Silk Grass Farms 2023 Impact Report

2023 Impact Report Building Efficiency

Silk Grass Farms

A letter from our co-founder

At Silk Grass Farms, new ideas, tasks, and complexities abound!

2023 offered learnings and inspiration that have accelerated both our progress and our impact. The Silk Grass Farms team stepped up production as it navigated challenges, formed partnerships, and established sustainable processes—all while stewarding the land and creating new opportunities for the people of Belize.

Our achievements over the last year were made possible by the combined efforts of more than 400 employees across the organization who are building the foundation of a thriving and innovative agribusiness that nurtures the environment and our communities. Their efforts brought to life our newly commissioned 130,000-square-foot processing facility, which will also serve other Belizean food businesses who need updated technology and tools to help them succeed. Partnerships with new suppliers and customers established in 2023 will help us extend the impact and reach of Silk Grass Farms and its people, while challenging us to absorb new lessons and engage in new innovations.

Our commitment to lifelong education engages resources and facilities to support Belizeans of all ages. For our team members, that includes training and education that build skills and strengthen company culture. For their children, it includes Sandy Creek Academy, our on-site school and childcare facility. And visiting researchers and scientists are now using our nascent field station as a base from which they can study, firsthand, the many wonders of our 24,500-acre Silk Grass Wildlife Preserve.

The highlights from 2023 shared in these pages describe a business built on education, innovation, and sustainability. Every day, Silk Grass Farms is progressing toward a future where people and the planet thrive.

In community,

Mandy Cabot, Silk Grass Farms co-founder

Company Timeline

FOUNDED

Purchased Citrus & Cattle Ltd. and Belize Fruit Processors Ltd.; incorporated Silk Grass Farms Ltd.; repaired roads and worker housing; cleared abandoned orchards for rehabilitation.

STRUCTURED + REBRANDED

Established company policies and developed business model; branded Silk Grass Farms; legally protected 24,500 acres of rainforest; planted 87,926 trees; created water retention basins; expanded workforce.

BUILT CAPACITY

Constructed a 130,000 square foot factory; planted new crops; built new worker housing; increased workforce; added coconut water and honey to sales mix; launched website; achieved B Corp and HACCP certifications.

BUILT TEAMS

Developed leadership teams; expanded workforce and improved compensation and benefits; built onsite elementary school for children of employees; installed state-of-the-art food processing equipment in the factory; expanded regenerative agriculture practices; established relationships with raw materials suppliers, co-packers, and new customers; activated monitoring of the wildlife preserve.

BUILT EFFICIENCY

Completed commissioning of new factory and began large scale fruit processing; installed 2 MW solar array to provide power to the factory; earned international Safe Quality Food (SQF) certification to ensure the health and safety of our food products; expanded onsite Sandy Creek Academy elementary school and childcare facility; completed renovation of the Great House Field Station at Silk Grass Wildlife Preserve; formalized stakeholder engagement programs; began tracking our institutional carbon footprint, working toward Carbon Neutral certification.

Company Timeline

2024 GOALS

• Commission biorefinery for the processing of agricultural wastes into biochar

• Develop and refine methods for the application of biochar to our soils, sequestering carbon and enhancing growing conditions for our crops

• Initiate baseline studies as the foundation for carbon-marketing efforts for both biochar production and forest preservation

• Advance product development efforts to bring Silk Grass Farms products to larger, more lucrative markets in North America

• Build and commission facilities for processing coconut-husk wastes and coconut coir into valuable soil amendments and other products

• Begin amassing baseline data for our forests, waterways, soils, and farms in collaboration with Stroud Water Research Center, Wild Earth Allies, ClimeCo, Panthera, Audubon and Savanna Field Station

• ReCertify as a B Corporation

• Begin certification of our products as Non-GMO, Sustainably Grown, Carbon Neutral, Rainforest Friendly and Regenerative Organic

Measuring What Matters

Silk Grass Farms identified six of the seventeen United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to measure our impact and make positive change in the world. Silk Grass Farms is uniquely positioned to align our strategies and operations with the aspirations of the SDGs. We are committed to:

GOOD HEALTH + WELL BEING

• Ensuring employee health and safety

• Upholding food safety certifications (SQF and HACCP)

• Producing healthy consumer products

DECENT WORK + ECONOMIC GROWTH

• Offering a living wage (fair compensation, benefits, and onsite housing)

• Expanding employment opportunities

• Offering job training and professional development

SUSTAINABLE CITIES + COMMUNITIES

• Maintaining B Corp certification

• Engaging in long-range planning

• Reducing reliance on imported goods and increasing GDP

RESPONSIBLE CONSUMPTION + PRODUCTION

• Restoring biodiversity and health to our soils

• Growing diverse crops and adding value at source

• Engaging in zero-waste circular economics

CLIMATE ACTION

• Developing biorefinery and bio-waste solutions

• Committing to Pledge Carbon Negative operations by 2030

• Operating a solar-powered factory

LIFE ON LAND

• Responsibly managing the Silk Grass Wildlife Preserve

• Conserving rainforest, wildlife, and biodiversity

• Engaging in soil health, water, and carbon management

Triple Bottom Line Impacts

As a certified B Corporation, Silk Grass Farms is committed to meeting the highest standards of social and environmental responsibility. We have joined the global movement to elevate agriculture into an industry that provides high-quality employment and healthy food, while protecting natural resources. To be fully sustainable, the way we operate must be regenerative, viable, and fair. This is where People, Planet, and Prosperity intersect.

Providing highquality jobs is a part of the impact that we want to make in Belize.

Tyeshia Casimiro, Silk Grass Farms Chief of Staff

People

3: Good Health + Well-Being

8: Decent Work + Economic Growth

In 2023, we deepened our commitment to employee and consumer well-being with several initiatives, including the achievement of the global SQF standard for food safety certification. We also broadened our support and resources for employees through job training and professional development, and added employment opportunities. We expanded our onsite elementary school and child-care facility. In keeping with company policy, team members were paid a living wage and received other fair compensation, benefits, and on-site housing.

5

Employees enrolled in professional development courses

Trained factory employees on Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) and Food Safety Paid primary-school tuition for

57 children of employees

Employees returned to school to earn bachelor’s or master’s degrees supported by Silk Grass Farms

Expanded the onsite Sandy Creek Academy, an elementary school and childcare facility for the children of employees

With our superb crop management practices and state-of-the-art factory, we can develop premium products for value-driven customers.

Peter Kjellerup, Silk Grass Farms Co-founder

PROGRESS HIGHLIGHTS

prosperity

11: Sustainable Cities + Communities

12: Responsible Consumption + Production

In 2023 we placed a particular focus on our goal of strengthening our local and regional economies as we grow our own enterprise. We engaged new suppliers and collaborators in regional agriculture and engaged regularly with local and national leaders. More fundamentally, we developed technology and practices that will allow us to create high-value finished goods, retaining more value locally. Our state-of-theart food-processing facility allows us to retain the value created by our activities in Belize, rather than shipping bulk products for processing, and pricing-up overseas.

Completed the commissioning and installation of factory equipment, preparing the facility for full production

Released new products — including new SKUs for orange juice, watermelon juice, grapefruit juice, lime juice, pineapple juice; and coconut water

Experimented with a multitude of first-time crops and machinery, learning and taking note of ways to improve the system

Sourced a wide variety of crops in large quantities from Belizean growers, including watermelons, coconuts, pineapples and limes

Completed 10-year Business Plan and financial forecast for the entire enterprise

Increased overall sales by Managed supply-chain delays on packaging, parts, and other external items

prosperity

Belizean businesses can utilize our modern food technologies to add value and guarantee food safety to their products.

Peter Kjellerup, Silk Grass Farms Co-founder

Increased production of cold-pressed coconut oil by

Experimented with/ established frontend supply chain management processes for a variety of crops

Started negotiations to establish a certified third-party lab within our factory to monitor food safety and provide expanded services to external clients in the Central American food industry

Shipped new exports overseas to the United States and Jamaica

Ensured our factory upholds the highest safety and quality standards possible including SQF certification — an important international benchmark for meeting stringent requirements for food safety management systems

Engaged Changing Tastes, a widely recognized food-product development firm, to help us create premium products and ingredients for the North American and European markets

These systems create a living flow of services — clean air and water, healthy soil, habitat for pollinators — that make life on Earth possible

Mandy Cabot, Silk Grass Farms Co-founder

13: Climate Action

15: Life on Land

In 2023, we began powering Silk Grass Farms with renewable energy from a 2 megawatt solar array installed to the south of the factory. Our conservation efforts included an 8.4-acre easement that serves as the headquarters for the Silk Grass Wildlife Preserve and Great House Field Station. This year also marked the start of our collaboration with key partners — including Stroud Water Research Center™, Wild Earth Allies®, and ClimeCo™ — to assess the preserve’s health, biodiversity, and carbon-offset potential.

29,874 Crop Trees Planted

Completed installation of a 2-Megawatt Solar System to power the farm and factory

Implemented an Energy Conservation and Management Plan for our food-processing facility to maximize the economic and environmental benefits of our new solar array

Hosted staff and research scientists from Stroud Water Research Center™ to conduct a water resources assessment and Savanna Field Station to study aquatic life on our property

Renovated and repurposed the original property owner’s residence into a modern field station designed to comfortably accommodate up to 16 people and provide laboratory facilities

sampling locations

identified within the five watersheds occupied by Silk Grass Farms, and conducted initial water quality testing at each site

221.66

Total Acreage Restored

Launched project to develop and market carbon credits related to our conversion of agricultural wastes into biochar soil amendments that sequester carbon and enhance the health of both soil and crops

Launched project to market carbon credits related to our forest-conservation efforts

Sandy Creek Academy

In its second year, our onsite school and childcare facility, known as Sandy Creek Academy, continued to nurture growth and innovation. Now licensed by the Belize Ministry of Education, the school saw its enrollment more than double, from 6 to 13 students. A competency-based learning system helps meet each student’s individual needs. The school’s agricultural area also welcomed new residents

Expanded offerings to include swim lessons

Employed a music teacher and began twice-weekly music lessons

Added on to our school agricultural area, housing two sheep, two rabbits, a tilapia fish pond, and chickens

Received an official school license from the Ministry of Education — an important endorsement of the school’s program

What better way to live our value of life-long learning than to empower the next generation of leaders at Silk Grass Farms?

Tyeshia Casimiro, Silk Grass Farms Chief of Staff

Designed a competencybased learning system, focusing on the individual educational and skill level of each child; ventured into subject-specific teaching

Increased enrollment from six to

2024 and beyond

PLANNING + INFRASTRUCTURE

• Implement comprehensive accounting and ERP systems across the enterprise

• Consolidate all operations under a single financial and accounting system

• Continue renovation and/or replacement of worker housing

• Continue improvement of water management facilities including ponds, dams, crossings and swales for flood-management and irrigation purposes

• Expand staff significantly in the areas of accounting, bookkeeping, agronomy, engineering and factory management

• Implement a waste management plan for wastewater and solids from the factory

• Continue developing the Silk Grass Wildlife Preserve Management Plan

FARMING

• Continue developing pioneering methods for interplanting both groundcover and leguminous shrubs among the crops, fixing nitrogen in the soil and improving soil health while protecting vulnerable crops from wind and sun damage

• Continue experimentation with permaculture and agroforestry techniques such as inter-storey planting of cacao with papaya and mahogany

• Expand in-house agronomy staff to supervise both farming and experimental activities

• Complete rehabilitation of all plantable (previously farmed) areas, planting balance of tree-acres with coconuts, citrus, cacao, soursop, mangoes, avocados, nutmeg, and passionfruit, interspersed with hardwood trees, bamboo, cover crops, and annual crops

• Conduct soil health assessment in all blocks; create soil plan that includes use of inoculated biochar, vermiculture and compost tea

CERTIFICATIONS

• Complete Non-GMO and Sustainably Grown certifications

• Continue working toward Rainforest Friendly and Regenerative Organic certifications

• Complete HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) plans for other fruit types

PRODUCTS + SALES

• Continue product development for “All Things Coconut,” juice blends and fruit purees

• Launch coconut milks/creams and fruit juices/blends/purees in local and regional markets

• Develop and implement regional sales strategies; identify target customers, develop sales relationships, begin marketing select products internationally

• Develop new product lines for North American and European markets under the Silk Grass Farms brand

PARTNERSHIPS

• Establish co-packing relationships with Belizean and other Caricom producers who wish to utilize our processing capabilities

• Develop facilities to repurpose coconut pith into valuable planting media and other products for the US market

• Begin new collaborations with Stroud Water Research Center, Toucan Ridge Ecology and Education Society (T.R.E.E.S), Wild Earth Allies, Universities of Athabasca and Calgary, Crocodile Research Coalition, Belize Audubon, and Panthera Belize, gathering baseline data on the health of the Silk Grass Wildlife Preserve

VISIBILITY

• Partner with marketing and public-relations allies to raise awareness of the Silk Grass Farms model as an example for sustainable, community-based agribusiness enterprises

• Produce Silk Grass Farms visitor video to reveal and describe farming and processing activities across all operations

• Participated in the “Belize Uncovered” film launch, in which Silk Grass Farms was one of the featured enterprises

• Produced the “Welcome to Silk Grass Farms” video distributed on our website and other digital media