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A14 LOCAL
Wednesday 30 May 2018
Social entrepreneur James Ocalia in cooperation with HopeAruba Movement

‘Sustainable agriculture for healthier locals and rehabilitated drug addicts’

Somewhere uphill in Alto about that, you might is exercising my job and
Vista you will find a beautiful think, as there are many of doing something good
piece of land with an old, these old aunties scattered for my island at the same
white, traditional cunucu around the island. But time.”
house on it, dating from this one has an amazing
1923. Nothing remarkable background story. Aruba Fair harvest
Today visited the place on While we are walking on
a warm, sticky afternoon the land the students are
where James Ocalia was enthusiastically showing
working on the land with a their plants, inviting Aruba
handful other men. Today’s journalist to taste
a comcomber chiquito.
‘Cas Speransa Nobo’ The proud in their smiling
says the name sign on the faces is moving and there is
cunucu house, it refers to definitely something magic
the new hope that is there in the air. Maybe it is best
for the students of the described as pure: the land,
rehabilitation program that the taste of the veggie,
is run here. “We call them the drive of the students
students rather than drug and the sincerity of James,
addicts or clients because all together it is ‘Hope’
they have chosen to learn indeed. On the 7.000
another life. Their addict m2 land only local crops
life is their past, the goal are grown: comcomber
is to learn and graduate chiquito (cucumber),
in a new life.” The Aruban jambo (okra), boonchi
James explains that he (beans), pika (hot peppers)
runs his company –Goshen, form the main production.
which means ‘inundated But one can also find patia
land’ - with the help of the (watermelon) and dragon
men that are part of the fruit as well as moringa.
rehabilitation program. “But these are not for
“They learn to cultivate commercial use yet.”
local crops and it works in
two ways. For them it is a
subject they learn and a Continued on Page 15
daily goal in life, for me it