Salt and Roti selected for reading project

Students are being invited to read Salt and Roti written by Kenneth Vidia Parmasad for the 2022-2023 edition of the National Library and Information System Authority’s (Nalis) One Book, Many Schools reading project.

The Educational Library Services Division (ELSD) established the project to increase literacy levels, promote the love and appreciation for West Indian literature, introduce students to new authors, and improve vocabulary and writing skills among form-one students, a media release said.

The programme, which lasts throughout the school year, provides an opportunity for students to meet authors as well as participate in read-aloud sessions, book discussions and art competitions. Additional activities include dramatisations, mounting of displays and educational and fun activities pertaining to the book. These activities support the schools’ curriculum by raising the levels of comprehension and developing students’ creative and critical thinking skills, the release said.

Since the project’s introduction in 2015, School Library Media Centre’s (SLMC) staff has reported positive results with students looking forward to being engaged in the activities. School librarians advise that some of the activities also allow for collaboration with the staff (teaching and administrative) in the schools’ English and visual and performing arts (VAPA) departments, Nalis said in the release.

This project is in alignment with the Ministry of Education’s thrust to emphasise TT’s rich cultural diversity and to develop and encourage a culture of research, the release said. In addition to the selected book fulfilling this mandate, copies of the book must be available in all secondary schools and the author must grant permission for its use in the project.

Nalis said Parmasad’s widow, Roslyn, granted permission for Salt and Roti to be used in the project.

“The book is the result of original research into the folk traditions of the descendants of Indian indentured labourers in the Caribbean,” Roslyn said in the release.

Stories from the book can be accessed via Nalis’ digital library.