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Debra Thompson finds strength to grow

DEBRA THOMPSON’S life is a testament to the fact that strength can grow from broken ground. Thompson, 55, is the director of Tuff Farms Ltd, a family business she owns with her husband Richard Thompson in Freeport. Tuff Farms teaches hydroponics, builds hydroponic systems, and contracts hydroponic produce for purchase. And while Tuff may be an acronym for Thompson Urban Family Farms, it’s also a reflection of her, and her family’s resilience. Thompson grew up in a violent household in Arima, witnessing her alcoholic and gambling father beat her mother. She recalled one incident when her mother, desperate to escape, fled with her four children to her parents. They sent her back. Her father warned her mother if she ever left for good, she couldn’t take his children. When Thompson was seven, her mother ran away. She said their board house had gaps in the walls, and one day she saw her mother peeking through one of those cracks. After that, Thompson would search for footprints in the dirt outside, finding comfort in the fact her mother cared. But just a few months later, her mother died by suicide. Her father never abused her or her two younger siblings, who were five and eight months old at the time, but her older brother, two years her senior, was not spared. Still, she loved her father. [caption id="attachment_1162144" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Debra Thompson harvests kale grown at Tuff Farms Ltd.[/caption] “People don’t realise what the child goes through. When the mother gets licks and runs away and leaves the child, the child sees dad crying so they tend to feel pity for the dad. So you find the child clings to the father. They don’t realise the full scope until they grow older. “So, I was very close to my father. I looked up to him and listened to what he said. He instilled values like living honestly and working for what I want. So although he was bad to my mom, he helped nurture me into the person I am.” Thompson also had to care for her younger siblings since, ironically, her father did not want to risk a stepmother mistreating his children. This responsibility meant she could not attend school. “In growing up I never got the opportunity to go to school. But we were fortunate to have some people around who showed us to pray and depend on God. That was how I learned to read and write.” At age 19, determined to better her life, she started attending as many evening courses as possible, including business and sewing. She said her past made her strong. She knew what she didn’t want – an abusive partner or to become a young mother of many children. And while she struggled to understand why some women stay in violent relationships, she approached the issue with empathy, knowing not everyone has the same mindset. “You go through life and it all depends on how you react. Rather than letting the situation break you, it’s how you react to it that makes the difference.” She is now exploring ways to establish a programme for victims of domestic violence – a safe living space for women and their children where the women could work on the farm and Tuff would buy the produce, providing them with an income and dignity. “I would like to see if I could use my strength to help and empower other women to be able to become financially independent so they will be able to restart their lives.” Determined to stay away from violent men, Thompson met Richard, who she describes as a teddy bear, when he came to Trinidad to set up a clothing factory for his employer. At the time she was a single mother of a two-year-old and worked there as a seamstress. Impressed with his business acumen, she encouraged him to start his own, smaller company. “He used to be my boss, but then he proposed to me and now I’m his boss,” she joked. They married in 2006. The family’s first venture together was Sound Research Ltd, which sold electronics. With two stores in south Trinidad, they were financially successful but had little time for family. She realised her son, daughter and nephew spent more time with the babysitter so, to reconnect, they started a backyard garden, planting a variety of vegetables including broccoli, ochro, tomatoes and lettuce, and sharing them with neighbours, family and friends. The family also loved cooking shows and wondered about vegetables like kale, arugula and Swiss chard. Intrigued, they began growing them in troughs, but eventually researched hydroponics, bought the material for the system and started planting. “That made me start to do research into different things that could be planted that would be different to what Trinidad was offering. And I fell in love with the cold-weather crops.” In 2015, their electronics business began to struggle due to difficulties in geting foreign exchange. They were still making sales but were not able to restock their inventory. Around the same time, they had started their home garden and just ventured into hydroponics. Unable to keep up with their bills, they decided to sell the electronics business and invest in hydroponic farming. Thompson believes Tuff Farms was the first to introduce commercial hydroponics to TT. “When we first started, people used to use the wrong pipe so nothing much could be planted in that because it falls over, and so they only used to plant patchoi and lettuce. We were the first people to use the 2x4 pipes and the first to produce kale locally. “In 2016, we went to the farmers market and we were told nobody ever see that before. We went in with the kale and that used to sell like hot bread. People loved it and asked about it and other people started to plant it.” The intension was to supply small groceries and vegetable stalls. But when they saw how popular it was at the farmer’s market, they approached several supermarkets. Demand exploded and they had to drastically increase the supply. They purchased a piece of property from a financial institution with the proceeds from their sale. However, they later discovered the access road to the land was illegal. The owner of the land the road passed through demanded $120,000 for access. When they refused to pay, he destroyed the road and turned it into a ditch. [caption id="attachment_1162146" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Debra Thompson checks the water treatment connections that run to the Tuff Farms' hydroponics system at Freeport on June 20.[/caption] Without access and facing heavy losses, they eventually had to sell their home and move into a smaller house. The new location in Freeport, while modest, is more central for deliveries and has enough land to continue farming. Thompson believes, by introducing kale, Tuff Farms helped reduce the country’s dependence on imports, saving precious foreign exchange. She said they also successfully experimented with cabbage and carrots, which they hope to commercialise. “If we could get more avenues to impart our knowledge to other farmers, all the flooding that we are going through right now would not affect the market as much. Now the prices for produce are going to be sky high and things are going to be scarce. “If more people went into hydroponics it would be better, not only for the farmers but for the country.” Hydroponics had other advantages like using less land and water, no bending in the hot sun for hours and longer lasting produce. She added that Tuff Farms uses organic fertilisers and safe pest-control methods, rejecting harsh chemicals used by many traditional farmers. At the moment, it produces kale, arugula, spinach, Malabar spinach, patchoi and chives. Richard, a management accountant by profession, designs and builds all the hydroponic systems for the farm. He also handles business planning and teaches hydroponics. Their 24-year-old son recently completed the Youth Agricultural Homestead Programme under the former ministry of youth development and national service and plans to pursue a degree in agriculture. Their 17-year-old daughter is studying business and already demonstrates a strong aptitude for it. “I know my story is amazing so I try to bless other people with it to give them encouragement that, no matter what happens, it’s not the end of the world.”   The post Debra Thompson finds strength to grow appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.