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We are approaching our final week in Jamaica. It is bound to be
an interesting week, one very different from what we have experienced thus far.
Before I move onto that, I will address some exciting developments in the
program we experienced this past week.
Something I’m very excited about was an opportunity we had to go
to the Jubilee Village to experience some of the 50th anniversary festivities.
It was completely different from anything we had experienced thus far in
Jamaica. I would like to begin by noting how organized the event was. To
prevent parking jams in the city center, there was a system of parking lots and
buses located around the city to shuttle people to the stadium venue and the
Jubilee village. The system ran so smoothly, I was very impressed. Pamphlets
detailing the festivities were handed out too, and I was amazed by the span of
the festivities. I will note the highlights. I really enjoyed walking through
the craft market. The goods were locally produced and being sold by Jamaican
vendors. Unlike the touristy craft markets we had previously experienced, no
one was pushy to buy anything, the goods were unique, and I had a really good
time browsing and chatting with people.
Another highlight was the series of food vendors set up. There
was everything from traditional Jamaican food stands, to Jamaican snack stands,
to African-influenced Jamaican food, to Indian-influenced Jamaican food. It was
a melting pot of smells and flavors and we had a great time exploring the
different stands.
The last highlight that stick out in my mind was that we had to
opportunity to watch traditional Jamaican dances on the big stage. It was a
different side of Jamaica than what I had seen thus far, and I was grooving out
to the music. I was amazed by the talent on stage. One young man, just a
preteen, gave a moving monologue. I don’t know what he was talking about, but I
was captivated by his performance from start to end. His passion resonated
throughout the entire venue. I was also very excited to see prime minister Porsche Simpson and
some other important attendees in the crowd. All in all, it was an exciting
evening, and I’m glad I got a taste of a different part of Jamaican culture.
This last morning we went to the University of the West Indies
for a lecture by Dr. Garraway. Needless to say, the entire group was excited to
see him, Dr. Smith, and Dr. Nickeisha Reid. The lecture turned into an amazing
two hour discussion on different aspects of organic farming, perceptions of
organic farming, and inspiring farming changes through informed consumerism. I
learned so much from the discussion between all of these individuals with such diverse experience.
I really got to thinking: If me
refusing to buy a blemished fruit in Pennsylvania is a message to a farmer in
Jamaica to produce hardier fruit, at the expense of it not tasting as good, I
want to make a difference in the market. I want to be an active, informed
consumer who chooses products based on what I have come to see as most
important: sustainability. Organic is looking like the best way for me to
publicly endorse sustainability by helping to drive demand for more organic
food. Since growing organic is considered sustainable, I would call that a
successful direction for the market to move in.
We also had an opportunity to speak to Dr. Robinson, former
chairperson of the Jamaican Organic Agriculture Movement, yesterday evening who provided some quality insights into
the positives and negatives of organic farming and on his perspective of JOAM.
His lack of apparent agenda made him easy to communicate with and a valuable
resource to help wrap up our course on organic farming.
In the future, I genuinely hope to stay in touch with many of the
individuals I have met through this course. The faculty in and of themselves
have divulged a massive amount of knowledge and have given me ample food for
thought.
This coming week should be interesting. We had a lot of
assignments to get cracking on, but first we will be attending the big farming
fair, Denbigh, tomorrow. I’m so excited to see how it comes together as a final
product and how people are led through the fair. I hope that it can provide
valuable information for farmers who are interested in being organic or
sustainable (or both) and educate those who have never heard much of it before.
I am also very anxious about Sunday. I am so excited for the track finals!
Monday and Tuesday will be interesting as well, with a hurricane brewing in the
distance, and with us laying in its projected path. Different parties around
Jamaica have already been preparing for a hurricane force winds. I hope the
storm mostly misses us, I’m not looking to weather out any hurricanes when I
should be enjoying the wonderful Jamaican sun. The rest of the week will be a
wrap up for us, and I’m curious to see how the entire week plays out.
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