ST PETERS – Over the past few months Mr. Wyatt of Spaceless Gardens has embarked on a journey to empower community members about the importance of agriculture with hopes to stimulate a change of mind set towards the importance of the sector.
The project St. Peters Community Gardens Research and Development center has been geared toward granting opportunities to less fortunate and unemployed members of the surrounding communities by means of mentoring, educating, and hands on training in the fields of Agriculture, Carpentry, Masonry, Electro, Computer and Data gathering.
During the time frame participating members have indulged on an agricultural venture that has brought enlightenment to them and the trainers involved.
The St. Peters Community Gardening Research and Development center will be a place where members of the community will be able to come and get fresh organic produce, information on back yard gardening, and in the near future, seeds, organic fertilizers and composted soil.
The community garden will also focus on crop production, of which a percentage grown will be donated to less fortunate families.
The center will also be a data gathering station where vital information on agricultural-based research on crop types sustainable for growth in this climate will be compiled. Other data based on community enhancement research will also be gathered and shared.
On one research evaluation done by volunteers, Psychiatrist Melvin Bryan harvested great results from the mentoring sessions done with the participants of the program. The sessions conducted helped bring clarity about the lack of opportunity for youngsters leaving school.
Participants of the program that are over 30 are ambitious and determined. Their evaluation concluded that they have been through much and have learned that the responsibility of life is now to utilize their time wisely to achieve something beneficial to them and their family.
“We were able to successfully install 4 bins in allocated households over the areas of St.Peters and South Reward. Based on the data gathered, we were able to understand a bit more about the amount of waste that accumulates in the Parcel 6 area (Cul-de-Sac/St. Peters). With the survey conducted we understand that an average of 4 households containing 10 members can accumulate up to an average of 202lbs of garbage per week,” a release noted.
“With data like this we can see where it is extremely important to introduce new waste management strategies amongst our surrounding communities. We would like to get people in the community out to share a bit more information about the possibilities we believe may help toward uplifting for surrounding communities and its members, so we decided to put together a Community Market Day and Music Festival, and would like to general population to come out,” Wyatte explained.
“What better way to get the people out to enjoy a fun-filled day with family and friends while being able to obtain vital information on Health, Agriculture and Community Development, eat great cultural food and enjoy great locally made arts and crafts, and listening to some of St. Maarten’s greatest DJs, and local artists come together to bring you a cultural experience never seen before on St. Maarten,” he continued.
On February 26, Spaceless Gardens will introduce the general public to “Cultural Xpression” Agricultural Community Market Day and Music Festival. “We are currently seeking cultural vendors to participate in this event,” he said.
The Agricultural Festival will consist of a number of great activities and entertainment for all ages. The day will embrace a number of community, health and agricultural awareness demonstrations and lectures.
St. Peters will be transformed into a market place. On display will be produce from the community garden along with other regional produce, Cultural Arts, Crafts and Food vendors. A display of an Aqua-Ponic system and a traditional back yard garden set up will also be on exhibition.
Lecturers during the day will be Preist Kailsh from St. Lucia to talk on herbal health awareness, Denicio Wyatt on Agricultural Awareness and Waste Management, and Wallace Leonard of the St. Maarten Police Department on community safety. Steven Suen from the Natural Health Center will operate a detox station.
Throughout the day, there will be live performances by Benjamin Bell and Cultural Manifestation. There will be plenty of fun activities to keep the kids busy.
During the evening, the streets will become the dance floor as DJs Pauly, Blaze, Prestige, Bigger and Hearted Lion Sound take the stage to keep the momentum of the day going. Live performances for the evening will be by King James, King Ashandi, Iyah Pikney, 03 and A Static. MCs for the day will be Lady Destiny and Mc Rukshun.
The date is Sunday, February 26, 11:00am to 10:00pm at the Rupert Maynard Community Center in St.
Vendors interested in Cultural Xpression’s Community Market Day can send their name, what they plan to sell, and other information to stmaartenagriculture@gmail.com or call 586-1536.
Organizers thanked UNESCO St. Maarten, Prins Bernard Cultuur Funds, VSA, BAK, UNDP, SZV, STM NV, Natural Health Center, Uniq Sound, SXM Optical, Island Dustbuster, C-Trios, Windward Roads, African Royalty, Sign Triple 9, Shop and Take, Smart AV, Laser 101 and Wattzz Publishing for their support.
Check out Spaceless Gardens, Cultural Xpression News magazine and Wattzz Publishing on Facebook or visit website www.stmaartenagriculture.com.
