The Smiles Foundation

Farm
Update

Leeds, England registered UK Charity No.1087961
Kingsport, USA charitable non-profit # 86-0957704
Oradea, Romania registered Charity No.14839712

...making smiles in Romania

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Update on the Smiles Harvest Project – Arpasel Farm

Just 2 months have past since signing the Purchase Completion for the Arpasel Farm and it’s been great to see what can be achieved in such a short period of time. Operating decisions were made early on concerning live-stock and land. We decided to vary our interest and monitor over the next 12 months what proved most successful to direct our plans for the future.

So we decided to start with 6 Holstein cows,
30 Large White Sows and 600 Chickens mixing 300 for meat and 300 for eggs. We recently decided to add a Boar into the mix!

Some Construction was needed to build a Cow shed and then to divide the large Barn into 3 workable sections. The larger part designated for the Sows and pig production, estimated to produce up to 250 piglets every six months. Then a smaller third of the Barn was divided in two for the 300 Chickens for meat and the 300 Hens for eggs.

Mission Teams have already proved an incredible help in constructing the various sections with our Farm Manager – Zeno and our own Construction crew of George and Basti.
This past week, the second batch of 10 Sows arrived at the Farm, having decided to spread the production by getting 10 sows in each month for the first 3 months. The final 10 will join us late August. Then we’ll be at full quota and expect our first piglets to be born before Christmas – hopefully in time for our Christmas Mission Trippers to see!!

On the Chicken side for meat, 100 chicks will be brought in every 2 weeks now. The first 100 arrived at the Farm on July 30th. In 6 weeks, we will start to cut our first chickens for meat. This will be perfect timing for the heavy demand for Chicken Meat at the Tileagd School & Nursery, where Smiles serve 160 lunches every day. Also, at the Gepiu Community project, over 30 lunches every day plus 25 lunches twice a month for the Elderly Luncheon in Gepiu.

There are also considerable supplies needed at the Mission Centre, Cihei Family Centre and
at the Mierlău Emergency Housing Unit – all providing food for many people on a daily basis.
Considerable Meat and Eggs are needed on a daily basis and Arpasel Farm will become the Smiles Foundation’s major supplier of all our Chicken and Pork Meat. As our production capacity grows, so we will be able to increase our support to the 200 families within our Family Care project, supplying them much needed fresh meat for their family needs.

We have also enjoyed some great crops of fruit from the Orchard. The cherries and apricots were beautiful. Now we have peaches and the trees are heavy with apples, pears and plums. In addition to supplying the Mission Centre with fresh fruit, we are already talking of plans to start producing Smiles Special Jams, once the fruit harvest exceeds our immediate needs for fresh fruit.

Now we are beginning to plan for the Land crops that will begin in a couple of months.
We are currently viewing Farm Equipment in Romania and United Kingdom – looking to buy in the next couple of months or so – Tractor, Plough, Crop Sprayers, Rake, Drills, Fertilisers and a Livestock transporter. We will anticipate approximately £40,000 ($60,000) to be invested in this equipment by October. We currently have 55 acres of land to work, but are looking to add to it and achieve a total of 120 acres to work with by October.

Some good options are being discovered and we are moving swiftly to secure our needs at the best prices. We are excited at the achievements so far in Arpasel and continue to pray for the support needed to fulfil our targets and objectives for the Farm.

Hopefully in the next couple of months, major decisions will be taken concerning the next initiative – The Glasshouse project, and we look forward to updating you on that as we make progress.

Thank you for your support to date. Keep supporting and keep praying for God’s continued blessing on this project. That the Harvest will be plenty – year after year.

For further information on how to support this project, contact
Kevin Hoy (Chief Executive to Smiles)
kevin@thesmilesfoundation.org
Telephone: 0113-276-5060

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    Page last updated on 03/08/2010 12:00:20 PM
   by ADMIN1