Rekindling that Old time Community Spirit

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Projects similar to this (see article attached) could be implemented on some of the acres of waste government lands scattered all over the country. If government is really serious about food security it would allow people (properly organised) to utilize non productive land for the purpose of growing food.

Bentley – BU Contributor

The pandemic provides the opportunity for households and government alike to innovate through progressive thinking and decision-making by reinventing how we reorder our lives. Whether it is efficiently and effectively implementing digital transformation, Minister Kerri Symmonds announced last week the government will be sourcing electric or hybrid vehicles to replace its existing fleet – long coming but good news. We beseech the private sector to follow government’s lead, this is normally the case anyway.

The blogmaster wants to see more individuals coming together to harness and benefit from community spurred activity. The idea of fostering a collective spirit is a key difference how we live our lifes today compared to days of old. It seems- and narrow sighted though it was- we developed a misplaced definition of advancement.

We can rekindle and foster community spirit by taking into account the following :

  • Identify your goals – and where you currently stand.
  • Work with what you have
  • Bring people together
  • Formalize it
  • Put people to work
  • Create lifestyle programs
  • Listen to feedback
  • Use your tools
  • Strengthen your brand

Source: Nine Ways to Build Community Spirit

If addressing food security is the priority item, let us get everybody involved. To move the needle we must have big farms to address demand for volume BUT there is also benefit of stoking participation at a micro level. The shift in attitude would naturally inform behavioural changes in other aspects to our lifes. We can utilize the community approach to rolling out financial products, matters pertaining to the environment, arresting crime and many more.

On a 23 by 14 (166 square mile) island a community based approach is our competitive advantage to be exploited NOW.

Community Vegetable Projects: Using Space To Put Food On The Table

By Guest Author – May 5, 2013 0

community vegetable garden

Implementation and maintenance

It starts with a community meeting, where the idea is put forth for discussion amongst those present. Whoever signs up for the project will have to commit to active and reliable involvement. Let’s say 100 people in a suburban community take part. They submit a project plan to the local municipality with all the names and signatures of those wishing to be involved. Once they’ve been allocated land, seeds can be donated by a nursery, supplied by the government, or purchased through money raised at fundraising events.

Security systems will have to be put in place, such as a barbed wire fence, which could be funded in the above mentioned ways. A small security Wendy house could be erected and manned by members of the community on a rotational basis.

The graveyard shifts can be done mostly by members who are not employed and don’t have to get up to work the next day.  The fields can be tended by groups of ten people for between three and five hours per day. The teams could be selected according to the similarity in each individual’s work and domestic schedule. https://0d672c20c9a7a0b96aef5e10f786fd55.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html

The municipality can help by installing plumbing and water at their own cost. After all, it’s the least they can do. Governments earn a fortune in taxes that are supposed to go towards things such as roads, but how much goes toward the single most important and basic human need – food?Related:   Awesome and Healthy Vegetables to Grow in the Winter

The entire project will be a valuable and positive investment for the entire country.

How community projects improve community relationships

  • Many hungry people will be able to put food in their bellies.
  • Members involved will enjoy a greater sense of community and well-being, knowing that they are taking positive action for themselves and others.
  • Those involved will occupy more of their time in a constructive manner, as opposed to drinking, taking drugs, and committing crime. In other words, it can keep people off the streets, and hopefully result in a general decrease in crime. The ripple effects are far reaching, as people involved will be able to steer their lives in a more positive direction. As they gain new skills and begin to see the fruits of their labour, their general self-esteem and sense of self-worth will increase. They will begin to feel a sense of accomplishment and feel more positive about their future, about learning and education; they will become more empowered and strive harder to better their lives. What with more available income, they should be able to do just that.
  • Through working with the earth people will re-establish a connection with nature and gain a greater appreciation for the environment and life, and in so doing will add balance and harmony to their lives. This could lead to the development of noble and philanthropic qualities such as compassion, patience and kindness, as they strive to work harmoniously with others for the greater good of the community.
  • With less street crime to fight, perhaps some of our tax money will be directed towards more community projects, which results in a bit of a snowball effect. The government needs to understand that this is a long-term project that may initially require some capital investment, but which offers many long-term returns.

We all stand to gain from these kinds of projects, not just those directly involved. If the positive changes in communities become obvious, perhaps the projects will gain traction in communities all over the world. In an ideal world, we could stamp out global starvation altogether!

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23 thoughts on “Rekindling that Old time Community Spirit”


  1. https://barbadostoday.bb/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/UWI-principal-730×456.jpg

    UWI graduates told to embrace change and challenges

    Article by
    Anesta Henry
    Published on
    March 27, 2021

    The just over 1 300 graduates of the University of the West Indies (UWI) Cave Hill Campus have been told that despite whatever ways they allow themselves to be defined by the ongoing pandemic, they must embrace change and challenges.

    Speaking this evening, during the Campus’ first virtual graduation ceremony, Principal, Professor Eudine Barriteau, told the academics that they are the Class of 2020, forever shaped by the experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic.

    She told them that she was confident that as they emerge from a life of screens and social distancing, they will use their life-defining experiences to fashion a future for which they will hold no fear.

    “You have navigated studying during a global pandemic, and now you are more than ready to navigate whatever new environment awaits you,” Barriteau said.

    She added: “Always be willing to try new things and accept the reality that as you grow older, your range of interest and acquisition of skills will evolve. In other words, do not limit yourself to the confines of what you believe are the dictates of your current degree. You have been instilled with a particular set of skills but we have also tried to nurture within you, the skills of critical thinking and the belief that you can conquer any challenge”.

    Professor Barriteau also took the opportunity to salute the 400 Cave Hill students who juggled their studies in February to offer selfless and invaluable assistance to the national cause of fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, through the UWI-Government of Barbados COVID-19 Evaluation and Testing project, which is commonly known as Operation Seek and Save.

    She indicated that for over two weeks, while thousands sheltered under mandatory stay at home orders, the brave young women and men ventured into communities across Barbados on a mission to gather information that could save lives and produce better public health policies.

    “They were joined by colleagues who took part in national data gathering and processing exercises to inform various public health interventions. These UWI Cave Hill students, whom we affectionately call our Blackbirds, all represent a brand of Cave Hill heroes and civic-minded individuals who are all deserving of our highest praise,” Barriteau said.

    Nevertheless, the Principal reminded the graduates that while there has been some abatement in the current health crisis, accompanied by the roll-out of potentially life-saving vaccines, the pandemic has not yet been beaten. Therefore, she urged them that while they move forward fearlessly to their future, they must not be reckless and abandon all the caution in their daily living to negate all “we have been urging over the past year”.

    “You know the mantra about covering your face, maintaining adequate physical distancing, and ensuring proper hand washing to stop the spread of the dreaded virus. I know our university will continue to play its role in helping this region bounce back from the social and economic ravages of the pandemic,” she said.

    Meanwhile, Valedictorian and outgoing President of the Guild of Students, Thacher Loutin, reminded her fellow graduates that in March 2020 they were thrust into uncertainty as a result of the global pandemic, which resulted into Campus activities coming to an abrupt halt. Loutin said there was uncertainty about the completion of the semester as many became concerned about whether they would be able to finish their degrees.

    However, she reminded the graduates that they are the first class to undergo the rigors of fully online learning and assessment, and to experience graduation in its online format.

    Commending the graduates for accomplishing their degrees amidst personal challenges and high points, Loutin indicated that just as the pandemic has forced students to pivot and embrace new ways of doing things, they must challenge Caribbean leaders to do more in ensuring that the excellence of the region permeates.

    Loutin encouraged her peers to use their voices to inspire scholars and experts to occupy spaces of global influence, while using their degrees not just for themselves, but also for the benefit of others because that is what the Caribbean needs.

    “Many regional leaders walked through these very halls and sat in the same lecture rooms. And when it is your turn to lead, remember that we must be honest leaders bringing positive change. Innovators who create for the welfare of the people, and dreamers who make a positive impact in the lives of all,” Loutin said. (AH)

    Source: Barbados Today

    Reply ↓

  3. We wish it was not lost in the first place
    Maybe it was destined to happen
    Sometimes you never know what you have until it’s gone.
    We are uncertain it could be rekindled
    That there is any value in trying
    Not everything about the past is worthy of reviving.
    However, pretending we have a clean slate maybe, just maybe, enables us to help Pachamama in creating this new age where the human is truly humane.

    Reply ↓

    • SSA: Evidence of slaughtering
      THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH is probing possible backyard slaughtering in the Kensington New Road/Fontabelle, St Michael area.
      Word of the probe came after the Sanitation Service Authority (SSA) responded to reports of a persistent stench at the corner of the two districts.
      Carl “Alff” Padmore, SSA public relations officer, said they received a report from supervisor for the Bridgetown area, Sonia Outram, about the unbearable smell that was also affecting a nearby food stall and hair salon.
      Preliminary investigations pointed to continued dumping of the entrails of sheep and fish offal, leading to the belief that animals were being slaughtered in the area.
      Backyard slaughtering
      “We did our investigations and we are convinced that persons within a one-mile radius from here are engaging in backyard slaughtering. We asked the Ministry of Health to assist us with the investigations. We are also convinced that persons are paying paros to bring the stuff here. We do not at this stage have the identity of the [dumper], but we would like Barbadians to understand when you pay or engage in this practice, it is really affecting the entire environment,” Padmore said.
      He explained that if the sheep heads end up in the drain, they become blocked and during a downpour would lead to flooding in the area.
      Outram also appealed to the residents to stop the illegal dumping and not to allow their kitchen pipes with bits of food and grease to run into the drains, as this clogged the canals, making the task of clearing them even more difficult.
      She appealed to Barbadians to bag their garbage and put it in cans for collection, thereby helping to also keep down the mosquito population. (AC)

      Source: Nation


    • Bajans must chart own path
      One time it was “Trust in God.”
      Now it is “Trust the science”. One time Barbados used to boast of the most churches in the Caribbean.
      Now it boasts of the most COVID-19 vaccinated people in the region.
      This is in line with the trending shift towards secularism and away from religion in the Western world.
      How things have changed. In all the changes, one thing seems to remain the same. This nation has always tried to keep up with the Joneses, Sams and Jacks of the world. That needs to change also. We can do better than try to keep up. It’s about people.
      Barbadian plantation owners used to be on the cutting edge of using enslaved people to produce sugar.
      While those plantation owners pioneered and perfected the brutal system, once slavery was outlawed they were able to make the transition to more sophisticated means of controlling people.
      There are stories of rich white Barbadians shipping poor white Barbadians off to other islands so as to avoid black Barbadians mingling with them and getting the idea that they were equal to whites. There are also stories of the plantation owners preventing Barbadian workers from going to Jamaica to work so as to prevent them from being influenced by the Jamaican mentality.
      There are countless stories of members of the white business class conspiring to put black entrepreneurs out of business. And the black political class learned the art of people control well.
      Barbadian leaders, pre- and postslavery, pre- and post-Independence, have had vision and the motivation to pursue it, whether with the people’s blessings or not. It might not be totally correct to say that the people have been dragged kicking and screaming.
      Kicking and screaming is not the traditional Bajan way, except for a few notable occasions when the frustrations and vexation of the people boiled over.
      Mumble and grumble
      We are more of a mumble and grumble kind of people than kickers and screamers. That too has to change.
      No, I am not urging Bajans to become kickers and screamers. I am saying that rather than being pulled along by a leader’s vision, Barbadian citizens must take the lead.
      Rather than following the trends of the outside world, Barbados must chart its own tailor-\made path.
      Rather than kicking and screaming or mumbling and grumbling, Barbadians must communicate assertively and respectfully and with a vision to finding common ground, harmony and prosperity for all. Rather than follow the global trends, we become trendsetters.
      Many observers note the trend of a shift towards authoritarianism across the globe. Citizens have been putting their trust in charismatic, but authoritarian leaning leaders.
      We know the risk of that. Even if that authoritarian leader is a good one, eventually they will leave, often leaving a vacuum that sucks the nation into a tail spin.
      Cuba is one exception to that rule.
      My guess is that is has something to do with the Cuban educational system. How else can we explain this nation, decades under isolation and embargo, being able to send aid and export expertise to other nations which have had the benefit of decades of international aid?
      Therein lies the greatest challenge to the vision of leadership of the people by the people. Veteran educator Ralph Jemmott, in another section of the press, wrote lamenting the failure of the educational system in Barbados to produce critical thinkers. Even among the professional class we have a tendency to copy and regurgitate very well, but not so much innovate for ourselves.
      In addition, our education system is based on the idea that education is so you can get a good job and get rich. There is little sense of education for personal, cultural and social development. A self-centred, status seeking, non-critical population is a potential authoritarian leader’s dream.
      On the other hand, truly visionary leadership could leverage the Barbadian tendency to trust leadership and lead Barbadians to real transformation by seeking to transform Barbadians.
      Real transformation is not about pushing to keep up with some prefabricated idea of first-world progress. We are talking about leapfrogging ahead towards systems which citizens of so-called first world nations will envy. And that has less to do with science, technology or religion, than it does with the quality of minds behind them.
      Can we get to the point where there is trust in the people and the people trust in each other? Where leadership is not about the vision of the few but the vision of an empowered populace?
      Adrian Green is a communications specialist. Email Adriangreen14@gmail.com.

      Source: Nation


    • KITE BLOW
      By Sheria Brathwaite
      sheriabrathwaite@nationnews.com
      Kitemakers are feeling the financial blow of not being able to sell kites as a result of the COVID-19 restrictions, especially during this Easter period.
      And, members of The 246 Kite Flyers United Association are calling for an urgent meeting with the Commissioner of Police and other relevant authorities to discuss critical issues affecting the kite-flying industry.
      Members of the association said they were concerned that the ongoing talks about legislation to combat noise pollution could lead to a ban on flying kites with “bulls”, which could drastically affect the cultural activity.
      For a number of years, residents, especially those in the St Michael area, have complained that kites were a nuisance and in some instances, law enforcement officers have intervened.
      “We want a roundtable discussion with the [Police] commissioner and other authorities,” said Marvin Seales, who has been making kites for the past 30 years.
      Seales, who manages the business Country Winds based in Sherbourne, St John, said he wanted to set the record straight that the association did not condone any hindrance or noise pollution.
      “We want to talk about establishing time-limits to flying kites so those that have that passion would not affect other people and we will still get to enjoy flying. We also want to talk about designating flying zones, in the same way there are no flying zones, far from neighbourhoods that would not bother residents. We have a lot of room in Barbados to get this done but in doing so, you still don’t want to trespass on anybody’s land.”
      Seales added that the pandemic had also caused a damper with a significant drop in sales last year to none this year, due to the restrictions for Good Friday, today and tomorrow.
      “Nobody is buying kites right now and this has resulted in significant losses for those who consider this as a business. Usually I would sell about 500 kites or more during this peak season. Last year I sold about 200 and I still have the stock that rolled over to this year; plus from October I started preparing new material for this year and that is more losses.”
      Ezra Lord, owner of Lord’s Kite School in Thomas Gap, St Michael, also lamented about financial losses.
      “This is a full-time thing for me, my main source of income,” he said.
      “The pandemic had left me in a financial bind since last year with this year being much worse. I have not gotten a single sale.”
      Lord said that kites were sold yearround but during the peak season around Lent, business people could make anywhere from $2 000 to $5 000.
      Like his colleague, Lord said a meeting with the authorities was also needed to explore the opportunities that could be developed in the sector.
      Lord said he used to ship many boxes of kites overseas to tourists who visited the island and were fascinated with “Bajan” kites. He said kites had a cultural significance and should be seen as part of the island’s tourism product, with an export market being established and kite making should be a skill taught in schools.
      Kite flying enthusiast Corey Marshall said one of the main issues hampering the sector was the fact that kites were not considered as valuable property and especially large kites that cost hundreds of dollars.
      As it relates to the noise issue, Marshall said “no bull” equated to “no fun”, adding that what separated other kites from a “Bajan” kite was the bull.
      Shawn Mayhew, who has been in the kite-making business for several years, said there was more to making kites than “plastic and sticks”.
      Mayhew said a kite was an art form as it required skill, labour, money and time.

      Source: Nation


  8. Well, well, well!

    Adrian is a young man. Older. more mature and wiser then the indoctrinated youngster KK.

    I wonder if this young man (Adrian) has spent a portion of his life outside of the rock? He gets it.

    Adrian stated that “Barbadian citizens must take the lead.” as opposed to “Jesus take the wheel’.

    Surely there must be a place for this young man in our impoverished political garden.

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  9. “There are stories of rich white Barbadians shipping poor white Barbadians off to other islands so as to avoid black Barbadians mingling with them and getting the idea that they were equal to whites. There are also stories of the plantation owners preventing Barbadian workers from going to Jamaica to work so as to prevent them from being influenced by the Jamaican mentality.
    There are countless stories of members of the white business class conspiring to put black entrepreneurs out of business. And the black political class learned the art of people ”

    At some point in our development we are going to have to resolve this issue. My solution is blunt but would serve the interests of Barbados wider community. Introduce a taxation system to target this group which will severely narrow their influence on the island. It can be done and should be implemented.

    Wealthy white Bajans carry a terrible legacy on the island and are an impediment to the island’s development.

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  10. @ et al
    Mr. Greene has a firm understanding of his country. His comments about the educational system; recognizing but not becoming enslaved to the “ globalist approach, using creativity and innovation rather than following 18th century Eurocentric economic models , that are terribly irrelevant to our situation.
    Greene writes clearly should be read by some who believe that literally “ showing off” a few words is really impressive and some how elevates their intellect or knowledge.

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  11. Will just point to two statements that caught my attention.

    ” One time Barbados used to boast of the most churches in the Caribbean.
    Now it boasts of the most COVID-19 vaccinated people in the region.”

    ****Two unconnected quantities that makes boasting of COVID-19 vaccinations “look like a bad thing”. Boast, be proud and try to vaccinate even more people.

    “Therein lies the greatest challenge to the vision of leadership of the people by the people. Veteran educator Ralph Jemmott, in another section of the press, wrote lamenting the failure of the educational system in Barbados to produce critical thinkers. Even among the professional class we have a tendency to copy and regurgitate very well, but not so much innovate for ourselves.”

    ** Didn’t we have a next guy saying something similar.

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  12. These are the beasts who will be shut down on the island come hell or high water….our grandchildren and future generations ARE ENTITLED TO CLAIM THE ISLAND AS THEIR OWN….and ARE NOT to be saddled with these subhuman savages..

    …those are the ones who had the weak willed negros from Barrow to present day…prevented and criminalized African Sprituality, Black advancement and African culture, education etc….they believe they own the population and the parliament nuisances helped them to keep Black consciousness off the island with the still in force Public Order Act…let them pull any shit like that today, and they and their house negros will know what for…they will know the true DEFINITION OF REGRET.

    “While those plantation owners pioneered and perfected the brutal system, once slavery was outlawed they were able to make the transition to more sophisticated means of controlling people.

    There are stories of rich white Barbadians shipping poor white Barbadians off to other islands so as to avoid black Barbadians mingling with them and getting the idea that they were equal to whites. There are also stories of the plantation owners preventing Barbadian workers from going to Jamaica to work so as to prevent them from being influenced by the Jamaican mentality.
    There are countless stories of members of the white business class conspiring to put black entrepreneurs out of business. And the black political class learned the art of people control well.”

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  13. “Surely there must be a place for this young man in our impoverished political garden.”

    I was thinking of a next post earlier today and I asked myself if this post was an indication of possible political gardening.

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  14. “No, I am not urging Bajans to become kickers and screamers. I am saying that rather than being pulled along by a leader’s vision, Barbadian citizens must take the lead.”

    William…the younger generation are moving forward towards A PEOPLE GOVERNMENT…rather than a gaggle of a-holes regaling everyone with how great they are…making the worse decisions, exclusion of the majority instead of inclusion…mismanaging billions of hte people’s money wealth and resources….total failures…

    .the younger generation is gearing their political interests toward the PEOPLE MAKING ALL THE POLITICAL DECISIONS, monetary, social etc…that impacts their lives and i don’t have to tell ya that halfassed minorities like cow, bizzy, clarke etc are not invited to partake to bring their tiefing colonial perspectives…

    those movements have already started elsewhere….Black Bajans have to get on board and take back their country from idiots, thieves and wannabe slave masters….they can get information on how to do just that…

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  15. “Mayhew said a kite was an art form as it required skill, labour, money and time.”
    There was a post here where a young man was doing a great job promoting his gutterperk (slingshot) store. I hope Mayhew and other kite sellers can move their game to that level of selling.
    Have a Great Day

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  16. “In addition, our education system is based on the idea that education is so you can get a good job and get rich. There is little sense of education for personal, cultural and social development. A self-centred, status seeking, non-critical population is a potential authoritarian leader’s dream.”

    Black/Africans have to TRANSFORM THEMSELVES…by reverting to, learning and applying the ancient philosophies and spirituality of their AFRICAN ANCESTORS… ..and shed the poisionous colonial skin….that has gotten them NOWHERE in 400 years…

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  17. The bigger point should be to stay away from colonial autocratic governments who lack even basic ideas that would advance the progress of Black populations….and lean toward your ancestral cultures…because to date, Caribbean people have been DEPRIVED of their original culture and any developmental progress….or keep holding on to air and see how far it carries ya…..thin air and bullshit is not a culture..

    yall may want to pay closer attention to what is unfolding in UK…..and like they have started to, distance yaselves from all things colonial.

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  19. Those in the Caribbean have been told this for decades, but because they want to model colonial titles, remain stagnant and make sure the population achieve very little to nothing, they keep the old tired go nowhere education system in place that now acts as a bridge to the prison system….no good leaders, useless leaders…now a laughing stock everywhere…

    But African/Caribbeans have all the tools and literature they need to educate themselves about all things African and ancestral, no need to wait on colonial governments who will soon only have the slave minded supporting their backwardness…..they both can remain on display, no one is interested. The world is moving on faster than any of them think.

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