Five Questions With: Amy Chauvin

Amy Chauvin, director of operations for Acopia Harvest International in Central Falls, talks with Providence Business News about the company, which develops hydroponics technology to make growing produce manageable and affordable.
Amy Chauvin, director of operations for Acopia Harvest International in Central Falls, talks with Providence Business News about the company, which develops hydroponics technology to make growing produce manageable and affordable.

Amy Chauvin, director of operations for Acopia Harvest International in Central Falls, talks with Providence Business News about the company, which develops hydroponics technology to make growing produce manageable and affordable. Its hydroponics system is called “The Green Machine.” The program targets all age groups from pre-kindergarten to college level to generate a movement for healthier, more self-sufficient future generations, according to Chauvin.

PBN: How did Acopia Harvest International get started? How many people do you employ?
CHAUVIN:
Acopia Harvest began three years ago as a group of scientists, developers, entrepreneurs and businessmen dedicated to the advancement of Earth-friendly technologies relating to sustainability. The vision of Acopia and our principal, Irving Backman, has been to introduce affordable, manageable and sustainable hydroponics systems in schools, homes and businesses across the nation and internationally. We currently have 20 employees between our operations in the U.S. (Central Falls) and South America (Colombia).

PBN: What sort of Earth-friendly technologies do you employ that are related to sustainability?
CHAUVIN:
Our Earth-friendly technologies include commercial hydroponics (GroStax systems) Our Green Machine home and educational hydroponic growing system, rain collection options for our commercial hydroponics, waste to energy, water purification and energy conservation. These technologies fall under acopiaharvest.com and ibaglobal.co.

PBN: What are the benefits of hydroponics?
CHAUVIN:
Hydroponics offers an array of advantages that include:

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  • Growing plants and vegetables indoors year-round.
  • No toxic chemicals or pesticides.
  • Locally grown, locally sourced.
  • Consistent quality of produce.
  • One-third less water than conventional farming.
  • Less space than conventional farming.
  • Great way to get starter plants started early in the season, especially in a place like New England where our spring has been starting very late.
  • Higher nutritional value of produce and shorter growing periods.

PBN: How many schools are involved in Project Sprout and using your Green Machine – are they all in Rhode Island?
CHAUVIN:
Our Project Sprout program has been implemented in over 50 schools in the United States. The program first began in Rhode Island and has grown to six U.S. states including Massachusetts, New York, Alabama and Georgia, as well as Washington, D.C. We are proud of our group of Green Machine homes and want to grow our program nationally as part of a year-round school curriculum.
Our team in Medellin, Colombia, has also spread Project Sprout to about 30 schools and a few universities.

PBN: What do you do with the produce that you sell in your Central Falls facility?
CHAUVIN:
Our Central Falls-based commercial hydroponic facility grows a variety of greens/herbs indoors, year-round without the use of toxic chemicals and pesticides. Examples of some of our produce sold to local farmer’s markets and businesses include kale, lettuce, basil, sage, Swiss chard, cilantro and micro-greens. We are always experimenting with what can be grown using our patented hydroponics systems and have even grown starter plants such as tomatoes and flowers! Any produce scraps we compost and any extra produce we do donate to The Davinci Center in Providence and the Amos House in Providence.

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