What a lot of people who travel to Aruba may not know is that there are ten varieties of lettuce growing in Paradera. 

Crops of lettuce grow with roots suspended in shallow streams of cycled water enriched with nutrients. The whole growing process is a six-week cycle in a greenhouse. The first step is germination where seeds spend two weeks sprouting in what are essentially sponges (no soil involved). The next step is a short stint in the area of the greenhouse known as the nursery. The sprouts are divided and placed on channels in rows of 36 plants—where they are introduced to the steady stream of cool water that will nourish them for two more weeks. Finally, the plants go to the finishing stage where they are moved onto channels in rows of 18 to make space for the growth of the lettuce leaves.

Tell me about the hydroponic industry here in Aruba.
Frank Timmen: Overall, there isn’t much of an industry because there is no tradition of agriculture on the island (not in this way, anyway). There are some farmers, but they grow fruit trees and melons. And that means that at the moment, almost 98% of produce is imported.

When we started in 2014 there was nothing in terms of hydroponics. It’s hard to grow anything on the island because of the sun. There’s very little rain and it’s difficult to grow produce in the ground because of the conditions. With hydroponics, you have completely different possibilities.
—
What was the inspiration to start Happyponics?
FT: Well, the inspiration was that my wife wanted to live and work here on the island and I had to quit my job in Holland. I thought, well, what am I going to do here?  The funny thing is, I saw this on television. There was a program on Dutch television about hydroponics—it was about vertical farming. At that time, my wife was running the Bureau of Innovation here on the island. So I told her this would be interesting for Aruba. She thought it was a good idea and asked “Why not try doing it yourself?”

I’m not a farmer. I didn’t know anything about lettuce. I’m a technician. So I made a small greenhouse (it was only seven meters by nine meters) and it took a long time just to try to find out how to do it because nobody had done it before in Aruba. So I was just trying, trying, and trying. Adjusting water intake, the nutrients. I think we tried 35 different varieties of lettuce to narrow down which ones grow well in this environment.

How do you create the right conditions for your crops to grow?
FT: Lettuce is not a tropical plant so you have to protect it from too much sunshine. That’s why our greenhouse is protected by fine netting. It limits the crop’s sun exposure. It’s also important to feel the wind coming through the net into the greenhouse because I have to cool it. The more cooling, the better, because lettuce doesn’t like the heat. The choice of netting is crucial because I need as much wind as possible but the fineness of the net keeps the bugs out. And finally, we cool the water with chillers. Although the plants think it’s very hot, they can suck up the cold water all day. That’s like compensation for the surrounding temperature.
—
Are you growing other vegetables?
FT: Almost. We want to but that will be next year. It will probably be arugula first because there’s a lot of demand for arugula. We decided that when we start this, we want to do it right. We have to prove ourselves because the most important thing for our restaurant and hotel clients is consistency in quality.
—
How does your produce compare to imported lettuce?
FT: When I started, I had to compare all my produce to imported produce to make sure I could fair in the market. Imported lettuce gets cut at the roots. So, when you buy imported lettuce, after three or four days, you have to throw it away. We deliver our lettuce with the roots. That means that it can be kept in the fridge for two weeks. Customers can order whatever they need, at the time they need, and they can use it for two weeks without waste. That’s one of our big advantages.

What else makes this operation sustainable?
FT: It was always our goal to try to grow as sustainably as possible. These days, sustainability is a word everybody uses. If you really want to do it, you must want to do it on all levels. From the water and the nutrients to the way you are organized. We’re two employees at the moment and can harvest 3000 heads of lettuce a week. That’s really good but then you have to be organized.

I deliver my lettuce in reusable bins. I bring a full box and I take the empty one from the last time. I just exchange boxes, clean them, and use them again. So, no packaging. I don’t want to work with plastic bags and stuff. It depends on the week, but orders are more or less steady. That’s good for me because then I know how many heads to grow, and I don’t have waste.

There’s also no wasted water. That is the nice thing about the system: all the water is pumped back into the tank to be used through the cycle again. I think I use more water to fill my swimming pool than I use for the plants.

When the pandemic started, we lost 90% of our orders in three days. So we brought our leftover produce to a food bank and since then we’ve had a very good relationship with them. Now any time I have leftover lettuce, I bring it to them. We’re even working toward growing a portion for them every week and making it a permanent part of our schedule.
—
What is next for Happyponics?
FT: With new products, we have to maintain the same quality. I hope when we can do that—when we can expand—I can work with more young people. These young people can start their own operations in the future. And then you can grow agriculture from the inside in Aruba.