Meet your farmer: Hamlin Stephenson

What’s Hot talks to prominent Cayman farmer Hamlin Stephenson about his life and love of farming.

8 April 2023

He is the man after whom the Hamlin Stephenson farmer’s market is named.

Located at the cricket grounds in George Town, the market was established in 2015 as a place for farmers to sell their goods and to provide customers with easy access to local produce.

“I started the grassroots effort to revitalise the market because of my love for agriculture on the island,” says Mr. Hamlin. “It’s a small island and if we do not – and I repeat do not – engage ourselves in agriculture it will just die a natural death.”

Starting the project in 2013, Mr. Hamlin raised the money, obtained the lease for the property and supervised construction, along with garnering interest and support for the market.

“I’d say the response from the community has been very good and the agricultural sector on a whole has been able to sell their produce there. And, the customers – they just love to go to the market and get their fresh produce.”

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An ardent supporter of agriculture in the Cayman Islands, farming runs in Mr. Hamlin’s blood.

“My father was a farmer,” he says. “As a child in Jamaica, some of my daily chores included planting and harvesting anything that he was growing, as well as milking cows and goats.”

Mr. Hamlin began backyard farming in 1970 and, since retiring from construction in 2009, he has moved into commercial farming as his main occupation ever since.

“Besides providing fresh nutritional food, it (farming) supplements the food market rather than refrigerated imported foods,” he says. “It provides sustainability and can also be a source of income for many locals.”

ENCOURAGING CAYMANIANS

He would like to see more Caymanians become involved in both backyard gardening and commercial farming.

“I think farming should be encouraged in the younger generation, teaching them that there is no shame in working with your hands,” he says. “I know there are some farms that are expanding into different methods of farming, and I would love to see more of that.

“Even though I will always be a traditionalist, I can see the benefit of being able to farm using different methods, which could lead to a greater variety of local produce. And, I would like that more land would be zoned as agriculture.”

Mr. Hamlin, who also has livestock on his six-acre farm in Lower Valley, grows a large variety of produce, using traditional methods of drip irrigation.

He sells it at The Market at the Cricket Grounds and various supermarkets.

He loves to witness the process of germination of the seed to the growth of the plants.

“What brings me joy is the community smelling and tasting the difference in fresh produce,” he says. “Especially when I can share something new with a child and encourage them to have a love of fruits and vegetables.”

In season in spring: Tomato, bok choy, lettuce, kale, cabbage and mango.