Jeff Raymond is the Chief Operations and Technology Officer for Eden Grow Systems. Eden is based out of Houston, TX, but he works from White Salmon, Washington. Jeff holds three degrees, an Associate of Arts, as well as a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering from Embry Riddle, and a Masters in Organizational Leadership from Gonzaga. He chose to start his entrepreneurial journey 10 years ago but made the leap into full-time entrepreneurship three years ago.
Eden Grow System’s mission is to provide sustainable food and energy independence to local communities around the world, and one day, off it. Jeff speaks about those they serve, saying “We serve the planet….no really we do. Anyone who eats is our future customer. We tend to focus on organizations, non-profits, individuals/families who want to grow their own food, people in urban areas with no land.”
“We want to empower people to have healthy lives through the use of technology to provide them the basics they need to live happy and free.”
Jeff also shares why Eden Grow Systems was developed.“ The short answer…sustainable living. The longer answer: we are trying to solve the problem of not consuming more than you need. Not taking more than you should. Living in balance. But also living comfortably. We don’t like how we see corporate organizations trying to control the food delivery process, from growth to sale. We want to provide a method for individuals, families, and communities to grow their own food. To do that, we need systems that make it easier to learn, or remove the need to learn all that goes into the miracle of growing food.”
When he reflects on the highs and lows of his journey, Jeff says, “Every day is a blessing. We’ve been blessed with funding and amazing people. Answered prayers all around. And the work we do is extremely rewarding. We are literally trying to feed the world. Hard to beat that feeling. Every day is also hard work. I mean really hard. We work super long hours and still can’t get to everything. Making payroll is my #1 priority and stress. We can’t do this without a team, and keeping the team paid, putting food on their families’ tables is my top priority and stress.”
As he thinks of ways our community can support Eden Grow Systems in their next stage of growth, he explains, “We are in need of connecting to others who share our vision. Who see the problem, and understand that to help feed everyone, to help make our food supply chain more secure, we need to take an “all the above” approach to food production. Eden doesn’t compete with traditional farmers, we supplement them. Our systems are not meant to compete with large cropland, but they are meant to help decentralize the food production chain and enable the individual, the family and the community to produce a large portion of their food all year round. We need to connect. We need our message out. And of course, we need funding to help us scale up.”
Eden Grow Systems
You can learn more about Jeff and his work at Eden Grow Systems by visiting their LinkedIn, Facebook (@edengrowsystems), Twitter (@eden_grow), Instagram (@edengrowsystems), or YouTube (TheRealMartian).
