Over two months since the
last blog post…my apologies.
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| A happy farmer and her goods |
First order of
business, a “big up” to the Westmoreland Organic Farmers Society (WOFS) for
putting on a successful 2nd annual Bluefields Organic Expo &
Sorrel Festival on December 20. The
event is still small by most standards, but there were more participants and
attendees than last year. Valuable lessons learned and good times had. The
purpose of the event is to raise awareness of environmentally friendly farming
practices and to celebrate sorrel, a staple of the holiday season. The most
common sorrel-based product is juice, but we experimented with fritters, festival, gizzada, cakes, and other delights. A fellow PCV was also
involved as a group from her community in nearby Beeston Spring participated.
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| BioChar demonstration |
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| Drummers |
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| Organic Expo & Sorrel Festival |
Now, one of the reasons
for my lack of blogging is a sort of superstitious hesitance to talk about
projects in the making. I would hate to share about something in the works and
then follow up with a blog about how or why something failed. However,
yesterday was a great day and definitely something worth talking about.
Over two years ago the
PCV who preceded me began supporting the farmers’ effort to register their
group with Jamaica’s Department of Cooperatives and Friendly Societies. He
passed the baton to me back in May and on December 7th we finally
got the final documents signed, sealed, and delivered to our humble
organization here in Bluefields. Of course, with this official status comes new
responsibility, one of which was to organize and hold an Inaugural General
Meeting (IGM). This meant preparing a financial report, establishing a
Nominating Committee, creating an agenda, sending notices, and a few other
minor details.
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| Drummers & Dancers |
As luck would have it,
the IGM was scheduled for February 18 (my birthday). A representative from the
Department of Cooperatives and Friendly Societies attended and fortunately
arrived a little early. There were a few minor details we needed to correct
before the meeting started, but at the end of the day, we got a "passing grade".
A report was shared highlighting the achievements of the group and elections
were held. WOFS now has a nine member Committee of Management consisting of
five females and four males. My supervisor, Brian, maintained presidency and
our secretary and treasurer remained the same as well. We also established an
Audit Committee, Investigation Committee, Marketing Committee, and
Environmental Committee. At the end of the day, many members took up a new
position. Admittedly, it will take a little work from me to help outline the
roles and responsibilities and transfer a few skills to some. Yesterday’s event
is something that has been years in the making and the feeling of excitement
and togetherness was palpable yesterday. (See song sung to open the meeting below)
As I have gotten older
and hopefully a little wiser, I’ve come to take great joy in seeing others
achieve their goals and being able to say I had a little part in making it
happen. As I was about to leave the luncheon after the meeting, I mentioned to
Brian that I thought today was a great birthday present. I saw his eyes get big
as he realized he had forgotten. Before I knew it I had a room full of people
singing the Happy Birthday song with all the flair and gusto Jamaica is known
for. I know my flushed cheeks showed through my beard, but fortunately I was
able to win the battle against my tear ducts. I have come to love the men and
women of the farmers group and have no reservations about shedding blood,
sweat, or maybe tears as my service continues. I guess this is why they call it the “toughest
job you will ever love.” It took eleven months, but I am starting to understand
where that phrase comes from.
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| IGM Meeting |
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| Committee of Management |
PS. I really hope to share an other blog post soon to announce another big achievement based on our efforts here. But again, maybe I am too superstitious to spill the beans now.
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| Canoe on the Bay |
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| Linnae and I at Rick's Cafe in Negril |
