Madi Rum, a St. Johns County-based maker of vanilla-spiced rum, has proposed a new mixed-use in Saint Johns County.
The company has plans in review to develop a two-story restaurant, bakery, distillery, and greenhouses on 6 acres, according to Jacksonville Daily Record. MAI Engineering Servicessubmitted project plans last month and recently met with the St. Johns County Development Review Committee earlier this month. Company co-owners Shane Shetler and Travis James hope also to feature a plane designed after the rum maker’s logo within a lagoon on the property.
Whether or not these plans come to fruition, Jacksonville residents should be excited that such a responsible company is trying to open such a massive development in the area. On top of providing delicious vanilla-spiced rum and a handful of recipes to go with it, Madi Rum proudly supports Madi’s Mission, a non-profit mission that helps raise awareness for the dire need for conservation in Madagascar. With 80% of Malagasy wildland being destroyed, this non-profit’s efforts help support forest restoration projects, eco-incentivizing local outreach, education programs, and scholarship funds.
“We work with a Vanilla Importer called LAFAZA,” according to the company’s website. “LAFAZA works directly with the Malagasy Farmers and ensures that each bean is ethically farmed and purchased. The Farmers use sustainable farming practices that help protect the unique rainforest biodiversity in and around the Mananra-Nord Region, which is on the northeast coast of Madagascar. Rather than growing vanilla in large mono-cropped plantations, LAFAZA vanilla comes from independent, small-holder farmers whose dense agroforestry systems act more like a healthy forest and less like an industrial farm. LAFAZA invests back in their cooperatives and helps build libraries and community centers in the rural forest communities where LAFAZA vanilla is grown.”
