Growing food, philosophy among Caribbean Yard Campus 2024 courses

The Caribbean Yard Campus’s 2024 Rainy Season offerings will provide participants with opportunities for unique Caribbean-focused education. This year, three courses will be offered from September 23-December 14.

In a release, the Caribbean Yard Campus (CYC) said the courses will highlight indigenous cultures, Caribbean philosophy and growing food.

It said Indigenous Conversations: An Introduction to Caribbean First Peoples’ Cultures will show both the historical and contemporary significance of Trinidad and Tobago’s indigenous cultures.

“Through language-speakers from Guyana and Belize, participants will learn about Indigenous worldviews, history, customs, languages and, therefore, the meaning of many of the placenames in our Caribbean landscape. This will be the first time that this knowledge is being offered in such an integrated format, which will help preserve our endangered indigenous languages,” the release said.

CYC said the course, Philosophising the Caribbean, will invite discussions on the fundamental question: What is the Caribbean today? It said this course will be led by philosophers and thinkers from Cuba, Barbados, Martinique and TT, as well as the Caribbean diaspora.

The panellists will include Gabriela Chailloux (Cuba), Myriam Chancy (Haiti), Sabrina Ajax (Martinique), Adrian Green (Barbados) and from TT, Earl Lovelace, Kusha Haraksingh and Sunity Maharaj. Participants will share their views in Caribbean philosophising situations, such as the lime, lakou and reasoning sessions.

CYC said the third course, Planting People: Creating Sustainable Agri-Livelihoods, is ideally suited to people who want to grow and market their own food. It said participants will learn methods of backyard and small acreage planting specific to soil-type and terrain, crop preservation and processing techniques and technologies for home-use and marketing.

The teaching approach for this course will be practical and hands-on, so classes will be held in-person only at Caura Valley and other sites around the country.

For more info and registration: www.caribbeanyardcampus.org. or call 355-0966.