KarunaNews Story

For more than a decade, Wilkin & Sons has been working towards full water self sufficiency -- even in dry Essex, England -- by harvesting rainwater. Pipes are attached to all the gutters within the farm’s 50 acres of covered structures, and all seven reservoirs now hold 125 million liters of water. Wilkin & Sons, which has made its famous Tiptree jam since 1885, drip waters its strawberry and raspberry plants in layers of horizontal troughs, cutting water consumption by about 75%. Aiming to make Wilkin & Sons even more sustainable and resilient, Ivanov wants to install 25 acres of solar panels and is experimenting with drought-resistant berry varieties. Since the 1950s, picking the berries has provided an income for international workers -- this year, for 250 workers from Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, North Macedonia, Moldova, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and South Africa.