Darren Goldin, Director of Farming Operations for Entomo Farms is a passionate person. He is passionate about farming, agriculture, the environment, insects, health and humanity. It is his passion which led him to multiple trips in Madagascar. Madagascar is one of the poorest countries in the world, with over 60% of children under the age of 5 suffering from malnutrition. In 2017 The Madagascar BioDiversity Center along with Entomo Farms formed Valala Cricket Farms in Madagascar aimed at teaching local villagers how to raise crickets for human consumption and reduce the devastating effects of bushmeat hunting (mainly Lemurs) in the limited remaining forests. Read More about Darren’s previous journeys to Madagascar. Access his daily diary here.
To support next steps, Madagascar Biodiversity Center along with Entomo Farms is raising money to bring Irina Andrianavalona from Madagascar to do a food training course in Canada. Irina is passionate about sustainability and health and is a Malagasy local looking to give back to her community. Now that an approved ‘processing facility’ has been set up in Madagascar, it is imperative (with a contract from Catholic Relief Service) that Irena (the facility manager) needs formal training and certification, something not readily available in Madagascar. Hence, Irena must come to Canada to not only take the appropriate courses but to also spend a week in the Entomo Farms Processing Facility, shadowing and training with Darren Goldin and the others who run the operation. A ‘Go Fund Me’ page has been set up to help Entomo Farms and the Madagascar Biodiversity Center achieve this goal.