The very name Erin is most probably is a corruption of the name Herin which was the name given to the place by the Amerindians who settled this area some time around 500 A.D. Archaeologist Peter Harris suggests that they may have been of the Arawakan-speaking Shebaio people who originated from the Orinoco Delta. The original settlement apparently formed a ring some 1.2 km. In diameter, as pottery shards of the Erin-Barranco type have been found in Carapal and Los Charos to the northeast of the village as well as near the village center. These people cultivated cassava, maize and squashes, and also subsisted heavily on marine foods, as the numerous kitchen middens near Erin suggest. One of these is in the yard of the present-day police station, and can be seen along the roadway to the fishing depot. In 1941, archaeologist John Carter and his wife excavated a human skeleton just south of the station. This find can be seen in the National Museum in Port-of-Spain.
The heavy Amerindian presence at Erin m ade it an ideal location for the establishment of a mission to convert them to Christianity. This was done in 1760, when Capuchin monks from Aragon in Spain ( who had already established the mission of Siparia two years earlier) implemented a mission of their own ( comprising a chapel, presbytery and cemetery) at what is now Santa Isabella estate in Buenos Ayres village ( then known as El Pilar). The mission was dedicated to St. Francis of Assisi who is still the patron saint of the present day Erin R.C church. The influx of French settlers with the Cedula of Population in 1783, saw the arrival of Monsieur Lesade and his family and slaves. He established an estate near the original mission for the cultivation of cocoa , coffee and sugar cane . His dwelling house still exists on the Buenos Ayres- Cap-De-Ville road . The two pillars and steps at the entrance to the house date from the late 18th century, while the house itself was last renovated in the 1870’s.

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Communication by Erin was best by sea. This is especially so when Governor Sir Ralph Woodford inaugurated an island steamer service, which called at Erin on a regular basis, to deliver goods and mail, and to collect the produce of the cocoa and coffee estates. In 1846, Erin was officially declared a parish of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Trinidad. Indeed, there has never been another church in the village which is almost 100% Catholic . Though a Ward (government) School was built here in the 1850’s it was very short-lived and it was not until 1902 that Erin was to get a permanent primary school in the form of Erin R.C School. During this time, the Amerindian population of Trinidad had become extinct. This however, did not prevent landings at Puerto Grande Beach. Separated from Erin bay by a headland, Puerto Grande beach must be accessed via the Erin/ Cap-De-Ville Main Road, which winds through some breathtaking scenery. This beach is isolated and rocky, and therefore not a bather’s beach. It was however, the point at which Warao ( known locally as the Warahoon) indigenous people of the Orinoco Delta, used to come ashore. There is however a reliable source who guarantees that several small bands would canoe to Puerto Grande as recently as 1965, in order to trade with villagers. Several older residents of the village all concur on the same story of the periodic landings, which took place at no fixed time. The story goes that they would land on the beach and draw the canoes out of the surf. Short, muscular men with beardless faces, flat foreheads, almond skin and dark eyes; shapely women with flowing hair and lithe children, all clad only in loincloths. These first people would then take up a wareshi ( a palm-frond bag which is slung from the forehead and dangles down the back) , filled with cassava, crafts and small animals which were sold as pets, and make the journey to Erin village in order to trade these items at the village shop ( which still stands in ruin near an old gas station) for dry goods and a few foodstuffs. What is remembered about them is that they spoke no English , Spanish or French Patois which were dominant languages at the time. Instead, they negotiated their purchases by means of sign language. It is also remembered that in the trek from the landing place to Erin village , they never followed the main road, but instead, guided by a sixth sense, would unerringly plunge into the bushes, and meticulously retrace the footsteps of their forefathers along a long obliterated trail. Thus, a peasant tilling a patch of cultivated plants behind his ajoupa , may have occasionally been rudely startled as a long column of naked Warao suddenly appear from the bushes to make their way in stolid silence across his backyard as they followed their ancestral highway. The last reported landing of the Warao, apparently took place in 1965. The informant, then a young man, claims that four canoes filled with people came ashore and followed for what was the last time, the ancestral trail to Erin.. It is without surprise that not a few of the locals in this area bear the strikingly sharp features and almond eyes which hint at indigenous genealogy.
In 1876, the Catholic church was moved from Buenos Ayres , to its present location on a hill near the village center. This also included a wooden presbytery which was only recently demolished . The statue of Our Lady of Erin also dates from the mid-19th century and was originally on a pedestal facing the roadway, but was moved to the front of the church by parishioner Mr. J. Anduze.
During this time, Erin was made a ward in the county of St. Patrick , complete with its own warden, Paul De Veurteuil Erin received its police station and RC. School near the close of the 19th century, and was given a new boost in commerce when the Trinidad Government Railway penetrated as far as Siparia , thirteen miles away. The discovery of oil in Palo Seco and Santa Flora during the 1920’s gave the villagers of Erin a chance to tap into a new source of income by “ wukkin in de oil” . Today, this is still a viable source of employment for villagers. The island steamer stopped its service in 1928 and this forced the villagers of Erin to make the trek to Siparia whenever they needed to sell their produce . The outbreak of WWII in 1939, saw the establishment of American Army and Navy bases in Trinidad at Wallerfield and Chaguaramas . Outposts were also established on the south coast at Los Iros, Cedros, Pt. Fortin and Palo Seco. The Yankee soldiers transformed the rum shops and beaches into wild party zones. Some of the older persons of Erin and environs still have unusually lightly colored skin, hair and eyes, hinting that some of these soldiers must have left more than just a memory with their local girlfriends.
During the 1950’s , American archaeologist Dr. John A. Bullbrook occupied the old Lesade house while he excavated the remains of Erin’s Shebaio settlement , and other sites at Los Iros and Cedros. The village itself depended heavily upon the oil industry and also upon fishing for its main sources of income. Pig farming began in Erin around thirty years ago, and today Erin Farms is one of the country’s largest meat processors. The fishing depot was constructed in 1974 to accommodate the boats, nets and engines of the fishermen. In the census of 1980, Erin was populated by 2,570 persons. Today, this has dwindled to just over 1,500. There is no doubt that the youth of the village are attracted to other districts that present facilities for their education and recreation. The old R.C church, and the R.C school were completely renovated in 2003, along with the dilapidated police station which had served for more than a century. While there is still a high level of unemployment in the village, Erin is still a fine example of rustic community that can serve as a model for the nation.

Kenrick Vincent Joseph Bruzual died last Saturday, 25th March, at the Scarborough Grace Hospital for a well-played 82.
In 2018, Ken Bruzual received the Toronto Caribbean Carnival’s Pioneer Award.
Lennox Borel, retired University of Toronto professor and long time colleague of Ken, said of him: “The development and evolution of the Caribbean Carnival Arts in Canada cannot be documented without the inclusion of the contributions of Ken Bruzual. Since arriving in Canada in the sixties, Ken has been involved in all things Caribbean.”  
On Bruzual’s passing Borel said, “I was saddened to learn of his passing.  Ken and I shared a long friendly relationship.  He was a student of mine at St. Mary’s College in Trinidad and Tobago and was a cadet in my platoon.  I followed his career as a member of the bugle corps in the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service.  We rekindled our friendship when we came to Canada.  He was very involved for many years in the Carnival Arts in Montreal and Toronto.  He acquitted himself very well as a Calypso judge.  He will indeed be missed.
Ken Bruzual was indeed the quintessential Caribbean icon. Requiescat in pace, my friend.”
Bruzual was born in San Juan, Trinidad, on October 6, 1940, and was raised there where he attended Nelson Street Boys R.C. School, then to St. Mary’s College.
After serving in the Trinidad police force, Bruzual came to Montreal, Canada, in 1964 to study electronics and engineering at Montreal’s Radio College, moving on Sir George Williams University (Concordia University). He quit one year before graduation after responding to the call of the Caribbean.
He played steelband, raised money for the Trinidad & Tobago Association in Montreal and used the funds to sponsor various Caribbean community events. Later in 1967 Bruzual brought a mas band to the first Caribana parade in Toronto. The band was made up of students from Sir George Williams University. He moved to Toronto permanently in 1969.
He has supported the Caribbean Festivals in artistic, cultural and economic ventures, assisting the earlier stakeholder groups – CDC, OMBA, and OMPA – that produced the Carnival Arts.
He was a co-founder of the Calypso Association, and later OCPA and, working in administrative roles he played a crucial part in fundraising from Government and Corporate sources.
Ken organized the Calypso Monarch contests over several years and served as a member of the Monarch Judging Panel for over a decade. He promoted the local production of several music genres.
For the last 20 years of his life he published the Internet Newsletter CULTURE CHEST, and has photographed and amassed a vast historical catalog of Caribbean Artistic and Cultural expressions and evolution in Ontario. He did so despite ailing for three decades due to an injury he sustained from a major vehicular accident. Bruzual was driven by his passion for his Caribbean culture.
Retired librarian Dr. Rita Cox, renowned storyteller and admired as a leader in the community, has been a friend and a colleague of Ken Bruzual for many decades, and says this about the late and true Caribbean Man: “Ken was so interested and connected to his community that he kept a log of all of the stalwarts who had passed away through the years. He hosted a memorial service every year to honour them. He was a remarkable man, a true son of the Caribbean. I shall miss him dearly.”
Ken Bruzual is survived by Judith Niles, his partner for 45 years, daughters Jennifer, Jeanine, Khalilah, and son Kareem.

She is the first person of colour to hold the position
Last month it was announced during a City TV Breakfast TV broadcast that Natasha Ramsahai had been promoted to Chief Meteorologist at CityNews Toronto. She is the first person of colour in all of Canada to earn this position.
She is an On-Air Meteorologist for 680 NEWS and Citynews. As a member of the CityNews weather team she is also seen on the popular Breakfast Television morning show.
“What’s big time notable is this promotion is breaking down barriers,” she posted on Instagram after the news was made official. “It is an honour to hopefully inspire young Canadians who look like me to aim high, never give up, be yourself and go after your dreams.”
Prior to joining City TV and AM 680 she worked at the CBC where she was not only the first meteorologist ever hired by the CBC, she was also the first female on-air meteorologist in the city of Toronto starting in 1999
Ramsahai was born and raised in Scarborough. Her parents are both from Trinidad & Tobago.
(Source:  Stephen Weir, the Caribbean Camera, April 2, 2023) 

Rice, a staple at mealtimes is very nutritious, but of course it can get a little blaze if wnd garlic, adding some chicken or vegetable stock and simmering until cooked.
Different types of rice will give you different tastes as well; parboiled rice is great in sturdy meat and rice cook-ue don’t work with our rice to turn out appetising and delicious dishes.


Delicious rice dishes can be done in just minutes, by simply sautéing a few aromatics, like peppers, onions aps as well as in fried rice. White rice makes great rice puddings and basmati rice makes wonderful flavoured rice dishes. Brown rice, which is the most nutritious type of rice, has a flavour all its own and a rather chewy texture, but once you’ve become used to these characteristics you’ll love it as well.
Rice is an easy do-ahead dish, and tastes as good the next day. What’s even better is cooked rice freezes well too, so go ahead and enjoy your rice in all different flavours.
Remember also that brown rice can be substituted into all of the following recipes, simply adjust the liquid to suit the rice you are cooking. The package directions are usually good guidelines for the liquid to rice ratio.
Split pea kitcheree
½ cup yellow split peas, washed and picked over
1 cup parboiled rice
2 tbs vegetable. oil
1 2-inch stick cinnamon
2 sticks clove
1 large onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
½ tsp saffron powder, turmeric
2 ½ cups broth
salt to taste
Cook split peas in water for about 10 minutes, drain.
Heat oil in saucepan; add garlic, cinnamon, cloves, onion and ginger.
Add saffron and cook for a few minutes, add split peas and rice, stir and fry for a few minutes more.
Add broth, bring to a boil and simmer for about 20 to 30 minutes.
Fluff with a fork and serve.
Serves 4
Hot and spicy pigeon pea pilaf
1 cup pigeon peas
1 cup parboiled rice
1 cup coconut milk
1½ cups broth or water
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 onion finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 hot pepper, seeded and chopped or to taste
1 pimento pepper, chopped
1 tbs vegetable oil
1 tbs chadon beni or cilantro
Preheat a saute pan or saucepan, add oil and heat, add onion, garlic, and peppers, saute until fragrant.
Season with salt and black pepper.
Add the pigeon peas and stir, add the rice and toss to combine, add coconut milk and water or broth, stir to combine.
Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 20 minutes until rice is tender. Taste and adjust seasonings.
Fluff with a fork. Sprinkle with chadon beni
Serves 4 to 6
For a lighter side, omit coconut milk and add one half cup more broth.



Caribbean rice pilaf
1½ cups parboiled rice
1 clove garlic minced
2 tbs coconut oil
1 onion, finely chopped
½ cup chopped red bell pepper
½ cup raisins
2 large dried Chinese black mushrooms,
3 tbs chopped chives
Sauce:
2 ½ cups chicken stock
1 tbs rum, optional
2 tbs light soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp Chinese chili sauce
½ tsp salt
2 tsp grated orange peel
Soak black mushrooms in 2 cups warm water for 2 hours.
Remove the stems from the mushrooms and slice.
In a small bowl combine sauce ingredients and stir well.
Melt oil in saucepan; add garlic, peppers, and onion sauté until fragrant.
Add rice and stir to coat.
Add raisins and sauce, cover and simmer until cooked 18 to 20 minutes.
Remove from heat and stir in chives.
Serves 4 to 6



Spiced rice pilaf with chick peas and pine nuts
1 ½ cups basmati rice
3 tbs olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp turmeric powder
½ tsp paprika
1 14-oz tin chick peas, drained and rinsed
⅓ cup toasted pine nuts
3 cups chicken stock
salt and pepper
½ cup currants or raisins
Rinse basmati rice in lots of cool water until the water becomes clear, soak rice in more water for 20 minutes then place in a strainer and drain there for another 20 minutes.
Heat oil in a saucepan, add onions, and garlic, sauté until tender, about 4 minutes.
Add cinnamon, turmeric and paprika, stir, now add the chickpeas.
Add pine nuts and combine.
Add rice and sauté with spices so that all the rice grains are coated.
Add chicken stock, stir well.
Season with salt and pepper.
Add raisins or currants, bring to a boil and cover and simmer until rice grains are tender.
Fluff with a fork.
Serves 4 to 6
(Source: Wendy Rahamut, Newsday, March 18, 2023

Many Trinidadians know the elements of a good river lime with the river, of course, being central to that.
Trinidad and Tobago artist Che Lovelace’s latest exhibition, Che Lovelace: Bathers, takes an expository look at bodies of water and TT people’s interaction with it.
It will run from March 9-April 15 at the Nicola Vassell Gallery, Tenth Avenue, New York. Lovelace’s 14-piece exhibition carries titles such as Worshippers, showing figures dressed in Baptist-like clothing holding hands in a river. Another is called River Scene which shows bodies involved in different activities in the water.
Other pieces are titled after popular activities done by water and/or popular bodies of water such as Beach Dancers, Covigne Pool and Large Broadwalk Bathers. Many of them are done with acrylic and dry pigment.
A bio about Lovelace on the gallery’s website says he is “an unabashed painter of the flora, fauna, figures, landscapes and rituals of the Caribbean.”
“Lovelace likens his material and formal interventions–such as cleaving the canvas into quadrants and dissecting the picture plane into cubist constituents–to exploring Caribbean selfhood as an integration of antecedents and transforming simplicity into wonder.”


A press release about the exhibition said, “Meditating on famed depictions of bathers throughout the art historical canon, Lovelace was particularly fascinated by artists who were lesser known for the subject. One such, Edvard Munch, rendered bathers with energy and vitalism, a philosophy germinated from Aristotelian times that emphasised the vital forces of nature and good health. Framing this immemorial trope in the specificity of his own culture, Lovelace celebrates the bather as an intrinsic figure of the Trinidadian vernacular.”
On his Facebook page Lovelace said, “Very, very excited! My first full-scale New York gallery exhibition opens one week from now on Thursday 9th March at the Nicola Vassell Gallery in Chelsea.
“The exhibition brings together paintings, some of which I’ve been working on for several years, all focused around the body and water.
“Our relationship with water…the sea, rivers etc. here in the Caribbean is a complex one, and I have tried to translate through my own experiences what that relationship feels and looks like.”
The gallery described the exhibition as a “series of paintings chronicling the artist’s exploration of the body in and around water.”
It added, “With an expressionistic hand, Lovelace weaves stories of life, freedom, and post-colonialism in his native Trinidad, into a tapestry of abstracted landscapes, still lifes, and portraits.”
Lovelace began working with Jamaican-born gallerist Nicola Vassell in 2021. Vassell opened the gallery in 2021 but has worked in the art world for about two decades.
In 2021, his work was shown at the Independent Art Fair in New York and there Vassell became aware of his work. Vassell approached him about working together and, from there, the working relationship grew.
“It has grown to this point where we are now doing my first solo exhibition collaborating with the gallery. We did go to Miami Art Basel in December which went quite well and was a success. It was my first time at Art Basel as well. So I also went with her gallery to that art fair.”
Growing up in TT and the Caribbean, water is “ever present,” he said.
There is a whole culture around water and people’s interaction with it, Lovelace said.
Water paints a vivid picture of Lovelace’s own life.
“Over the last few years I have been working in the Chaguaramas area and I see a lot of people who come, specifically, to be close to water. I, myself grew up in Matura and I am also a surfer,” he said.
It was always something he wanted to address and had already done paintings showing people close to water, bathers or someone on a beach.
He thought he could expand on these and turn it into a full-themed set of paintings.
In its bio, the gallery says it “is a contemporary art gallery committed to discourse that widens the lens of the history and future of art. Its focus is on developing an inter-generational, cross-disciplinary program of international artists and thinkers.”
This speaks to and fits well with Lovelace’s view of himself as an artist.
“I am placed within the lens of art that is a little broader than the main centres. I am working in what would have been a traditionally peripheral space, a space in the Caribbean where we are still developing our own infrastructures around art.
“But we do have a lot of artists, a lot of creative people, we make a lot of things and we are a creative people. I see this as an opportunity to join with and collaborate with someone who is working in a centre, like New York, but who understands the value of what is being made and the discussions being had, the energy that is being put out outside of those centres but which contribute, generally, to the movement of where art is going.”
This exhibition is a proud moment for Lovelace and he sees it as a pathway to expanding the reach and practice of local and regional artists and their art. (Source: Newsday, March 8, 2023)

The grapefruit is the first citrus fruit to originate in the Americas— on the little island of Barbados in the southeastern Caribbean, known by many as the land of Rihanna.
It is said that grapefruit emerged as a chance seedling— an accidental cross between the Jamaican sweet orange and the Indonesian pomelo fruit which was introduced to the region in 1683 by Captain Philip Chaddock. This would result in pomelo being commonly referred to as shaddock, and the words grapefruit and shaddock being used interchangeably by many Caribbean people.
It is easy to see why grapefruit was named “Forbidden Fruit” by the early English colonists. Having first been spotted in the lush, underground forests of Welchman Hall Gulley in the center of Barbados, it is said that when they discovered the citrus fruit growing there, they wondered if they had ventured into Eden of the bible.
Following its discovery, the novel fruit would grow rapidly in popularity.
There are several academic and cultural accounts of “forbidden fruit” that were recorded in Barbados during the 18th century. The earliest published record is said to have been in the book, “The Natural History of Barbados,” written in 1750 by Reverend Griffith Hughes, a natural historian and rector of the parish of St. Lucy, while another account was recorded by George Washington in the journal that he kept during his visit to Barbados, between 1750 and 1751, in which he described the experience of tasting the fruit at a local dinner party.
The first published record of the word “grapefruit” would appear in the 1837 book, Flora of Jamaica. It is thought that the fruit received this name because it grows in clusters that resemble grapes.
More than three centuries following the birth of the first forbidden fruit in the parish of St. Thomas, grapefruits continue to feature in Barbadian beverages and cocktails and in culinary creations and naturopathic applications.
Bajans are well aware of the positive metabolic effects and immune boosting benefits of the fruit and frequently drink the fresh juice when they are fighting the cold or flu, making sure to retain as much of the rind as possible, given the high concentration of bioflavonoids and other anti-cancer agents located there.
Tangy, juicy and fragrant— grapefruits are recognized and valued for their culinary applications. In cooking, the citrus fruit pairs well with fish or pork and is frequently used in dressings or marinades. The juice is sometimes used in ice creams and sorbets, while the peel can be candied and used in desserts. The fruit is often juiced for a refreshing fresh juice, or it is used in cocktails.
Trudiann Branker, the first female master blender of Barbados’ Mount Gay Rum— the world’s oldest brand of rum— uses Barbados grapefruit as a key ingredient in cocktails such as the “Forbidden Cooler” and “Speightstown Punch” both of which were featured in British Vogue.
The latter cocktail, which is named after a town in the parish of St. Peter, is made of Mount Gay Black Barrel rum, fresh grapefruit juice, ginger syrup and mint tea, and is garnished with a ginger slice, mint leaves, and a grapefruit slice.
Clayton’s Kola Tonic is a bitter sweet tonic made locally with orange, kola nuts and hops, is widely enjoyed on-island. A variety of cocktails are made using Clayton’s and grapefruit, including Clayton’s Pink Lady Grapefruit Cocktail, which consists of fresh pink grapefruit juice, fresh lemon juice, Claytons Kola Tonic, orange liqueur, gin and a grapefruit wedge to garnish, and Clayton’s Grapefruit Sunrise, which is made of Claytons Kola Tonic, grapefruit juice, grenadine and cinnamon.
Claytons Kola Bitters is also combined with honey in a salad dressing for a zesty and refreshing citrus salad featuring grapefruit.
At restaurants across the island, grapefruits are often used in salads, raw fish dishes or in marinades and dressings. Tapas’ Restaurant’s Tuna Tartare, contains raw tuna with orange zest, grapefruit citronette and tomato salsa, while Cafe Luna’s mixed local organic greens are dressed with a grapefruit vinaigrette.
Chef Dario Callender, CEO of Well Catered, a Barbados-based luxury private chef, catering and culinary consulting company, says that, “Apart from the numerous health benefits, grapefruit is one of the most versatile and bold citrus flavors.”
One of Callendar’s favorite recipes with the fruit is his Grapefruit & Orange ceviche with Avocado and Plantain Chips.
Barbados-based plant based Chef and wellness gastronomy consultant, Manuela Scalini enjoys using grapefruit in both savory dishes, such as her Grapefruit Avocado Tartare, or in simple deserts such as grapefruit ice cream.
Scalini’s grapefruit avocado salad is made with slow roasted beets and grilled fennel and served over a baby mesclun mix and microgreens salad. The salad is then topped with caramelized red onions, toasted pumpkin and sunflower seeds, and drizzled with a creamy tarragon and apple cider dressing (made with zucchini, yellow peppers, olive oil, tarragon, mustard seeds, lemon and ACV).
As a zero-waste chef, Scalini is sure to make use of all parts of the grapefruit. She says that after preparing meals that require grapefruit, she uses the peel as an odor remover throughout her house. She also mixes the juice of grapefruit with vinegar for household cleaning purposes.
In addition to meals, beverages, and household uses, grapefruit can be found in local snacks, condiments and confections, and is used in oils, fragrances, and cosmetics.
In January 2023, local hand crafted ice cream and cake company, Little Bits released its highly acclaimed limited edition grapefruit sorbet. Also well received was boutique artisanal chocolatier, Green Monkey Chocolatiers’ Blushing Grapefruit Bears gummies which it has described as “the perfect balance of sweet and tart flavours of a ripe and juicy grapefruit.”
St. Lucy Botanists, a Barbados-based natural perfumer, has developed a number of products that pay homage to the famous Barbados grapefruit. Founder, Kathryn Walters Grisoni’s Grandiflorum compact solid perfume, made of natural beeswax and jojoba oil features notes of cold pressed pink grapefruit, while her Irie essential oil features grapefruit, bergamot and orange. St. Lucy Botanist’s Rind candles carry the scent of fresh and effervescent grapefruit and orange rind, with grapefruit infused oil which Grisoni says “has mood enhancing properties known to reduce stress and fatigue.”
Grapefruit undoubtedly holds a very special historic and cultural place in the heart of Barbados and its people. But despite its plethora of uses and extensive consumption, the country has not done as much as it could to capitalize on the fact that it is the birthplace of a fruit that is expected to have a market value of close to $12 billion by 2027.
I have always wondered why the Barbados tourism industry hasn’t made grapefruit more central to the country’s local tourism product— creating more grapefruit themed products, events and gastronomic experiences.
Forbidden fruit-themed cottage industries, export products, signature juices and cocktails, cosmetics, natural medicinals, household products, festivals and experiences, cookbooks, treats, specialty dishes, and restaurant experiences will hopefully be a part of Barbados’ not-too-distant future. (Source: Forbes, March 20, 2023)

CARIBBEAN Court of Justice judge Peter Jamadar will receive an honorary doctorate from a Canadian university, in May.
Victoria University, part of the University of Toronto, said its chancellor, Nick Saul, a renowned food and social justice activist, will confer the degree on May 11. The conferral is part of Victoria University Convocation and Emmanuel College Graduation.
Jamadar graduated from Emmanuel College, one of two colleges in Victoria University in the University of Toronto, in 1997.
Commenting on the honour, Jamadar said he was humbled and grateful to receive this honour.
"During my time studying at Emmanuel College, my belief in humanity’s interconnectedness and desire to impact a better world through conscious reflection, learning, adaptation and change really took shape.
“My legal work has always been informed by my theological formation, and I am very pleased to be joining another generation of graduates during convocation as they pursue their professional and spiritual journeys.”
In its announcement, the university said, “Throughout his accomplished career, he has anchored his work in his insights from law and theology, and his desire to build equitable communities and societies.
“He has focused on human rights issues such as gender-sensitive adjudication and human trafficking, as well as strengthening the justice system for historically marginalised groups such as persons with disabilities. He is currently engaged with research on Indigenous and tribal peoples of the Caribbean, and on strengthening their rights and access to justice.”
It also quoted Dr Rhonda N McEwen, president and vice-chancellor of Victoria University, who said, “I had the pleasure to speak to Justice Jamadar for the first time when I delivered the committee’s good news on his selection. I left that call even more impressed with the ways that he has translated his learning at Emmanuel College into his work to transform the criminal justice systems in the Caribbean and in Africa.
“Justice Jamadar is pushing longstanding biases and bringing needed changes to how systems have positioned issues affecting women and LGBT2S+ people. Justice Jamadar exemplifies the values and skills that Emmanuel College graduates contribute to a better world.”
He received his master of divinity from Emmanuel College, which prepared him for his roles as a lay preacher and educator with the Presbyterian Church in TT, his biography says.
He has served as chair of the board of directors at St Andrew’s Theological College, the primary theological institution of the Presbyterian Church, which has had a long partnership with the United Church of Canada.
He was also a faculty member at St Andrew’s, teaching at the undergraduate level.
Jamadar’s theological studies and values led him to join the Foundation for Human Development in 1999, a charitable organisation whose mission is to facilitate authentic personal growth, social development and spiritual transformation. He currently serves as a Vision Circle leader and on its faculty as a course director, his biography says.
Jamadar comes from a family of lawyers stretching back three generations.
A retired Appeal Court judge of the Supreme Court of TT, he graduated from the Faculty of Law Cave Hill, Barbados and the Hugh Wooding Law School.
In 1984, he was admitted to the Bar. In 1997, he was appointed a puisne judge of the High Court, and in 2008, he was elevated to the Court of Appeal. In 2019, he was sworn in as a judge of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), the apex court for several Caribbean states and an international court of original jurisdiction for Caricom treaty rights.
Jamadar is also deeply involved in judicial education and training nationally, regionally and internationally. In 2004, he completed the Commonwealth Judicial Education Institute’s (CJEI) intensive study programme for judicial educators and serves as a Fellow and faculty.
He also holds a certificate in training judicial trainers from the University College London Judicial Institute.
As a researcher, he has spearheaded Caribbean-based research in procedural fairness in the courts, exploring the wellbeing of Caribbean judicial officers, and mindfulness as an aid to judicial integrity and performance.
He was also an adviser for Hope Centre, a home for abused and battered children.
He is involved with the UN Global Integrity Network and assisted in the development of a global social media protocol for judicial officers. He works with other international organisations such as Global Affairs Canada and UN Women in Caribbean justice sector reform initiatives.
Jamadar has written two books on democratic reform: The Mechanics of Democracy (1989), and Democracy & Constitution Reform in Trinidad and Tobago (with Dr Kirk Meighoo) (2008).
For the Foundation for Human Development, he has written Glimpses (2016), and “Insights (2023). He has also written extensive articles and various publications relating to law.
Jamadar is a certified transpersonal psychologist and a certified mediator.
He is also a certified PADI open-water diver, qualified reiki practitioner, and a certified swim coach.

Inspired by the rich culture of Trinidad and Tobago, Tremayne Frauenfelder started creating miniature painted clay sculptures to represent the spirit of the islands. He replicates things such as panyards, traditional mas characters, colonial houses, the Queen’s Park Savannah during Carnival and poui trees in full bloom, or as he calls it "A Slice of our Culture."
One piece can take Frauenfelder a few hours, days, weeks or even months, depending on the subject and the amount of detail needed. The 42-year-old doesn’t shy away from making his pieces hyper-realistic and is determined to spend any length of time to achieve the look he is going for.

On his Instagram page frauenfelder_miniatures, he posts some of the sculptures he has done, including the fixtures that bring the pieces to life. On one of his Instagram highlights, he showed off an antique ceiling light which he completed at almost 4 am after working on it for hours.
Frauenfelder said although he didn't really have a love for sculpting and art, his parents and siblings influenced him to get into it. His journey to becoming an artist wasn’t a straightforward one. 
“I grew up in a house that was conducive to creativity: my parents and elder siblings are creatives. I’m the last of six, so everyone else was already making things and doing art, and there wasn’t any shock when I picked up and started doing the same thing.”
His mother is a seamstress and his father is a carpenter, and they both created mas costumes for the primary school he attended, Mt Lambert RC. He would observe his siblings colouring and drawing, and his sisters even making their own dolls' houses. He said, with a laugh, "The influence to be artistic was clearly heavy."
Frauenfelder said he started sculpting in 2005, but had to stop because life got in the way and it became too distracting to continue. But when he resumed in 2010, he vowed then and there that he would never stop sculpting and creating.
Since then his work, produced in his east Port of Spain studio, has been featured in various exhibits and has been sold to people in Canada, the US and even Jerusalem.
“When the Royal Caribbean cruise ship came to Trinidad, the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and the Arts reached out to me to commission a piece for someone in management. So that piece is probably travelling the world.”
For people interested in buying his pieces, he said the prices of his work vary, and range from $1,800  up.
As for the rate of his sales, he said, “They go quickly. They don’t really stick around and have a nice conversation with me any more. As soon as I’m done, it’s like, ‘Okay, bye-bye.’”
Asked if he would ever offer classes, he said, “I have thought about it, but I decided not to, because I don’t know how serious anybody would be to really want to put the amount of money, patience and time.”
He has offered three workshops before, but has come to the conclusion that in order for someone to properly develop the skill would require a college-course layout that spans a few months.
He said when he first started creating hyper-realistic pieces he was clueless, but during his research he found a favourite artist on YouTube. He advises young artists to do the same.
“If you had said to me as a child that one day I can live off my art and exhibit, and that people from different countries will contact me to do commissions for them, I would have doubted you.”
He tells up-and-coming artists: “Just do it.” (Source: Newsday, March 18, 2023)