Hand2Earth

Last October, forestry expert Fitzgerald Providence delivered two presentations to the team of farmers participating in our ongoing Little Bay coastal protection project. Farmers learned about health and safety in the field, various erosion control measures and forest management. The educational sessions reinforced the practical experiences the farmers had while observing the gully erosion and installing check dams at the Wharf Road site in September 2025.

Mr. Providence's presentations shared keen insights about volcanic landscapes, biodiversity and soil fertility specifically as it relates to the North Leeward area where our coastal protection project is underway. During the post-session discussion, Sylvia Young, Jah-I Pierre and Percy Jocelyn shared some of the insights gained from the presentation and the guided nature hike of the surrounding area.

One such insight was about the various animal species found in the North Leeward area and the roles they play on farms and in the wider ecosystem of the area. The common black hawk (Buteogallus anthracinus) and St. Vincent wren (Troglodytes musicus) were among those heard/observed during the hike.

Many thanks to Pastor Haywood for providing a space for these sessions to take place.

These educational presentations were delivered on October 11th and 18th, 2025 by Fitzgerald Providence, former Director of Forestry, as part of the Environmental Recovery and Historic Preservation of Little Bay Beach through Erosion Mitigation and Sustainable Livelihood Creation project which is funded by SVG Conservation Fund.

Last November, yet another cohort of North Leeward farmers successfully completed training in Vetiver Systems Technology!

The group received their certificates of completion at the graduation event held on November 20, 2025 at the Hand2Earth Vetiver Heritage Centre in Troumaca. A total of 17 farmers were trained between September to November 2025 during two separate training workshops in Rose Hall. Among the graduands were 14 farmers who received intermediate or advanced level certification, and three who received introductory level certification.

During the graduation event, participating farmers commended the on-going Hand2Earth project for re-introducing the traditional knowledge of using vetiver grass as an erosion control measure for farmlands on the steep mountainous terrain of mainland St. Vincent.

As part of the training, the farmers were given an overview of the history of vetiver in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. They heard directly from members of the Vetiver Heritage Family farmers' group about the various benefits of integrating vetiver grass on their farms, and saw those benefits in practice on the Vetiver Agri-Heritage Site and several farm sites across the North Leeward area with Vetiver Systems installations.

On behalf of Hand2Earth and the Vetiver Heritage Family, we extend a great many thanks to all of our project participants, Janeel Miller-Findlay and Brenton Quammie of the Sustainable Development Unit, our community partners, and of course the Inclusive GEF Assembly Challenge Program Fund for their support in making it possible to deliver this much needed training to the farming community in the volcanic hazard zones of St. Vincent's North Leeward area.

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The Hand2Earth Vetiver Systems Technology training was delivered from Sep–Nov 2025 as part of the Inclusive GEF Assembly Challenge Program project titled Upscaling Vetiver Systems for Sustainable Farmland Recovery which is funded by Global Environment Facility and UNIDO - United Nations Industrial Development Organization.

Since 2022, Hand2Earth has been working with North Leeward farmers to restore severely eroded farm lands while repairing and preserving a system of historic vetiver hedgerows/terraces that are nearly 100 years old.

A huge component of our Vetiver Systems training sessions are the connections made during in-the-field activities. Participating farmers get to actively install vetiver contours on various community sites and witness how vetiver grass improves the land.

A casual exchange between Ann John and Thomas Cain reveals the short timeframe, about 10 years or so, within which severe gully erosion and deforestation occurred at one of our current project sites along Wharf Road in Troumaca.

Personal observations like this one reveal a local history that is very much tied to the land and sheds light on the changes that shape it over time.

📍Wharf Road, Troumaca

This Hand2Earth Vetiver Systems Technology (VST) training was delivered from Sep–Nov 2025 as part of the Inclusive GEF Assembly Challenge Program project titled Upscaling Vetiver Systems for Sustainable Farmland Recovery which is funded by Global Environment Facility and UNIDO - United Nations Industrial Development Organization.

During this component of the VST training, participating farmers learned from and worked alongside our Field Champions who are installing vetiver contours for erosion mitigation along Wharf Road as part of our Environmental Recovery and Historic Preservation of Little Bay Beach through Erosion Mitigation and Sustainable Livelihood Creation project which is funded by St. Vincent and the Grenadines Conservation Fund.