kindle

Much like a Bioneer’s conference the aforementioned seemingly dissimilar entities comfortably co-habitate a space finding there is safety in numbers, while quietly reminding us diversity nourishes sustainability.

Today’s WILDFIRE profile is Melvin Murrel a social entrepreneur extraordinaire. He is also a hard working fisherman / farmer: an uncommon combination anywhere let alone 100 miles from the nearest shores of New Hampshire. We find Melvin, an extremely articulate man of African-American descent on a misty morning, clad in tall rubber work boots and coveralls, his head topped with a brown USMC cap. One could just as easily picture him in tweed, speaking to an undergraduate crop of aspiring entrepreneurs- although after spending several hours with him one quickly realizes he is clearly a man who would rather do than talk about doing. And do he does!

We arrived last week, as part of a statewide ‘tour de force’ of New Hampshire unsure of what we would find…exactly. Having never been to an inland aquaculture farm, we came upon the village of Deering and Melvin’s farm nestled in a pristine land preserve, complete with dirt roads, beautiful wetlands, and thick forest. The farm is entitled ‘the Poling Farm’, after David Poling who passed last year at 98 years old, his heart simply expired after a long life well-lived.

Given Melvin’s contagious passion for his vocation in addition to location it is likely he too shall live a long life. Melvin farms for fish in what is known as ‘fireponds’, a term I had never heard. (Appropriate enough for a blog entitled Wildfires and an organization creating a conference called Kindle, I bemused.)

Fireponds, usually small bodies of fresh water no more than 25-35 yards across, are very clean. Melvin proudly boasts “they are drinkable upon one boil” rather than the three boils CDC recommends for other ponds. In these tiny forest pools one can raise 3,000 fish and net upwards of $6,000 dollars. Now, before everyone starts digging holes in their backyards its important to remember like any garden it requires attention and maintenance. Which is one of the many reasons Melvin is such a dynamic story: his organization (visit: www.polingaquaculture.com) can and will prepare and consult with you on creating your firepond, and possibly (depending on your location) even maintain it for a share of the revenue- he calls this “mixing”.

Managing a farm, a sustainable working farm, not one of those factory, heavily subsidized, multinational corporate farms requires ingenuity the likes of which many households would shutter before adopting. A working farm also requires visionary leadership and a willingness to take risks, experiment, collaborate, and innovate. Fortunately for the Poling Farm they have all that in Melvin.

Melvins success story is compelling for several reasons: The most interesting is his challenges keeping up with the demand. In addition to horn pout he grows shiners, crayfish, bluegill and bass. Reminding us like any good investment portfolio one needs to diversify remaining ever mindful of trends staying abreast of the times and consumers interests. One of the reasons maintaining inventory is so difficult is workforce related. Area kids wont work for nine dollars an hour, and he wryly observes don’t want to get dirty. Present immigration hysteria has forced many of his migratory latin-american workers to look elsewhere for employment, regardless their ‘green card’ status. Profiling and with it the predictable hassles in the area have created a difficult environment for those industries that require physical manpower.

Melvin, undeterred, ever the innovator, has found a swift stream of good workers in those young war veterans returning home with various disorders a result of combat fatigue and having witnessed too much death and destruction. As a war veteran Melvin knows this community better than most. Melvin suggests the clean air, majestic forest and tranquil ponds provide the fresh canvas for one to reassemble their lives; sitting ten feet from a pond, looking out over rolling hills with summer green everywhere it is easily understood.

So what about the ferns and alpaca- simply another manner in which Melvin has diversified his holdings. The next time your in a florist shop and elect to include some decorative ferns amuse yourself by imaging them growing next to a pond beside some stately, if odd-looking, alpaca.

Melvin and his organization: the New Hampshire Aquaculture Association are recipients of the Maine-based Great Bay Foundation’s financial support, and their website details his efforts further. If able drop this 21st century fisher-farmer a note, saluting his pioneering efforts, maybe even include a charitable gift- it will be money well spent. But an even wiser idea might be to contract with him to build you your own cash generating fire-pond!

His website states:

“Come visit for a while…
we’re sure you’ll go home with a better
understanding of farm-based aquaculture
and perhaps even some Poling Horned Pout.

Great stock for your pond,
even better as that night’s dinner!”

…and he does not disappoint, although we did not leave with any Poling Horned Pout we did leave with an earful of wisdom and a renewed sense of what is possible when one thinks inside and outside of the pond.