A Vineyard Haven business has been adapting to a changing climate over the years: weathering long periods of drought and humidity as they produce minerals from local waters; they’ve tried minimizing their climate impact by using solar panels and letting nature take its course. So, whether irony or Murphy’s law, it was unusually strong winds and rain that set them back substantially.
Heidi and Curtis Feldman, under the business name of Martha’s Vineyard Sea Salt, have been producing the salt farmed from Vineyard waters over the past decade. But during a recent storm, and after putting in a substantial renovation, winds and rain tore the top of their production facility off, and drenched their entire winter’s batch of salt, rendering it useless.
“We lost about $20,000 in salt,” Heidi Feldman told The Times.
The Vineyard Haven couple won’t be able to ramp up production again until the temperature warms up and water settles down in the spring, so several orders to wholesalers won’t be completed. And any packaged salt they do have left, they are saving to present during trade shows in March. So they are out of stock to sell, essentially, during the holiday push.
“It really hurts,” Feldman said. “My heart aches right now,” she told her followers on Instagram in a video showing the aftermath of the storm, with the operation’s roof fallen off.
The Feldmans started their business in 2013 in their backyard in Vineyard Haven. They collect ocean water from near First Bridge in Oak Bluffs — a state board of health–approved location — and then evaporate the water to produce the salt at home.
In order to naturally dry out the sea salt without a large carbon footprint, the Feldmans use a combination of sun and wind. In some parts of the world, the process is done in open air. But because there are a lot of insects on the Vineyard, the Feldmans cover the facility in a hoop-house facility. The sun generates heat inside, and then they use power from solar panels to run fans, which help remove the moisture. “We depend on Mother Nature,” Feldman said. While many commercial enterprises boil water to produce the salt, they want to have a low carbon footprint.
But over the years, Feldman has noted, the climate has gotten more and more humid during Vineyard springs and summers, without much rain. That has made it more and more difficult for them to extract the salt.
“With too much humidity, it makes it so you can’t dry naturally, or at least to the consistency that you need it,” Feldman said. They’ve also noted that temperatures are getting warmer earlier, which is impacting them and other farmers on the Island.
So the business set out to expand its evaporating capacity. They created new pools to pour the water into, which allowed them a steadier rotation. When completed, there was a dry spell in July which sent them back a little. But by the end of the summer, things were running smoothly.
And then the storm struck on Dec. 11. With winds of about 60 mph, the roof of the hoop house was blown off, allowing rainwater, leaves, and other debris to get in and completely compromise the product. They considered ways of saving the batch, but didn’t have any answers.
Instead, they are turning to the community. Reluctantly, Feldman started an online fundraiser to help them get through the winter to when they can start ramping up production. They are looking to raise $40,000.
Asked if they considered throwing in the towel while dealing with ongoing climate challenges, Feldman said it occurred to her. But they are already starting to think about new designs for their facility that won’t be as prone to damage from strong winds.
“I need to think about climate change as I start to rebuild,” she said.
