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May 2009
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Mothers of Nature Prof Parpart, a guest lecturer at the Centre for Gender and Development Studies, opened with a discussion on Eco Feminism and its ideology. She defined Eco Feminism as a feminist approach to environmental ethics. Eco Feminists see the oppression of women and the domination of nature as interconnected. She cited examples of Eco Feminist movements across the globe, from India to Kenya, and critiqued them as she offered possible solutions to their problems. Dr Sirju-Charran, the Acting Head of the Centre for Gender and Development Studies, discussed agriculture and water use. She emphasised the need to reinforce traditional ways of preventing pest infestation, such as crop rotation. She highlighted current problems with agriculture in Trinidad and Tobago and offered possible solutions. She remarked that water is used differently by both men and women and thus each would be affected differently. She stressed the need to educate people on how to recycle water, especially women doing domestic work. Gillan Goddard is the former proprietor of a local organic grocery named Sun Eaters. She shared her experiences as a single mother setting up her own business selling organic produce, while lacking the business knowledge needed for such a venture. Speaking about the challenges, she said they would be different for everyone and individuals would need to find ways to cope with them based on their specific circumstances. Akilah Jarmoji, the Managing Director of Fondes Amandes Community Re-forestation Project (FACRP) in St Ann’s, spoke at length about their activities, which include educating rural communities on forest fire prevention, encouraging the replanting of indigenous trees and fruits, and distributing seedlings to communities. The FACRP is also organising a Disaster Awareness Caravan which deals with issues of land degradation and encourages the use of organic fertilisers. Its main focus is women and children. The workshop attracted just over 40 participants, both male and female, some of whom took part in a lively discussion after the presentations. Concluding that there was a need for greater environmental awareness in Trinidad and Tobago and throughout the Caribbean, the participants agreed that many people do not understand that they are active players in preserving the environment. They suggested implementing environmental programmes in schools that focused on preservation and conservation. Many attendees felt there was also need for more groups like the FACRP that would focus on community outreach with educational programmes on how to recycle, re-use and reduce.
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Consciousness Raising was one of eleven groups chosen from a pool of both local and international applicants to host a workshop at the IV Peoples’ Summit held at UWI SPEC on Friday 17 April, 2009. The workshop entitled Understanding the Woman’s Role in a Sustainable Environment: A practical skills workshop was cohosted with Akilah Jaramoji and the Fondes Amandes Community Re-forestation Project (FACRP). The panel of speakers consisted of Prof Jane Parpart, Dr Grace Sirju-Charran, Gillian Goddard and Akilah Jaramoji.