Page 11 - aruba-today-20220705

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local Tuesday 5 July 2022

Carmen Tromp: “Plants and nature bring joy”

Love for nature, be it for says she collects rain wa- more fruit from it. Dragon
plants that give flowers or ter in tubs, and she uses this fruit is one of the fruits that
fruit, is what Carmen Tromp because water in Aruba is she was most awaiting,
feels. Every day she makes very expensive. She says because like she said, the
sure to keep her backyard that during a dry month price for this at the super-
beautiful and full of life. without rain, she can spend market is very high, which is
even 500 florins (around why she decided to grow it
Carmen Tromp, a retiree $300) on water alone. She herself and have the fruit at
who welcomed our re- says her yard is a big invest- home.
porter with a smile on her ment of time and money, “I’m going to exchange
face, to come into her because she buys plants, and see if I can find the
house and share a pleas- but she also has to buy spe- white (dragon fruit) and
ant moment, share with us cial bags of soil, pots and give the person the red
that many years ago, when other items every month. one”, she said.
she bought her house, she “If I see a beautiful plant
wanted to have a back- or pot, I buy it. You keep About which kind of plant
yard filled with nature. investing in your property, she loves best, Tromp says:
and in the end, same as “I love both. I love flowers
Years later she expanded with everything else, you to look at, fruit and vege-
her property, and the yard have to invest first to re- tables that I have like pep-
started growing her plants, ceive pleasure and happi- pers or pumpkin that I share
but some of them during ness later.” with family.”
the course of time died or
got disease. “You have to Tromp also told us that she Tromp says a lot of peo-
check your plants so that completed various courses ple could also try planting
they don’t become infest- during which she received something at home. Be-
ed with ants, or eaten by basic informacion on how fore, a lot of people had a
iguanas. You have to be to take care of plants, and small patch at home where
aware of them also”, she what kind of plants are they would grow food, but
says. good to grow on Aruba. now that tradition is slow.
She also met other people However, since the Co-
From a young age, Tromp who share information with vid-19 pandemic came
and her family grew up each other on social me- about, some people de-
with plants and cunucu – dia, who exchange ideas. cided to start growing food
small personal plantations. For example, on Facebook in their backyards again as
Now that she is a retiree, she is a member of the a hobby, particularly dur-
every morning that she has group ‘Pasa tempo den ing shelter in place.
time she surveys her back- cura’ – spend time in your
yard to see what is good yard. In Aruba there is some fer-
and what needs mainte- “This is how you get ideas. tile soil that according to
nance, so she can know When I take plants out, I Tromp, no one is doing
where to give attention. publish on Facebook to see anything with. “If we could
She says that nature makes if anyone is interested to form a sort of neighbors co-
her happy. pick them up, or sometimes operative, and everyone
there are people who bring puts a little money towards
Tromp explained that she plants too”, Tromp said. it, we could use it and have
gives her plants vitamins our own produce.”
as well as the soil that they A publication which gained
need to receive regularly, attention was one in which Finally, our reporter noted
because there are some she planted a dragon fruit. that most of her yard is al-
plants that need more at- She commented that first ready full of different types
tention, so she has to buy time she got dragon fruit it of fruit, like mispel, sour sap,
various tools to take care was red inside, this is one plum, papaya, dragon fruit,
of them, as well as provid- of the variations of this coconut, as well as vege-
ing enough water. fruit. She said she received tables like various peppers
some tips on how to care and pumpkins.
During rainy days, Tromp for the plant in order to get