WILLEMSTAD - The representative of the Netherlands on Curaçao, Aruba and Sint Maarten, Erwin Arkenbout recently visited the food forest in Brievengat to start using a groasis growboxx. The groasis growboxx is an invention of the Dutch former flower trader Pieter Hoff who was brought to Curaçao and is an instrument that has been developed to grow trees in dry areas and rocks. 

The grow box, or waterboxx, consists of a container of 5 liters of water with a recess for planting in the dry soil. There is a recess on the bottom with a moisture-conducting string that is attached next to the roots when planting. Thanks to this artificial but limited supply of moisture, the roots grow into the deeper subsoil as opposed to irrigation, so that the young plant can survive dry periods. 

Kees Jan Bender, a volunteer who is committed to the use of the groasis growboxx and therefore to the sustainable construction of food forests, gave a presentation in 2021 and interested parties could then register for a boxx. The boxxes have now arrived and could recently be picked up. 

Rules also apply when using the boxx: for example, the user must take a photo at the start and repeat this three months later and specify the state of the plant's growth on an app designed for this purpose.