Welcome to Camu Camu Farms

The Origin Story

Our story:

August 2008

I first started growing seeds many years ago. I, Greg Arabie, a high school teacher with degrees in psychology and social work, decided to grow this fruit because I didn’t like the taste of the powder. In my search for seeds I came across a forum for tropical fruits. It was there that I read some information regarding camu camu and some of its relatives. One particular person posted a lot of useful information-Adam of Flying Fox Fruits. My research started there.

For several years through trial and error, mostly error, I attempted growing the seeds in my guest bathroom bringing in multiple types of different compost mixtures and teas. After killing thousands of seedlings and gathering data, I managed to keep about 30 of the seedlings alive through manipulating the soil and the use of different watering methods.

2015

When they started growing rapidly I started making phone calls to tell major companies in and around Louisiana, Florida and California; and I asked if they could help me with production. Those companies did not believe the words coming out of my mouth nor did they care much about the fruit.

May 2015

I called an old friend, someone I worked with for some time. A nursery owner, Billy Seal. He directed me to a guy named Michael Roe. I started talking with Mike about the fruit. While we were talking he was looking up the information and immediately saw the value of what I had accomplished so far. He said he saw a future for this fruit, this powerful untapped market for Camu Camu.

We started testing the plant thresholds and managed to sprout thousands of seeds. Things were looking great for us. Then the unthinkable, a flood. A flood took most of our production downstream and we lost most of our stock.

With the stock we had left we continued testing and determining the best care for our plants in Louisiana. Our numbers increased-again. Saddened with the slow growth and little to no development after 3 years of working with Mike I started giving up hope and wrote the project of as a failure.

On October 30, 2018 Mike texted me a picture. I picture of a berry, a Camu Camu berry. I couldn’t believe it. Less than 24 hours before that, a student asked how it was doing and I told them it’s over, it won’t do anything.

With our information I took to the interwebs. I posted on a very comprehensive forum from where I originally gathered information on these tropical fruits. The responses to our pictures of flowers, fruit buds and the sheer number of trees was quite shocking. Several successful tropical fruit growers gave very positive comments, including Adam-Flying Fox Fruits.

Alas, here we are. Ready to hit the market. Ready to spread awareness: of our product, of our story, of something wonderful, and of something super.

Greg