Grand Valley FarmFarm 588 · EswatiniBack to the farm ↗
May 2023 — August 2026
Field notes, photographs and short films from the people building Grand Valley Farm—one practical milestone at a time.
Read the journal ↓Progress, not polish
This growing archive follows the farm from early aerial surveys and irrigation work through greenhouse construction, seed preparation, protected germination, Ellepot transfer, nursery development and field planting.
Entries are grouped around the real milestones visible in the supplied media. Dates reflect the supplied filenames, numeric capture timestamps and archive file dates. As each update arrives, this journal can keep growing week by week.
The farm record
By late August, the nursery canopy had closed into deep, healthy green. Strong root plugs, uniform trays and hands-on plant checks show the crop moving beyond propagation towards field establishment. Young trees were also being set into prepared ground—an important transition from protected nursery care to permanent planting.
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Close-up records capture a dense, even canopy and the leaf condition of the developing coffee plants. These routine observations matter: colour, new growth and consistency across the beds help the team make timely decisions about water, nutrition, shade and plant selection.
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The August record connects three essentials: the farm's reliable water source, prepared planting areas and young coffee trees beginning life in the field. The photographs also show the varied terrain that will shape planting layouts and day-to-day crop management.
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An aerial planning view brings the wider project into focus: growing areas, access, water and nursery infrastructure considered as one connected agricultural system. It is the bridge between individual nursery tasks and the long-range development of Farm 588.
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By June, the young plants were building visible leaf area and the nursery was taking on the character of a production crop. Even growth at this stage reflects the accumulated effect of seed selection, protected germination, careful transfer and regular nursery attention.
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A nursery full of young plants is also evidence of daily local work. Propagation, irrigation, tray handling, inspection and record keeping all depend on people learning the crop and building practical skill through each new cycle.
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The developing plug shows one of the practical advantages of the Ellepot approach: the plant, growing medium and degradable paper pot remain together during handling. This protects the root zone and creates a stable unit for efficient movement and transplanting.
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Once selected seedlings are ready, they are transferred into individual Ellepot cells. Separating the plants gives each root system its own growing space while the degradable paper supports air pruning, cleaner handling and reduced disturbance later in the field.
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This is the most detailed propagation chapter in the growing archive. It follows seed preparation and measurement, careful spacing in prepared beds, watering, emerging seedlings, tray work and the people responsible for moving each stage forward. Together, the images show that consistency is built through repeatable small actions.
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Young plants spread across the protected germination beds as the first leaves opened. At this delicate stage, shade and moisture are managed closely while the team watches for even emergence and removes weak or unsuitable material.
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The January image records an early, easily overlooked milestone: the propagation beds beginning to turn green. It is the first visible proof that the nursery environment, seed preparation and daily care are working together.
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Before the nursery could support a commercial planting programme, the team read the land: walking the site, documenting the surrounding terrain and confirming the water resource that would serve the growing system. The season begins with place, people and practical constraints.
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The first photographs in the archive show the protected nursery structure under construction. Its frame and enclosed skin establish the controlled environment needed for consistent germination and early development through the coffee plant's most sensitive stage.
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This field record follows the practical water system: the Mkhondvo River and intake area, existing channels, excavations, buried pipework and control valves positioned in the land. Together, the photographs show how a documented water resource becomes working infrastructure that can be measured, managed and connected to future planting blocks.
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These early drone surveys establish the wider physical context of the project. The aerial record reveals the relationship between the river corridor, open ground, existing fields, access routes and the mountain terrain surrounding the valley—an essential planning perspective before detailed agricultural development begins.
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Inside the process
Unscripted clips from the landscape, river, nursery and field: aerial surveys, water, propagation, Ellepot transfers, crop care and early planting.
An aerial flight following the river through the Grand Valley landscape.
A wide survey of open ground, existing fields and surrounding terrain.
A field-level view of the Mkhondvo River serving Farm 588.
Rows of young plants developing under protection.
Moving young trees from the nursery into prepared ground.
A close view of the seedling transfer process.
Placing selected seedlings into individual cells.
Coffee seed being handled before propagation.
Managing the prepared propagation surface.
A wider look across established nursery stock.
Healthy young coffee plants filling the protected space.
May 2023 — August 2026
All 99 farm photographs have been preserved here in chronological groups and optimised for the web. Near-duplicates remain because together they form the working record.
Dates are taken from supplied filenames, embedded capture timestamps and archive file dates; where only one source was available, it has been retained as the best record.