AVOCADO Harvest FINALLY! How To Harvest, Grade, Weigh, Pack, Transport, Fruits From Avocado Orchard🌳

Summary

In this episode of 'Back to Nature Africa,' the host celebrates the early harvest at their organic farm, emphasizing the importance of a natural, holistic lifestyle. The video showcases the avocado harvest process, from picking and sorting to packing and weighing, highlighting the farm's sustainable practices. The host discusses the financial aspects of farming, comparing avocado prices globally and the impact of current events on supply chains. The episode concludes with a tribute to farmers and the health benefits of avocados, dubbed 'green gold,' encouraging viewers to appreciate the hard work behind every food product.

Takeaways

• 🌱 The video is set in 'Back to Nature Organic Farms', emphasizing a holistic, natural lifestyle and its importance for health and happiness.
• 🙌 The speaker expresses gratitude to the audience and the almighty for life's continued gift, highlighting the importance of an attitude of gratitude.
• 💰 The episode discusses the financial aspect of farming, especially considering it as a social enterprise and the need for sustainable income generation.
• 🌳 The video showcases an early harvest day at the farm, illustrating the process from picking avocados to packing and weighing them for sale.
• 📈 The farm is part of a long-term initiative, focusing on institution building to create a legacy for future generations.
• 📦 The harvesters from a large avocado oil producer company are featured, detailing their harvesting, sorting, and packing methods.
• 🛒 The video explains different market approaches for selling produce, such as farm gate sales, middlemen, and direct sales to producers.
• 📈 The avocado market's dynamics are discussed, including price variations in Kenya and the U.S., and the impact of global events on avocado supply and value chains.
• 🌍 The script mentions the competitive advantage of East Africa's longer harvest window for avocados, positioning Africa as a future leader in avocado production.
• 🌿 The video emphasizes the benefits of permaculture, where once trees are established, they can produce for decades with proper care.
• 🍾 The speaker concludes by celebrating the harvest, acknowledging the hard work of farmers, and encouraging a toast to the organic farming community.

Q & A

What is the name of the farm mentioned in the script?

The name of the farm mentioned in the script is 'Back to Nature Organic Farms'.

What is the significance of the 'Back to Nature' initiative according to the script?

The 'Back to Nature' initiative is a social enterprise that promotes a natural, holistic lifestyle approach to maintain health and happiness, and advocates for being close to nature for a more peaceful and whole existence.

What is the importance of having an attitude of gratitude as mentioned in the script?

Having an attitude of gratitude is important as it helps individuals to appreciate the gift of life, including the ability to breathe, see, hear, and continue living.

What is the topic of discussion for the day in the script?

The topic of discussion for the day in the script is about money, referred to with various slang terms like 'moolah', 'cha ching', 'dough', 'guap', and 'cheddar', and its consideration in farming for sustainability.

What is the significance of the early harvest day on the farm as described in the script?

The early harvest day is significant because it marks the time when the avocado trees, planted two to three years ago, are ready for their first harvest, showcasing the fruits of their labor and the success of their farming practices.

What are some of the names for money mentioned in the script?

Some of the names for money mentioned in the script include 'moolah', 'cha ching', 'dough', 'guap', and 'cheddar'.

What is the typical harvest season for avocados in East Africa according to the script?

The typical harvest season for avocados in East Africa, as mentioned in the script, is around March, April, May, June, and July.

How does the script describe the process of harvesting avocados on the farm?

The script describes the harvesting process as involving picking the avocados, initial sorting, clipping the stems, packing them in crates, stacking the crates, weighing them, and then loading them onto a transport vehicle.

What is the advantage of having avocado trees as part of a farm according to the script?

The advantage of having avocado trees on a farm, as described in the script, is that they provide a long-term source of produce that can last for 30, 40, or even 50 years with proper care, unlike short-term vegetables that require replanting after each harvest.

What is the price range for avocados in Kenya according to the script?

According to the script, the price range for avocados in Kenya is between 20 to 50 shillings, depending on whether they are bought from a street vendor or a supermarket.

How does the script describe the impact of global events on avocado farming?

The script describes the impact of global events, such as the situation in Ukraine and Russia, on avocado farming by mentioning that food prices are going through the roof, which affects avocado supply and value chains.

What is the script's final message to the viewers?

The final message in the script is a salute to all farmers and food producers for their hard work in feeding humanity, emphasizing the importance and blessing of farmers to mankind.

Outlines

00:00

🌱 Welcome to Back to Nature Organic Farms

The video begins with a warm welcome to the Back to Nature Organic Farms, a social enterprise focused on sustainable and holistic farming practices. The host expresses gratitude for life and the community's support, emphasizing the importance of an attitude of gratitude. The episode's theme revolves around the importance of money in farming, particularly in a commercial or social enterprise context. The host introduces the concept of farming as a means to generate income and impact society positively, while staying close to nature for a happier and healthier lifestyle.

05:02

🌳 Early Harvest Day and Farm Sustainability

This paragraph highlights the special occasion of the early harvest day on the farm. The host explains the significance of sustainable farming, which includes regenerative practices for future generations. The video showcases the avocado trees that have been in the ground for varying years and the harvest season in East Africa, which extends from March to July. The host also discusses the competitive advantage of avocado production in Africa due to a longer harvest window compared to other regions. The video includes a behind-the-scenes look at the harvest process, from picking and sorting avocados to packing and weighing them for transport.

10:03

📦 Avocado Harvesting and Market Dynamics

The host delves into the details of the avocado harvesting process, including the involvement of a local organic avocado oil producer. The paragraph explains the various stages of harvesting, such as picking, sorting, clipping, packing, and weighing the avocados. It also touches on the different market approaches, such as farm gate sales, middlemen, and direct sales to producers. The video provides insights into the pricing and payment process for the harvested avocados, emphasizing the importance of fair compensation for farmers.

15:05

🌿 Avocado Tree Growth and Future Harvests

The host takes viewers on a walk through the farm, showcasing avocado trees at different stages of growth. The paragraph discusses the long-term benefits of planting trees, which can produce for decades with proper care. It also mentions the upcoming harvests in the next few months and the potential for a third harvest within six months. The video highlights the permaculture approach to farming, emphasizing the permanence and sustainability of tree crops compared to short-term vegetable cultivation.

20:06

💰 Avocado Prices and Farmer Salute

The final paragraph discusses the varying prices of avocados in different markets, from Kenya to the United States, and the impact of global events on avocado supply chains. The host addresses the challenges faced by farmers in receiving fair prices for their produce. The video concludes with a salute to all farmers and food producers for their essential role in feeding humanity. The host expresses gratitude to the viewers for their continued support and ends the video on a celebratory note with the harvest of organic produce.

Keywords

💡Back to Nature

Back to Nature refers to a philosophy and lifestyle that emphasizes living in harmony with the natural world. In the video, this concept is central to the theme as the host promotes organic farming and a holistic approach to living. The phrase is used repeatedly to describe the initiative and collective that the host is part of, indicating a return to natural, sustainable practices.

💡Organic Farms

Organic farms are agricultural operations that avoid the use of synthetic chemicals, genetically modified organisms, and other artificial methods in order to maintain ecological balance and produce healthy food. The video takes place at 'Back to Nature Organic Farms,' showcasing the host's commitment to organic farming practices and the benefits of growing food in a way that is sustainable and respectful to the environment.

💡Social Enterprise

A social enterprise is an organization that operates like a business but aims primarily to achieve social, cultural, or environmental goals alongside financial returns. In the script, the host mentions that 'Back to Nature' is more of a social enterprise, indicating that their farming initiative is not solely profit-driven but also focused on creating positive social impact.

💡Sustainability

Sustainability in the context of farming refers to practices that can be maintained over the long term without depleting resources or causing environmental harm. The host discusses the importance of sustainable farming, emphasizing the need for farming methods that can regenerate and continue, leaving a legacy for future generations.

💡Harvest

Harvest refers to the process of gathering mature crops from the fields. The video script describes an 'early harvest day on the farm,' highlighting a specific time in the farming calendar when the fruits of their labor, in this case, avocados, are ready to be collected. This event is a key moment in the farming cycle and is celebrated in the video.

💡Avocado

Avocado is a fruit known for its creamy texture and high nutritional value, often referred to as a 'superfood.' The video focuses on avocado farming, particularly in East Africa, where the host discusses the region's potential for avocado production due to a longer harvest window compared to other global competitors.

💡Permaculture

Permaculture is a system of agricultural and social design principles that mimic the patterns and relationships found in nature. The script mentions permaculture as the host talks about the long-term benefits of planting trees, which once established, can provide produce for many years with proper care, reflecting the permaculture principle of creating sustainable and self-sufficient agricultural systems.

💡Farmgate

Farmgate refers to the point of sale where produce is directly sold to consumers or buyers at the farm itself. The video discusses different market options for farmers, including the farmgate approach, where a large avocado oil producer comes directly to the farm to harvest and purchase the avocados, providing an example of direct marketing in agriculture.

💡Pruning

Pruning is the practice of selectively removing parts of a plant, such as branches or stems, to improve its health, shape, and productivity. The script mentions upcoming pruning of the avocado trees, which is an important practice to ensure the trees continue to produce fruit and remain healthy over their long lifespan.

💡TLC (Tender Loving Care)

TLC stands for 'Tender Loving Care,' a phrase used to describe the attentive and nurturing care given to someone or something. In the video, TLC is used metaphorically to refer to the care and attention given to the trees on the farm, emphasizing the importance of proper maintenance and nurturing in farming.

Highlights

Welcome to Back to Nature Organic Farms, a community-driven initiative promoting a holistic lifestyle.

The importance of an attitude of gratitude for appreciating life's gifts.

Emphasizing the connection between nature and human well-being, advocating for natural living.

Introducing the concept of Back to Nature as a social enterprise with a focus on organic farming.

Highlighting the financial aspect of farming and the need for sustainable income generation.

Discussing the early harvest day at the farm, showcasing the fruits of labor.

The significance of the harvest season in East Africa and its potential for avocado production.

Introducing a special harvest arrangement with a large organic avocado oil producer.

Demonstrating the avocado harvesting process, from picking to initial sorting.

Detailing the packing and weighing process of avocados for market readiness.

The economic impact of global events on avocado supply and value chains.

Exploring different market approaches for selling avocados, from farm gate to supermarkets.

The permaculture approach to farming, emphasizing long-term sustainability.

The potential for avocado trees to produce for decades with proper care.

The future plans for scaling up the farm and expanding the orchard.

The health benefits of avocados as a superfood and their economic value.

A salute to all farmers and food producers for their essential role in society.

Closing thoughts on the importance of community and the force of nature.

Transcripts

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greetings greetings greetings

back to nature africa

back to nature family back to nature

community

back to nature collective welcome to

another fantastic beautiful beautiful

episode right here in the garden of

paradise

aka also known as back to nature organic

farms we want to welcome everyone out

there at youtube land who continues to

follow us on our journey who continues

to play a role in a part of this family

and particularly in the comment section

i love all your comments and getting

your chance to engage in an act interact

with everyone there

and say uh thank you not only uh what i

want to say thank you to each and every

one of you but i want to say thank you

to the almighty for this continued gift

that we call life

still breathing heart is still kicking

eyes can still see ears can still hear

attitude of gratitude is so important

and so with that let's get started with

another beautiful uh you know wonderful

episode here in this abundance

that we call mother nature on a very

powerful episode

that cannot be

factored out

when we are considering

farming particularly if you're gonna

approach it as a commercial farm or even

as a social enterprise sort of you know

something that will generate you know

income

generate

profit but impact the society so sort of

back to nature organic farms

and our initiative back to nature it's

more of a social

enterprise so how do we always get

started you know we get started by just

pointing out that the closer we are to

nature the more whole happier peace at

ease

we are the further we get away from

nature when we move into artificial

living into fake lifestyles and fake

news and

so much

denatured living we get into areas of

life that are not as conducive

towards the edification

of realizing our full optimal human

potential so we

advocate we inspire motivating courage

kenyans east africans africans and

beyond to adopt more natural holistic

lifestyle approaches towards maintaining

because if you're healthy there's

nothing when you want to do more than

maintain your health

or regain it if you've lost it so

today's episode

we're going to talk about the moolah

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we'll call it here in kenya

right cha ching

you know the dough the guap the

cheddar what are all the names for this

thing that we call money and we have to

take that in consideration for farming

because if not we will not be able to

farm sustainably

and sustainably means something that can

be able to regenerate to continue and we

are very big on understanding

institution building

right something that we can leave for

our future generations to come and

therefore

today is a special day because it is

early harvest day on the farm that's why

actually where i think

you you where i've chosen to film here

today you're going to see something here

in a second uh or i should be pointing

up there in a second um

that our trees

have now been in the ground

a year

two years two and a half years three

years now

and we are now

for

this particular region here in east

africa it sits along the crater equator

the tropical region

the season for harvest usually comes

around

the

march

april

may

june july so we have a window there

that extends sometimes it extends a

little further that's one of the reasons

that africa is the future for avocado

production

uh because our competitors in the world

mexico and peru and the southern african

southern american countries their window

closes

while the east african ones and even in

africa i know south africa is a big

producer as well we have a little bit of

a longer window so

our early harvest on this farm

is what happened today

and uh

there you go modern technology always

working for you can't live with it can't

live without it

and so with that ladies and gentlemen

we're gonna have a discussion here and

what you're gonna see

actually you're gonna be doing a little

bit of editing magic

which i typically you know don't do i

usually like uh just turn on the camera

one take and rock and roll but you're

going to see cut in shots here

of different parts of the harvest that

was going on in the farm today

and since it was a long period or over a

period of time of

the harvesters coming

um

actually funny enough i'm not sure in

this episode in a future episode i'll

talk about

when you are going now to harvest and

taking your produce to market what are

all the different options there is the

farm gate or individuals that will come

and meet you at the farm

gate there are the middle men

there are actual uh producers that uh in

the area who you know have their own

particular brands and they sort of buy

from you or

others who are making oil

avocado oil you know so there are many

different ways so we went with a

particular interesting farmgate approach

with an arrangement where one of the

local actually i think it's probably the

largest

oil avocado oil producer in the world

and particularly organic

avocado oil came to the farm today they

brought

along with them

their harvesters

they brought their crates

they brought we were sort of testing

them to see what kind of structural

organization that they have the prices

that they were working with you know

sort of uh how they were going to treat

the farmer coming here because we're

going to go into pruning uh the trees

here in a few

weeks to come you know etc and so that's

what you're gonna you know have a chance

to see how um they were able to pick

some of the avocados once they picked

they started doing some initial early

sorting of the avocados and the clipping

of the

the different uh the same little stem

that comes along because that determines

how quickly the avocado will ripen

you know etc you have a chance to see

how they pack the avocados within the

crates

how then those crates are stacked how

eventually the crates

are weighed

and with the weighing how you're able to

tabulate

the the different weight

of

the avocados in the different crates uh

containers that they have

and then

how they pack it onto their transport

vehicle

you have a chance to uh sort of see you

know how what goes into that and get a

chance i think i might even find a way

to get a picture of the the receipt

that's given because as we go through

each crate we're taking

tabulating the amount of weight and

writing it down and then getting a

chance of total

of the total amount of weight and you

know across the board and so it has been

a very interesting

experience here today and very

fulfilling because you put in so much

work you've put in so much effort and

still our trees are not yet mature trees

mature trees about five years in so

we're still about three years in and yet

we still were able to get a pretty

decent

um

in terms of weight

uh

and a number of avocados from our two

300 trees that we currently have on our

particular farm so you have a chance to

see that however i want to pick up the

camera now and i want to go around

showing you

how

some trees

were ready for the fruits to be picked

today

and others are still

relatively

young

and

in about two months

two and a half three months on a number

of the other trees we'll be harvesting

again

and probably even get a third harvest

over the course of the next six months

and so avocados in this beautiful and

this is a beautiful thing about

um uh going with trees and

sort of a permaculture at least

permaculture comes from the name

permanent

culture meaning that once you put the

trees in they're a little bit different

than the three month vegetables

four month vegetable 90 day vegetables

that you

harvest and then you plant again you

harvest you plant again

once these trees are in the ground

and once you've given them the nutrients

they've gotten the water you know the

tlc we talk about here the tender loving

care

right

these trees will produce for 30

40

50

plus

years and each year

the volume goes up

and more trees particularly if you prune

them correctly

know when to give them the right

you know nutrition and vitamins and

minerals and the water

all of that it's a beautiful thing and

that's why for the rest of the land that

we have

we haven't been able from certain

challenges we have we haven't been able

to get

many other trees on there yet but we

have hundreds if not thousands of more

trees that are going to be coming to

this orchard and scaling up what we have

sort of uh been in

i would say a research and development

on on this this part of the land that

has about 300 trees or so

on the land so let me pick the camera up

and let's have a short brief walk

through

uh the farm and just show you different

trees at different stages even though we

harvested today and we're able

to

be

happy with what we were able to

come off the bring off the land so

we always sort of

show

our water tower there in the background

so we're in phase b

phase two

um

and

block a

so you'll see this tree by the way

beautiful tree twice as tall as i am

right now

and you'll have a chance to see that the

avocados here are still relatively young

still relatively small

and still growing and developing and

we're looking at another

three months here for these to get them

nice fat and juicy and ready to be

harvested

by the way we here you might have seen

we shot a video here where we were

walking barefoot not that long ago so if

you go back to that video and then you

have a chance to see what has already

grown and developed and the cabbages

here nice little cabbage patch it's

coming up in a in a beautiful way

having a chance to get this drip

irrigation not to mention we have the

rains that are here so they're well well

fed in terms of water so you see another

tree this one here

in about four weeks

um

they will be ready

for

harvest as a matter of fact there are

one or two here

that are probably even ready right now

because if you look at the size of my

hand

and

in the palm and you look at the size of

that avocado you can see

that this is ready we just want the

others to come up and uh make sure that

they are also get enough size actually i

might pluck this myself personally

and eat this when she's ready but the

rest of her brothers and sisters here

need a couple more weeks

uh so you see that on um some of these

trees uh others like this

were fully harvested

here today maybe uh one or two

like these that are still left

that are on the tree

have a chance to you know sort of um see

that but most of all these

were harvested and

i'm sure i'll be cutting in some clips

of the crates and

cutting in some clips of

uh them clipping

the avocados themselves

at this section

so the harvesters came through this

section and were able to

harvest most

of the avocados

here and from the about 300 trees that

the avocados we felt

were ready for harvesting however

like i mentioned we'll still be

harvesting here

over

the course

of

the next

three

to six months

for those

avocados

that were not

yet

ready

and with that

the way it sort of works also as we get

to

dealing with

going to market

is typically

avocados

you might

buy if you're in kenya

you're going to spend anywhere between

20

to 50 shillings

for an avocado whether you're gonna get

her at the moment mama burger these

shops or skulls

typically on the road

which is a benefit in africa you find

them all through africa you know unlike

america europe many other places you

have these things they call food deserts

where you could drive get in your car

and drive for 30 minutes and not find a

live or real tomato

right

in africa you don't have that issue you

have a lot of entrepreneurs particularly

women who've really taken it upon

themselves to set up these makeshift

stalls

usually somewhere on the road and

they're selling

fruits and vegetables etc so usually

they'll sell

the avocados they're 20 shillings or 30

shillings if you're going to go to an

actual grocery store or supermarket here

you're going to pay about 50 shillings

it's about 50 cents just a u.s dollar

now in america

um the prices can range anywhere from

one dollar

to

five dollars

for avocados

whole foods and i know california has

been having a huge issue

with water i know just a month or so ago

uh america banned avocados coming from

mexico

and south and then mexico was the

biggest supplier of avocados to america

and so the price shot up for single

avocado we're seeing people paying 4.99

before that um but nonetheless

when you're when you're a producer

you're not necessarily selling per piece

and if you do a lot of times uh some

farmers get taken advantage for

get paid one shilling which is like one

cents for five cents five shillings ten

shillings you know for a single uh you

know avocado

um but typically what we'll do is we'll

sell per kg kilo

and a kilo can range here

anywhere

from

about

65 shillings to

150 shillings on the high end depending

and right now what's happening in

ukraine and russia

and food prices going through the roof

it's also affecting in terms of our

avocado supply and

and value chains as well

and so in that regards once you agree on

the per kilo and they do the weighing

like you'll see you know clips here we

go through the weighing uh and once you

have a chance to do that you're able to

make your deal and either they'll pay

you on the spot or one or two weeks

deposit the money uh in your particular

bank account in that regards so that's a

little bit about

you know sort of what i wanted to talk

today and i've you know pause here by

some of these trees

once again that you see these younger

um

smaller

fruits

that give them

two four six weeks

and they'll be nice juicy fats

and delicious and luscious

scrumptious

ready

uh to eat and by the way avocados are

super foods i want to

remind everybody

that avocados are super fruit some of

the healthiest fats that you can have

and find

some of the most

propitious um

people call it

not only green gold because of the money

that can be earned through

avocado farming but

also

the

kind of health benefits

that they have it becomes like

nature's butter

once you get

the taste of avocados

you know once you go avocado you don't

go back

so with that ladies and gentlemen so

this is where we'll wind down our video

for today once again thank you for

continuing to always tune in thank you

following this journey here they're back

to nature

thank you for being part of this

community and family hopefully you're

learning and taking some you know value

that you can apply maybe not farming on

the scale we're doing here

or others that are much larger than we

are actually we're probably on the

smaller

side of things and i just want to salute

all farmers all food producers who work

hard

to you know feed humanity every day you

know

you can't go without a farmer in your

life every day

except when you're fasting maybe but

other than that

whether you're having bread or you're

having a tea or coffee someone grew that

fruit someone grew that vegetable

someone grew that herb someone grew it

and that name of that person is a farmer

and the farmer are

a blessing to all mankind and all

humanity so

salute to all farmers

and um and we put ourselves in that

small little category as well so thank

you very much for continuing to tune in

may the force of nature

be with you

give thanks

peace

and blessing

god bless

and have a fantastic day

now we're gonna go and pop some

organic celebratory champagne for our

harvest day today

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2.1

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do

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you