TWO young Islanders have taken the next step on their agricultural adventure by opening a farm shop in order to sell their organic produce.
Jamie Ribeiro and Anna Houiellebecq have been on a steep learning curve since buying Greenacres Farm in Sion in November 2022.
Although they were novices in the field – literally – the young couple began trading from a roadside stall earlier this year, then moved into fruit and vegetable boxes and now have their own shop, which operates from 10am to 6pm between Wednesday and Saturday.
The business trades under the name Bloom ‘n’ Goodness, using the motto ‘eat good, live good’.
Its current range includes ‘usual suspects’ like lettuce, cabbages and tomatoes, but also the novel ‘cucamelon’ – a cucumber and melon hybrid – plus eggs, flowers and honey.
Mr Ribeiro said: ‘It’s great to have opened our doors; it’s something we’ve been looking forward to for a while.
‘Everything we sell is organic, and local. We don’t bring in anything from outside Jersey, but we are looking at partnering with other local smallholders in order to expand the shop’s range.’
Mr Ribeiro is a mechanic by trade, while his partner trained as a florist.
At one stage it seemed likely they could join the so-called ‘bean drain’ of young Islanders moving away from Jersey because of soaring house prices and the high cost of living, but then they changed direction and bought Greenacres Farm from its founder, Brian Adair.
Mr Adair has been among the experienced hands helping the couple to find their feet as they get to grips with the principles of organic farming in their first months.
