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Another moving story by Richard Charan - Trinidad Express By Richard Charan Oct.11, 2023 Three men live under the Endeavour overpass along the highway in Chaguanas. One appears to be a once-hopeful migrant, now a member of Trinidad’s growing underclass. The second, a dangerous-looking Indian fellow, has wasted away the low-quality drugs he is surely smoking. The third, his body and clothing caked in an equal amount of grime, is an ethnic mystery. He is like a silhouette. child born at quarters: The gateman’s wife, Phyllis Augustine. In a dry space under the bridge, they have their shopping carts, buckets, sponge beds and fireside. Anybody with work and business north of the Caroni would likely have seen these men. Because between 3 p.m. and nightfall, drivers are caught up in south-bound traffic gridlock around this area, five days a week. Crawling along at between zero and one kilometre per hour, there isn’t much else to look at, except the Venezuelan migrants selling plantain chips, or the teenagers hawking Coca-Cola and cotton candy. The gatekeeper’s quarters at Endeavour, Chaguanas. Since no one has a solution to this highway torture, suffering drivers might be interested in knowing there is a piece of built history near the overpass, hiding in plain sight. We can look at that instead, while wasting away part of our short lives. The railway house. You will see it just before the AMCO compound, under the billboards advertising rum. It is a building from the time of the Trinidad Government Railway (TGR). It was once the home of Mr Kennedy Augustine, who was assigned the accommodation since he needed to stay close to the railway tracks and respond to the approaching locomotives. He held the position of gatekeeper, with the job of controlling the barrier across what was then the two-lane Princes Margaret Highway, to allow for the road crossing of the passenger trains coming from the north and east. Back then, drivers could only reach the dead-end Chaguanas roundabout before turning into the Central Trinidad town, and then on to San Fernando along the Old Southern Main Road. That roundabout was replaced around 1966 with what we now see as the elevated Chaguanas overpass after Government invested in a 1.4-mile (2.3-kilometre) highway extension to Chase Village. Another 14 miles (22.5 kilometres) of highway was completed in the early ’70s by the same contractor—George Wimpey and Company. But before all that development, Augustine still held an important job, having earned a promotion from platelayer (laying down and maintaining the tracks) to gateman, with one of the perks being the three-room quarters, which was already old since the railway had extended through Chaguanas to Couva by 1882. The Endeavour location was likely the same one mentioned in VS Naipaul’s 2003 book Literary Occasions where he wrote, “Not far from my mother’s family house in Chaguanas was the railway crossing. Twice or four times a day an old one-armed negro closed and opened the gates. Did this man have a story? The man himself didn’t seem to think so. He lived in absolute harmony with the vacancies of his calling...”. It appears Augustine spent that downtime between gatekeeping calls in a rather fertile way. Born in Grenada in 1915, he left his wife and four children there in 1941 to look for work on the big island of Trinidad. He found jobs in the World War II construction boom before getting his break in the railway. And with a permanent position, he sent for his wife, Phillis, and his children. They would have five more in Endeavour, one of them being born, suddenly, in the railway quarters. Those were lean but happy days, said his youngest child, 69-year-old Audrey Farrell, who remembered the area being cultivated lands, with fields of orange and coconuts, breadfruit and bison, all of it surrounded by the sugarcane fields. “When the train passed, the engine driver would stop and pick us up right here where we lived, and daddy would go open the gate for the train to pass across (where the north-bound lanes of the Uriah Butler highway now pass). The last train to San Fernando rolled in August 1965, and Augustine’s job became redundant. He got a job in the Food and Drugs Division in Port of Spain, and the family supplemented their income by selling vegetables on the highway shoulder. All nine children grew up in the quarters, and several still occupy the property, with children and grandchildren. Phyllis died early, at age 57, but railway man Alexander lived on. He was 89 when he died 18 years ago, to be survived by his house, now occupied by two grandsons and a son. They intend to maintain the property until the passage of time takes its timber. And while you sit in the traffic, consider this. If you had taken a 1960s passenger train from Port of Spain to San Fernando today, you would be home by now. NOTE: At its peak, the Trinidad Government Railway laid down more than 118 miles (190 kilometres) of track, and reached Siparia, Sangre Grande, Rio Claro, Princes town, Port of Spain, Chaguanas, Tabaquite, Couva and San Fernando, with plans to take it all the way to Erin, Toco, and Guayaguayare, according to the research of railway historian Glen Beadon, who has written the authoritative book The Railways of Trinidad. The system closed for good on December 31, 1968, because it became unprofitable. It was killed by the emergence of port facilities, improved road conditions, and the greater use of buses, taxis,and the private cars now clogging every secondary and primary road.
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 Ten to One’s Oloroso Sherry Cask Finish. Ten to One Rum has introduced one of its coveted Limited Edition “Cask Select” series here in Trinidad & Tobago.
The brand, founded by Trinidadian Marc Farrell and co-owned by GRAMMY award winning artist Ciara, is known for its versatile and unique Pan-Caribbean blends. Farrell said: “At Ten to One, we talk a lot about ‘re-imagining rum’, which for us means challenging consumer expectations and driving product innovation. We aim to bring a new, limited edition blend to market every year, encouraging consumers to explore the unexpected.” He continued: “This first release in our ongoing Cask Select series was designed to be a very limited offering, but it was important to me that Ten to One’s special edition products be made available in Trinidad, my home country. Since we’ve sold out in North America, Trinidad is now the only place in the world where you can buy cases of Ten to One’s Oloroso Sherry Cask Finish.” The Ten To One Oloroso Sherry Cask Finish is a unique take on Ten To One's award-winning Dark Rum, a blend of Caribbean Rums from Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Jamaica, and the Dominican Republic, that receives a finish in Oloroso Sherry casks, bringing an aromatic hint of sherry to the aged dark rum. Enjoy it on the rocks, or mixed in a range of cocktails. “From the outset, we’ve taken a great deal of pride in bringing new innovation and excitement to the rum category, and the Oloroso Sherry Cask finish quickly emerged as a favourite amongst Ten To One customers and collectors alike, with those sweeter Sherry notes playing delightfully alongside the nuance of Ten To One’s aged rum blend,” Farrell said. Ten To One Oloroso Sherry Cask Finish Caribbean Dark Rum is distributed in Trinidad and Tobago by the Brydens Group. (Source: The Loop, July 31, 2023)  Finance Minister Colm Imbert has presented the budget for fiscal 2024 in the House of Representatives.
As he laid out the allocations for each sector, the Minister expressed optimism over projected economic growth and the resilience of the Heritage and Stabilisation Fund (HSF). He said: “I am confident that the estimates under this budget framework will materialise and ensure that the economic recovery is anchored on sound and stable macroeconomic conditions.” See highlights from the Minister's budget presentation below: Total Revenue $ 54.012B Expenditure $59.209B Oil revenue: $16.709B Non-oil revenue: $35.547B Capital Revenue: $1.756B Projected deficit of $5.197B (2.7 per cent of GDP) Education & Training $8.022B Health $7.409B National Security $6.912B Works and Transport $3.394B Public Utilities $3.018B Rural Development and Local Government $1.825B Agriculture $1.442B Housing $1.165B Social Development $5B Tobago: $ 2.585B 1. Government proposed an increase in the national minimum wage to $20.50 from $17.50 per hour. 2. The collection of property tax from residential owners is set to begin in fiscal 2024. 3. A total of 65,000 students in need will receive $1,000 grant for books and uniforms. 4. A total of $357M in housing projects will start this year. 5. An online payment ecosystem is being developed to allow for the payment of taxes as part of the drive to a digital economy. 6. Strategies to assist SMEs to gain improved access to forex will be implemented in fiscal 2024. 7. Government will allocate $90M for the purpose of procuring four container scanners at the Port of Port-of-Spain. (Source: The Loop, October 2, 2023)  Lawrence James keeps the spirit of his father alive in Brasso Seco. - Photos by Denise Speck In the old days, cocoa created villages for the year-round tasks on the estates – caring for the trees, harvesting, fermenting and dancing the cocoa. Today, it’s calling together a global community, from the Trinidad rainforests where the natural Trinitario hybrid was born to the cities which made an art of the golden bean. A Story of Trinitario celebrates this new cocoa village and will be presented from October 2-7 at Medulla Gallery, Fitt Street, Woodbrook. More than ten years ago, Rene Sperber and Tobias Schulze Frenking came to Trinidad on a mission from a German chocolate company. After the project ended, they stayed for the EU-funded programme to help develop the International Fine Cocoa Innovation Centre at the Cocoa Research Centre.  Dr Stephanie Omardeen finds solace in cocoa. - Below - Tobias Schulze Frenking and Rene Sperber bring innovation to farmers like Aaron.  Their company Ubergreen Organics has attracted a Trinidad cocoa collective – a fine cocoa cluster – that comprises growers, chocolate-makers and innovators to model the new cocoa village. Sperber and Frenking bring business and innovation backgrounds and understanding of global cocoa and chocolate industry to link local producers with international markets. Ubergreen has produced the first cannabidiol (CBD extracted from hemp) chocolate bar made at origin in a fine-flavour-cocoa country. With funding from IDB Compete Caribbean Partnership Facility, Ubergreen led the process of implementing the Organic Fine Cocoa and Chocolate Cluster (OFCCC) project, which transitioned to the Original Trinitario Cocoa (OTC) Education Foundation, which now has over 15 cocoa members and corporate support. The members of OTC believe Trinitario is a treasure that must be preserved and celebrated. Trinitario was hybridised by nature and enhanced through selective breeding, and has provided planting material for estates around the world. OTC identified some challenges and is working to resolve them: availability of planting material; field-management practices; post-harvest practices; low productivity; and unavailable labour. Sarah Bharath, soil and crop consultant, and Junior Bhola, who devised the Bhola Method of plant propagation, work with the members to provide training on the ground. OTC currently comprises a handful of small farmers, entrepreneurs and cottage businesses operating in the cocoa sector. They know TT is fortunate in its biodiversity – flora and fauna as well as human – and believe in the resilience of community. Its new model village will be on show at Medulla in the heart of the House of Cocobel fine chocolate built by Isabel Brash. The architect-turned-cocoa entrepreneur and chocolatier has created a brand that is more than cocoa and chocolate production. She says it reflects the entire TT foodscape and cultural collective: “The whole story in one bite.” The exhibition is the work of Denise Speck, a thesis for her postgraduate degree in digital storytelling. She set out to tell the story of Trinitario, the tree that united and influenced the culture of TT. She has collected the stories of the membership, which include photographs and a short film, Trinitario – On the Edge. These are stories of family, small estates, business and production lines that integrate agriculture, artisanal practices, innovation and art. The exhibition will take visitors through rainforest estates, into country kitchens and see the output of a dozen small businesses. They’ll be able to sample and purchase products – cocoa and chocolates – at the cocoa fair on October 7, and meet some of the new cocoa entrepreneurs. Martin Matthew retired from oil and gas offshore. and now the Matthew family works ten acres in Talparo, producing Tamana Mountain Chocolate. Jacky anchors the chocolate-making process. Oshu, 19, has been trained in post-harvest processes. Zari is providing home-cooked meals, and, with Megan, is figuring out their places in the cocoa world. Stephanie Omardeen is a practicing doctor, who learned her love for the land and cocoa in Belize. On Tinamou Estate in the rainforest of Brasso Seco, she grows cocoa and other tree crops with a permaculture approach. “I am a soil farmer,” she says. In the same area, her son Javed Omardeen manages the 20 acres of Little Hermit Estate. He is, he says, cultivating harmony…with everything in its place. Chocolate made from Tinamou and Little Hermit is marketed under the Omarbeans label. Richard de Verteuil is in the Central Range, retired from a career in the oilfields. His family has cultivated cocoa for at least three generations so it was in his blood to move to the San Antonio estate, offering organic production since 2019. Lawrence James practises agroforestry on ten acres which he works with his mother Josephine, in the memory of his father. He is part of the North Ridge Cooperative. He believes there’s a future in cocoa for younger generations. Associations are necessary: he longs to meet other cocoa farmers, to share ideas. His roucou trees provide shade, fertiliser and sauce; trees are very important to the environment. He hopes to expand revenue from his estate through tourism. Nikita Nath has accepted responsibility for the past, present and future of cocoa at the Ortinola Great House and Estate, 365 acres in Maracas Valley St Joseph. The biggest investment and challenge, she says, was putting in 5,000 trees in one year to make sense of the high cost of producing cocoa. Ortinola is an old Cadbury estate. Nath is now farmer and chocolate-maker. Daniel Barcant and Christopher Boodoosingh created Cocoa Republic in 2016, in Diego Martin, crafting award-winning chocolate from single-origin Trinitario cocoa. Roland Thomas is the manager. Colleen Malwah-Aqui started processing organic skin care and beauty products from Trinitario cocoa butter, establishing her business in 2005 in Trinicity. She grew up in cocoa in Tobago and imbues her products with well-being derived from her experiences and memory of harvesting, sucking the beans from freshly opened pods and dancing cocoa. Sparkle Charles is an IT professional who believes her Sparkling Gold Chocolates reflect all of Trini culture. Her chocolate kitchen caters to private customers. Her entrepreneurial journey began in 2016. (Source: Newsday, September 23, 2023)  Javed Omardeen manages the 20 acres of Little Hermit Estate.  Martin and Jacqueline Matthew raise a family in cocoa  Sparkle Charles and her specialty chocolates  Farmer and chocolate maker Nikita Nath is growing into the future.  Retired oilfield worker Richard De Verteuil returns to cocoa
 Members of the Tobago Performing Arts Company on stage, during the media launch at the Shaw Park Complex, Tobago. —Photo: THA INFORMATION DEPARTMENT All hands are currently on deck to ensure another successful staging of Tobago Carnival says Tobago House of Assembly (THA) councillor Tashia Burris.
Burris, Secretary of the Division of Tourism, Culture, Antiquities and Transportation on the sister isle, says all stakeholders inclusive of bandleaders, service providers, competition holders, pan and other cultural practitioners have been engaged with the goal of building on last year’s successful debut. Tobago will host its second full October Carnival celebration, entitled “Ritual, Revelry & Release”, from October 27 to 29. (Source: Sunday Express, September 24, 2023) |
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