This is an old Ritchie Waterer that they are using for their cattle.
Ritchie has been a long time supporter of Quakerdale, a not for profit organization that provide a safe environment for hope and healing to children and also doubles as a family setting learning environment called the Promise Academy which produces NCAA level basketball players. For years, Quakerdale has had an equine program and most recently have started a sustainable agriculture program. This program that not only will supply food for the students and staff but teach new skills and responsibilities to the kids and possibly offer them job skills.
I was incredibly excited to visit the facility based just south of Eldora, Iowa. To have to opportunity to see the evolution of their new program was an something I couldn’t pass up. I arrived for my tour and was greeted by Lalaina, a super sweet, incredibly focused young lady that I have had the pleasure of knowing for well over a year. She was kind enough to take time out of her day to show me around their 600 acre farm. We started in the garden where they had herbs and flowers in raised beds. Of course it is September and this is their first year so things were looking as if they had the fall. You know that time where you just allow things to go since you know it is the end of the season and the plants don’t look as lush and beautiful as they do at the beginning of the growing season. A little further off was where they had pole beans, tomatoes, peppers, tomatillos and maybe some other veggies that I failed to note. This area will also grow with time.
At this point, they moved me on to what will one day be an outdoor and indoor Aquaponics area. Aquaponics is a combination of fish raising and Hydroponics. The system filters water filled with the fish biproducts through a pump which enters one side of a bed full of pea rock. This pea rock is where the seeds are planted which of course eventually grows, using the fertilizer of the fish as nutrients. This system will allow the facility to provide fresh produce and as the fish mature, fresh fish to the students cutting down on on Quakerdale’s food costs.
One of the tables located in the indoor Aquaponics area
Quakerdale also has cattle that they are currently trying to breed. Eventually this will provide their meat. As you can see these two have an old Ritchie that keeps plugging away to provide them with fresh water.
Quakerdale has 6 locations a second of which is just south of Marshalltown, Iowa. This location is the place that the Quakerdale Equine Therapy program takes place. Quakerdale’s Equine Therapy program is a preventive and educational service where humans, horses, and hearts are reigned together to bring emotional, mental, spiritual, physical and social growth. Of course this location also has several Ritchie that hydrate the horses. I will visit this location this fall to highlight their program.
I am looking forward to seeing how this project progresses and evolves. Quakerdale operates on donations. If you would like to learn more about their organization, please follow the links below.
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/quakerdaleofiowa
Web - http://www.quakerdale.org
http://www.quakerdaleathletics.com
http://www.twitter.com/Quakerdale
The Cattle that Quakerdale is raising.
