WaterProducer-Greenhouse™ Project
Gender Analysis and Social Integration Plan
by Wendy Holm, P. Ag.
View presentation to CIDA-INC University, September 2003
Summary (full text is available for purchase)
This Report presents the results of the Gender and Social Integration Analysis (Components 6 and 7) of the Grand Turk Water-producing Greenhouse Viability Study.
Its findings are based on conversations held with members of the Grand Turk and Providenciales communities during the fall of 2002.
The community faces many complex issues, but early on in the discussions, several points hit home:
It is the conclusion of the social analysis that the provision of fresh, local fruits and vegetables; the creation of 10+ well paid, skilled jobs and the production of fresh water surplus to the demands of the facility that will be available, in one form on another, to the community will have a positive impact on the social needs of the community.
But the needs of the community are so pressing and the potential of the project so strong, the challenge that clearly emerged from discussion with the community was: is there a way to deliver more benefits to the community in a sustainable way that complements and does not impede the priorities of the private sector entity?
Birthed from discussion with the community, the social integration prescription recommended in this Report would create "CAP" — A Community Agriculture Project situated adjacent to but separate from the Grand Turk Water-producing Greenhouse and administered by a non-profit community partnership between the Community College, the Queens Prison and the Ministry of Education.
The role of the new facility would be to create an operational, youth-driven model for urban agriculture, community education and micro-enterprise support.
Based on a highly successful, soil-based, raised bed Cuban urban model, the facility would train and employ young people from the community college (a certificate and diploma program in urban agriculture under a new sustainable communities curriculum), offer opportunities for householder extension education (raised-bed home vegetable gardens) and support micro-enterprise (community kitchen, community assisted agriculture).
CAP's objectives would be to increase the supply of locally produced, healthy food, to create high quality jobs for youth, to change consumer attitudes through consumer and early childhood education, and to create the opportunity for food-based, part-time, micro-enterprise.
Most of the products produced by the new facility will be different that those produced in the specialty greenhouse. Rather than competing with the Grand Turk Greenhouse, the Community Agriculture Project would complement it, creating a sense of excitement around the production of local food and driving demand for local produce.
On the premise that best community partners will be those who have the greatest stake in its success, the Community College, the Queens Prison and the Ministry of Education received support from the community as initial community partners.
CAP Partnership support would allow the Turks and Caicos Community College to pursue a new curriculum option: urban agriculture. The addition of an urban agriculture program would be consistent with the Colleges plans to revitalize an agricultural campus on North Caicos. Curriculum costs could likely attract international funding support.
The Queens Prison, adjacent to and just south of the Crisson Plantation, would benefit from partnership with CAP because it could transfer the technical and practical knowledge gained through its participation in the Project to its own prison farm, improving in-house food production capacity and the quality of its inmate training program. Moving to a raised-bed food production system that is micro-drip irrigated with fresh water piped in from the adjacent Grand Turk Greenhouse would dramatically increase production from its prison garden.
The Ministry of Education, represented by the heads of the Ministry's Gender Desk and Youth Desk, brings governments education mandate to the table.
The intended outcomes of the social integration prescription (Grand Turk Community Agriculture Project) are consistent with the stated public policy objectives of the Turks and Caicos Government as set forth in A Food and Nutrition Policy and Plan of Action for the Turks and Caicos Islands (1997) .
If it proceeds, the community-corporate partnership model created by CAP and the Grand Turk Greenhouse will raise the bar in "CSR" (corporate social responsibility), setting a fine and sustainable example for other private sector players and other communities. Because of this, it should be worthy of international sustainable development funding.
"Next steps" include the following:
Approved by CIDA-INC December 2002.
View presentation to CIDA-INC University, September 2003
Summary (full text is available for purchase)
This Report presents the results of the Gender and Social Integration Analysis (Components 6 and 7) of the Grand Turk Water-producing Greenhouse Viability Study.
Its findings are based on conversations held with members of the Grand Turk and Providenciales communities during the fall of 2002.
The community faces many complex issues, but early on in the discussions, several points hit home:
- • A Grand Turk family of four (two children and two adults both employed full time at minimum wage) spends 58 cents of every dollar of their income on food.
• Despite the amount spent on food, Turks and Caicos islanders suffer from very poor nutrition. A diet far too high in fat, sugar and salt and far too low in vegetables and fibre has made heart disease, stroke, hypertension, diabetes and cancer the leading causes of death in the country.
• One out of three Grand Turk residents lives below the poverty line. For people of colour, poverty strikes without reference to gender or nationality, but childhood poverty is endemic: 41% of the country's poor are under the age of 15, half the poor are under the age of 25.
• Finding ways to address the disillusionment of youth is a priority for the community.
It is the conclusion of the social analysis that the provision of fresh, local fruits and vegetables; the creation of 10+ well paid, skilled jobs and the production of fresh water surplus to the demands of the facility that will be available, in one form on another, to the community will have a positive impact on the social needs of the community.
But the needs of the community are so pressing and the potential of the project so strong, the challenge that clearly emerged from discussion with the community was: is there a way to deliver more benefits to the community in a sustainable way that complements and does not impede the priorities of the private sector entity?
Birthed from discussion with the community, the social integration prescription recommended in this Report would create "CAP" — A Community Agriculture Project situated adjacent to but separate from the Grand Turk Water-producing Greenhouse and administered by a non-profit community partnership between the Community College, the Queens Prison and the Ministry of Education.
The role of the new facility would be to create an operational, youth-driven model for urban agriculture, community education and micro-enterprise support.
Based on a highly successful, soil-based, raised bed Cuban urban model, the facility would train and employ young people from the community college (a certificate and diploma program in urban agriculture under a new sustainable communities curriculum), offer opportunities for householder extension education (raised-bed home vegetable gardens) and support micro-enterprise (community kitchen, community assisted agriculture).
CAP's objectives would be to increase the supply of locally produced, healthy food, to create high quality jobs for youth, to change consumer attitudes through consumer and early childhood education, and to create the opportunity for food-based, part-time, micro-enterprise.
Most of the products produced by the new facility will be different that those produced in the specialty greenhouse. Rather than competing with the Grand Turk Greenhouse, the Community Agriculture Project would complement it, creating a sense of excitement around the production of local food and driving demand for local produce.
On the premise that best community partners will be those who have the greatest stake in its success, the Community College, the Queens Prison and the Ministry of Education received support from the community as initial community partners.
CAP Partnership support would allow the Turks and Caicos Community College to pursue a new curriculum option: urban agriculture. The addition of an urban agriculture program would be consistent with the Colleges plans to revitalize an agricultural campus on North Caicos. Curriculum costs could likely attract international funding support.
The Queens Prison, adjacent to and just south of the Crisson Plantation, would benefit from partnership with CAP because it could transfer the technical and practical knowledge gained through its participation in the Project to its own prison farm, improving in-house food production capacity and the quality of its inmate training program. Moving to a raised-bed food production system that is micro-drip irrigated with fresh water piped in from the adjacent Grand Turk Greenhouse would dramatically increase production from its prison garden.
The Ministry of Education, represented by the heads of the Ministry's Gender Desk and Youth Desk, brings governments education mandate to the table.
The intended outcomes of the social integration prescription (Grand Turk Community Agriculture Project) are consistent with the stated public policy objectives of the Turks and Caicos Government as set forth in A Food and Nutrition Policy and Plan of Action for the Turks and Caicos Islands (1997) .
If it proceeds, the community-corporate partnership model created by CAP and the Grand Turk Greenhouse will raise the bar in "CSR" (corporate social responsibility), setting a fine and sustainable example for other private sector players and other communities. Because of this, it should be worthy of international sustainable development funding.
"Next steps" include the following:
- Confirm "green light" with private sector partners;
- Confirm community partners;
- Identify budget required to construct and operate the Community Agriculture Project;
- Investigate organizational and structural options under which the Community Agriculture Project could be created;
- Prepare a discussion document for the community explaining the Community Agriculture Project (CAP);
- Hold community workshop(s) to measure and secure community support (buy-in, which is essential);
- Develop a strategic plan to implement the community vision for CAP: the Grand Turk Community Agriculture Project;
- Explore fundraising and financing options;
- Liaise with Cuba re training opportunities;
- Organize a delegation of Grand Turk partners and other key stakeholders to tour Cuba's soil-bound, raised bed urban agriculture model; and
- Engage the youth voice early on in the communication of the nutrition message to the community.
Approved by CIDA-INC December 2002.