Paula Lindo – Our histories, stories, present, future.

Dry Season Programme Begins

“The Dry Season brings hard times and everything seems to be in short supply. It’s a good time, however, to drink from the wellspring of traditional Caribbean knowledge.” The Caribbean Yard Campus will begin classes in its Dry Season Programme beginning on April 8.

The courses featured in the 2019 Programme include CYC’s first Conversational T&T Sign Language Course, entitled See Me Speak; Nou Ka Palé Patwa, which offers an opportunity to communicate with the Caribbean kwéyòl speaking community; Planting People, which will teach gardening techniques and simple projects to make backyard and small farms more productive and profitable; Panchayat, a 12 week course for aspiring business co-operative developers and community organizers; and, Sweet Broom and Bitter Bush, the Science of Traditional Medicine. Facilitators include Salina Peterson, Richard Mendez, Shango Alamu, Alan Thierry Cristo Adonis, and the Co-operative Development Division of the Ministry of Labour and Small Enterprise Development.

CYC Director Rawle Gibbons said previous participants in CYC Programmes had come from all backgrounds and were very appreciative of the experience. “Our approach is that education should be a self-developing and, at the same time, community-building experience. We connect people with communal sources of knowledge as a form of self-empowerment. It is the lessons of this experience we hope they take away and transfer to others. The problem is that for all but a minority of achievers, our system of education has been itself dis-empowering and manifestly dysfunctional. Our work seeks to build self-confidence through the knowledge that is ours, as a basis for self/communal/social development. We see this failure of education as a national, even regional, crisis.”

He said the sign language course is perfect for educators, brand ambassadors, medical professionals, media presenters, and any interested persons. “It’s a ‘hands-on’ learning experience full with information about our local Deaf language and culture. The Nou Ka Palé Patwa course offers participants a chance to reconnect with their French Creole heritage. It promises lots of exciting games, stories and learning opportunities in the patois speaking communities of Paramin, Blanchiseusse and Talparo. Sweet Broom and Bitter Bush: the Science of Traditional Medicine will help its learners discern the wisdom in their grandparents’ folk practices and encourage a natural, holistic approach to health and healing supported by scientific research.  Planting People will teach gardening techniques and some simple projects to make your backyard and small farms more productive and profitable, so your yard work can work for you and your community. The 12 week Panchayat course is targeted towards aspiring business co-operative developers and community organisersCon.”

Gibbons said “our course come largely from discussions held at our Convois of Yards, when members deal with challenges in their organizations or where there is evidence of gaps in our legacy of traditional knowledge. All courses are open to the public, and there are no pre-requisites except for your curiosity and desire to learn more about some of our locally used Caribbean languages and traditional practices.”

Caribbean Yard Campus welcomes community-based organisations to register for special prices. Teaching starts from April 8 2019. For more details the public is invited to call 232-0959, message on Facebook @Caribbean Yard Campus or email: caribbeanyardcampus@gmail.com.