, which is something that would also apply to the field of politics\u201d. If there were more women leaders, she believes that \u201cthe world would be a different place, a better place\u201d.<\/p>\n

According to Francis, the participants in the agricultural training sessions in Dominica \u201care more likely than not women\u201d. She believes that this is because \u201cwe are the ones that absorb knowledge; we are strong\u201d.<\/p>\n

She is quick to point out that, \u201cThis does not mean that men have no strength, but women make things materialize: \u201cwe come together, collaborate and work to ensure that our plans become reality\u201d.<\/p>\n

When asked about the involvement of upcoming generations in agricultural production, Francis is realistic. First, she admits that young people \u201cdo not want to cultivate crops in the way that we have been doing it, with such intense and hard work. They don\u2019t want to do this\u201d.<\/p>\n

Yet, all hope is not lost. Through a program sponsored by the Caribbean Policy Development Centre, a course on agricultural hydroponics was launched in Dominica. As organizers, \u201cwe were expecting about twenty participants, but eighty people expressed an interest, with half of them being under thirty-five years of age\u201d. \u00a0In the end, fifty-five students registered in the course \u2013 individuals with an interest in growing plants without the use of soil, using instead a solution of water enriched with nutrients.<\/p>\n

Dawn realized that \u201cyoung people may have an interest in agriculture\u201d, but using alternatives such as hydroponics, rather than traditional, intensely physical methods.<\/p>\n

Potential producers in rural areas in the future \u201care looking for something easier and faster, which is not physically intensive\u201d and which can quickly generate income\u201d.<\/p>\n

In ending the conversation, Dawn Francis launched an appeal to multilateral institutions and development agencies. \u201cFarmers in countries like Dominica need access to financing. They must have resources to tackle problems, such as roads in poor condition, the lack of manual labor and limited access to equipment.<\/p>\n

Without these incentives, producers will only advance \u201cslowly\u201d without daring to take risks. \u201cIf big steps do not yield economic benefits relatively quickly, they won\u2019t take them\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Francis established a biodiversity center, which welcomes primary and secondary students, teaching them about agriculture and the environment. Photo: IICA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Francis established a biodiversity center, which welcomes primary and secondary students, teaching them about agriculture and the environment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dawn Francis left a job in the corporate world to pursue her true passion, agriculture. She rolled up her sleeves and got to work, \u00a0even as she remained mindful of her neighbors operating other family farms. 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