Dave Meikle
Founder of FarmBwoy
Interview by: Selena Schleh / Photography by: Trimaine Simpson
When you think of farming, you probably imagine a weather-beaten son of the soil, tilling the land. A rustic and romantic vision, but hardly an aspirational career for young people today. Jamaican entrepreneur Dave Meikle is on a mission to change that perception and make farming cool, relevant and inspiring, through his pioneering FarmBwoy brand. “You have to think about farming as a business. It’s not just about clearing a piece of land and planting a few yams and banana trees. There’s been a lot of technological advancement – it’s not as simple as it was,” he says.
The son of two teachers, Dave’s own path into farming was meandering. After running a jewellery business in high school and his own clothing brand, Guh Places, while studying at the University of Technology, he turned his entrepreneurial streak to his late grandfather’s farm, a run-down eight-acre plot in Clarendon. There, he began raising livestock – chickens, goats and pigs – and crops, and FarmBwoy was born.
It wasn’t long before Dave stumbled upon his next venture. “There were lots of castor trees growing wild on my grandad’s land which we were constantly cutting down. Then someone told me that they could make a lot of money – especially overseas, where there’s a high demand for castor oil. After doing some research, I started planting them instead,” he explains.
A wonder product since 4000 BC, when it was used as fuel for lamps in ancient Egypt, castor oil has a multitude of medicinal and cosmetic applications: it can stimulate hair growth, relieve joint pain, soothe eczema and insect bites, act as a laxative and even induce labour. The only drawback, says Dave, is that huge amounts of seeds yield only a tiny quantity of oil, and the crop is incredibly labour-intensive to harvest. Seedpods are hand-picked and dried in the sun, “then the hard part is picking out the seeds from the trash [the pod], which is a very tedious process,” before cold pressing.
Only three months in, business is booming locally in Jamaica and overseas, helped by a strong presence on social media. Traditionally seen as a product for Black hair and skin, Dave is keen to promote castor oil as something “any person of any race can use.” That’s just the start: a range of natural oils including coconut and flaxseed is planned, along with honey from his two apiaries. There’s even a FarmBwoy clothing line in the works, giving traditional farmer’s apparel, like overalls, a trendy twist.
As important as personal commercial success is, Dave is equally committed to supporting the next generation. “Youths are the future of any country, so we want to motivate them to be productive and let them know crime is not the only way to make a living,” he says. As well as giving motivational sessions in the community, he’s in talks with a mining company, the Jamaica Bauxite Institute, about turning unused land into mini castor farms to provide jobs for young people.
