Jamaican Diaspora: Nature

MUSICAL NOTES

NAOMI COWAN VILLAGES AS BUSINESSES PAVING THE WAY FORWARD FOR CARIBBEAN COMMUNITIES

SOME MUSINGS ON MY CARIBBEAN

REDEMPTION: A CALLING OF OUR DIVINE SPIRIT TO BE TRULY FREE

Nature in Jamaica

Richard Currie is the newly elected chief of the maroon community in Jamaica.

He is also the youngest leader ever to be elected for Jamaica’s Accompong Maroon community.

Richard holds a degree in Banking and Finance from the University of the West Indies and has 15-years of corporate experience.

Currie presides over 74,726 hectares of Cockpit Country— the largest remaining natural forest in Jamaica.

This land is home to the Leeward Maroons, who descendants are from of the West African slaves and Tianos. To maintain their freedom, they used guerrilla tactics and camouflage to fight the British. In 1739, a treaty that was signed by Maroon leader Cudjoe, under the leadership of British governor Edward Trelawny, granted the Maroons land between Trelawny Town and Accompong in addition to political autonomy and economic freedoms, making the Maroons the first free black people in the Western Hemisphere.

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70% of Accompong’s residents are subsistence farmers who grow crops such as yams, bananas, breadfruit, potatoes, ginger, turmeric, tomatoes, cabbage, callaloo and peppers, using traditional African farming techniques. 40% of Jamaica’s fresh water supply comes from the Cock Pit Country.

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“If we live in balance with nature and each other then nature will provide for us in a similar balance. This is the true meaning of freedom.”

— Chief Richard Currie 4

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Cave located in the Cockpit Country

What we are about

This publication affirms identity and builds community self-esteem. We will not only bring entertainment, but also provide information in areas of health, education, entrepreneur and environment.

How to place an ad

We will promote your product or special event. By letting us know who or when your special day is, it prevents dual scheduling. The intention is to complement not compete; remember unity is strength.

Writing for Jamaican Diaspora

The goal is to share positive information. If you are interested in giving out your expertise or knowledge, let us know. Community involvement is the objective.

To contact us, visit www.JamaicanDiaspora.com Published by JK Productions Jamaican Diaspora

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Contents Departments 9

Book Club

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Musical Notes - Naomi Cowan

10 Cinema Scene

16 Recipe Corner – Coconut Cornmeal Pudding

Feature 17

VILLAGES AS BUSINESSES PAVING THE WAY FORWARD FOR CARIBBEAN COMMUNITIES

20 Redemption: A Calling of Our Divine Spirit to be Truly Free 22 I would like to end with my poem, “Coloured Woman” Woman 23 I Am Doing Nothing

24 Some musings on My Caribbean

26 Change Agents Can Significantly

Impact Gender Based Violence

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Editor’s Note

Being Agile In the world of business, you must be in a position to fill the vacancy of your customer. Being agile, means you will remain relevant. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs will provide the various niches you can tap. Keep the following suggestions in mind while marketing to the public.

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4.

How can I make my business more nimble?

What are the industry trends? How is the company staying abreast?

If adjustments are need, what is the price point?

What skills or services should be out sourced or remain in house. A perfect example is the IT department.

5. Are you engaging in local media and social media?

6. Where can you reduce businesses expenses? i.e. google voice is a free phone calling service 7. What technology should be used to enhance production?

Janice K. Maxwell editor in chief

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Contributors

Tania Hernandez

Myrna Loy

Eleanor Wint

Diana McIntyre-Pike

Ataklapss – patios word for “big excitement” 8

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Book Club Selections:

Cinema Scene Jamaican Flix Our images our culture

www.JamaicanFlix.com

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Musical Notes:

Naomi Cowan Jamaican Diaspora

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inger & Songwriter Naomi Cowan, is no stranger to the world of music and entertainment. Raised under the mentorship of her parents; impresario Tommy Cowan, OD (reggae music producer, songwriter & former road manager for Bob Marley) & international reggae vocalist Dr. Carlene Davis-Cowan, OD. With a musical background in piano and acoustic guitar, Naomi stands out as a diverse artist. Naomi’s unique vocal tone and stellar live performance abilities have opened the way for her to stand amongst the greats.

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Recipe Corner

Coconut Cornmeal Pudding Cornmeal pudding is also known as pone. If you have never had it before, here is your chance to try it:

Ingredients • • • • • • • • • • • •

3 cups cornmeal 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp nutmeg 1 1/2 tsp salt 2 cups coconut milk 3 cups water 2 tsp vanilla 1/2 cup margarine (or butter) 1 1/2 cups sugar 1 cup raisins 3 tbsp rum (optional)

Topping • • •

1 cup coconut milk 1/4 cup sugar 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Instructions: • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

• Measure dry ingredients and combine in mixing bowl.

• Pour coconut milk, water, and vanilla into a medium-size saucepan on medium heat.

• Add margarine, sugar, and raisins one at a time to the saucepan and stir until the margarine and sugar have dissolved and liquid is heated. Remove from heat and add rum, if desired.

• Pour 1/2 of the liquid into mixing bowl with dry ingredients and stir until smooth. Add remaining liquid, stirring until there are no lumps of cornmeal and the batter is smooth.

• Pour batter into a greased extra-deep 9-inch cake pan and place in pre-heated 350-degree oven for 15 minutes. (The pan I used is a 3-inch deep, 9-inch baking pan.)

• Combine topping ingredients and set aside.

• At the 15-minute mark the batter will be thicker, take the pan out of the oven and stir to distribute the raisins evenly.

• Pour topping over batter and place pan back into the oven for 1 hour.

• When you take the pan out of the oven the top will still be gooey. Use a knife to test the pudding. It should be firm under the topping. Place pan on a cooling rack; The pudding will get firmer as it cools.

Serving Tip: It’s best to leave the pudding in the pan and slice pieces for serving, especially when it’s warm. It’s never easy removing the first piece, but after that, you’ll be good to go.

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VILLAGES AS BUSINESSES PAVING THE WAY FORWARD FOR CARIBBEAN COMMUNITIES Jamaica has been branded the HOME OF COMMUNITY TOURISM by the International Institute for Peace through Tourism (IIPT) as this is where it was pioneered 45 years ago by Diana McIntyre-Pike owner/operator of The Astra Country Inn Mandeville then and the late Desmond Henry, a past Director of Tourism. Together they created the Countrystyle Community Tourism Network (CCTN) to develop community tourism mainly on the south coast of Jamaica.

In more recent years, CCTN developed a nonprofit membership organization called VILLAGES

AS BUSINESSES (VAB) which has received local and international recognition. Diana McIntyre-Pike has received several awards for this initiative, the most recent being in 2020 from the newly formed World Tourism Network (WTN) as one of 17 Tourism professionals to be awarded an international Tourism Heroes Award.

The Villages as Businesses (VAB) programme has been implementing a five-day Entrepreneurship Hospitality Training in several communities in Jamaica and the Caribbean region which is now certified by Jamaican Diaspora

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the University of the West Indies (UWI) Open Campus. The training covers personal development, research of existing and potential assets, environmental awareness, tour and product selection, business development, security and COVID protocols. One of the Jamaican Diaspora organizations, Making Connections Work UK, has endorsed the VAB and marketing COMMUNITY ECONOMIC TOURISM as the umbrella approach.

The Countrystyle Community Tourism Network (CCTN) has recently decided to have the Jamaican and Caribbean Diaspora as its investment and marketing partners. It has created a special community tourism fund called COMFUND with an interim Diaspora Board. COMFUND is now registered in the USA and is presently being finalized with a financial institution to facilitate donations and

Diana McIntyre-Pike www.villagesasbusinesses.com www.visitcommunities.com/diana

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potential investment. The interest on COMFUND will support low interest loan and grant funding for qualifying sustainable community development projects submitted by members of Villages as Businesses.

All future CCTN Community Lifestyle Vacations and Tours will include a contribution to COMFUND. A partnership has just been finalized with a Caribbean Diaspora

organization mobile application platform called Travel Jamii which will be rolled out in September 2021. The Travel Jamii App will enable the Global Community to experience everything Caribbean, by promoting tourism, community tourism, major brands, local businesses, attractions, events, cuisine, history, nature, news and more.

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Redemption: A Calling of Our Divine Spirit to be Truly Free

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In the social jungle of human existence, there is no feeling of being alive without a sense of identity. — Erik Erikson

ut by the grace of God, I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.

The Bible - 1 Corinthian 15:10 During the almost two years of retreating to my home due to the covid pandemic, I have had time to revisit myself, review my life, refresh my way of thinking, and reaffirm who I really am. Finding out what is truly important, necessary and beneficial to sustain a life that is nurtured spiritually, mentally, emotionally and physically have become my absolute quest. I have realized that the discovery and acknowledgement of our identity - Latin meaning: “oneness and sameness”, and the present day Oxford definition: “the fact of being who or what a person or thing is,” must be our number one priority in life. If we do not know ourselves, we are like a rudderless ship, and a lamp with no light. How do we find who we truly are, and therefore be truly free?

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Retreat to the place of inner self and seek the Divine Have you ever just retreated to a quiet place, without the noise and hubbub of life, and just allow your inner self to have a dialogue with the divine? I have numerous times throughout my life. I speak with the omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent Creator who made creation. I did not even need a Bible, I saw God in the wonders of nature and the miracle of my birth, which I had no control over. I seek. I find. What the Bible did for me was confirm that God is merciful and loving in spite of my shortcomings. I acknowledge Him, He comes into my heart, and I seek His Will because I recognize very quickly I of myself cannot sustain me. I can’t do anything without the breath of God. I now have peace and can live confidently knowing I am a child of God. The rewards that comes with my identity in God in Christ is that I have the fruits of the Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control – all the qualities that most human beings yearn for.

Acknowledge our history and cultural traditions As a mixed race, Jamaican-Canadian woman : Black, East Indian, Jewish, Irish, Scottish and English, I am truly a “United Nations,” and as my birth country’s motto says, “Out of Many, One People.” I embrace who I am – the history of my forefathers – and I am very cognizant of the rich, cultural heritage, especially of the traditions preserved, promoted and performed

by Mother of Jamaican Culture, the Hon. Dr. Louise Bennett Coverley (Miss Lou), through the artistic expressions of poetry, song, riddles, proverbs and storytelling. For me, to be truly me and free, I must express the uniqueness of my Jamaican culture in my multicultural homeland, Canada, so that I can contribute the very best of what my traditions and heritage have inculcated in me, and therefore enrich my Canadian community with my Jamaicanness. As an educator, recording artist, motivational speaker and Jamaican folklorist, I have seen the fruits of my contributions to the rich pot pourri of cultures in Canada, Jamaica and internationally. There has been an igniting of people’s souls for “ole time sinting” – the things of old that brought them joy. When I did my book launch for my third book, One Pot, and did a reading of true stories done in the wit and humour of Jamaican storytelling, recited poetry in the Jamaican dialect, patois, and described Jamaican-Canadian fusion recipes, highlighting the foods of both my birth and home country, people were joyful, feeling nostalgic, and expressed a feeling of a renaissance of traditions they held dearly. One lady, an accomplished artist, even was inspired to do paintings of our cultural icon, Miss Lou and her husband Eric “Chalk Talk” Coverley, with whom she had a close relationship with. Paulette R. Denson said, “Mr. and Mrs. Coverley have stepped in and have you awaken me. I know that our ancestors are here for us. Thanks again. I will pull through whatever I’m going through.

God knows they directed us...I feel it.”

Stand up for justice or we agree with the status quo With the very heartbreaking history of our African, Jewish and Indigenous peoples, and the unearthing of inhumane behaviours towards certain races in our

global world, it is very important that we stand up for what is just and right, or else we are a party to the paradigm of perpetrators. I will use my mouthpiece and platform to educate people about the truths of my heritage. In my book, What Teachers Are Made Of, I wrote a section called “Make History His Story and Her Story’” in which I spoke about the fragmented identities of many racial groups, and how the history books have not fully disclosed the truths about the their treatment of these groups, and the positive contributions that they have made in every sector of society. One of my solutions was to “challenge the powers that be to include in the national curriculum in schools, from as early as elementary school, ‘History of our Multicultural Peoples of Canada.’...We can be agents of change and create a new psyche in our young generation.

Be our authentic self I have found freedom in being the quirky, happy, artistic, loving and caring me. I cannot be someone else. They are already taken. I have found more joy, purpose and peace pleasing myself and the audience of One – God, before I try pleasing someone else, and forgetting the core of who I am. I have discovered too that you attract what you have become.

Be our best self and be kind In this era of covid, one thing that has come home to me is that, it is not our talents, our possessions or our physical attributes that really matter, it is how we make people feel that will be truly remembered, even after we pass away from this earth. Kindness and unconditional love are like healing balm to a weary, despondent, joyless soul.

Just be nice. You do not know what others are going through, and an act of kindness will surely help them from going over the edge.

So, discovering and acknowledging the divine, accepting our history, embracing the best of our cultural traditions, standing up for justice, being authentic and being our best self, all contribute to the overall balance in our lives, and make us discover our true identity, which allows us to be truly free!

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I would like to end with my poem, “Coloured Woman” I am coloured Like rainbows Mixed Not mixed up A chip of the old block Not a chip on my shoulders Radiant, confident A rich heritage of nations United Nations The blood that flows Through my veins An ever-flowing river That never forgets its source Eden A conqueror I battle and overcome Grateful for the cross That set me free I see you Coloured Woman

Tania L. Hernandez www.tanialhernandez.com

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I Am Doing Nothing I am returning to college to do a course of study, to learn about things I know more or less about already; I intend to come out with a degree to enhance my financial security — Hopefully my employers will recognize me, and reward me with respect accordingly, because I wonder what I am doing here, I’m doing nothing!

I have two jobs I try to keep which means I lose out on my sleep.

I paint, I write, I compose poetry to stimulate my mental chemistry; and sometimes I’m involved in the black community, and still wonder what I am doing here — I’m doing nothing!

I get up, wash up, go to work..

I get dressed, then rest, and go to sleep, I get up, wash up, go to work, and wonder what I’m doing here — I’m doing nothing!

I watch the people walk the street, A little boy cries, (he has glass in his feet) Inebriates checking corners for food to eat, while the rest are trying to make ends meet, and I wonder what I’m doing here — I’m doing nothing!

I observe the needs of my little daughter, and contemplate on the prices of the things I’ve bought her, Wondering why she doesn’t treat them better when I work so hard in order to get them;

I forget that its because she is growing why her dress seems shorter, and wonder what I’m doing here — I’m doing nothing!

My daughter asks me for an ice-cream, So I force my hands in my skin-tight jeans, and find that I’m not as rich as I seem, and that I’ve shattered my daughter’s finest dream, and I wonder what I’m doing here — I’m doing nothing!

57 I read about police harassment, the rising numbers of unemployment, social deterrence by way of leisure enjoyment and the increasing sense of disappointment, and I wonder what I’m doing here — I’m doing nothing!

I’ve stopped watching television because I find it so depressing; the trials and tribulations of the coronavirus victims; Wars, fires and disease is killing civilians, While so many others are in forced isolation, and I wonder what I am doing here — I’m doing nothing!

I sit on my chair, Glance through the newspaper, and feel despair...

Rioting, shooting, young men dying, Mothers crying: “My son’s been murdered!” ... and I wonder what I’m doing here — I’m doing nothing

Myrna Loy www.blackbrightnews.tumblr.com

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Some musings on My Caribbean O

ne day I was searching through the stacks in a library in St Lucia. I came across a book written by a sailor who had spent years sailing the waters around the Caribbean. This was that time in history when everyone was discovering the Caribbean and surrounds. His remark when he saw Jamaica was that he had encountered paradise. I wish I had made a note of the source, but then....

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I have travelled the Caribbean. Most of the time with my 2 children. I started doing that when my daughter was a couple months old and just out of her specially designed straw bassinet. That’s a long time ago now, but then life takes time. The only island of the Caribbean that I have not visited is Haiti/ Dominican Republic.

I do not want to talk about the high crime rates in some islands or the poor attention to environmental conservation. This exists, but today others will take on that battle.

I must admit I have not kept abreast of the extraordinary writings of the Caribbean but there are two persons, who best express how I feel about the Caribbean viz. Kamau Braithwaite and Derek Walcott.

Their use of sound and words, feelings ...oh me I can’t even express my thanks for being in this time and being able to experience their writings.

This is not necessarily a factual document. I think of it more as an emotional piece. The Caribbean is home to so many peoples from all ethnicities. These peoples have made the islands home. You see this in the many languages you encounter across the different islands.

Walcott speaking of Sainte Lucie lists in French Creole such fruit as: “Pomme arac Otaheite apple Pomme cythére Pomme granate Moubain

Z’anananas The Pineapple’s Aztec helmet Pomme I have forgotten what pomme for the Irish Potato” Or For the English speakers we all know Soursop Pawpaw StarApple Christophine More types of mango than we can remember

More types of pears than we can remember Simpson pear, Avocado Cherries

The list goes on. The point is we may have come from everywhere under different circumstances but we never lost our sense of self, our language, our foods, our ways of meeting and greeting and our respect for each other’s reality. Someone kept hold on these elements for the future. Consequently, we are able to share our knowledge with the world.

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Change Agents Can Significantly Impact Gender Based Violence

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he Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research, a compendium of terms and constructs used in implementation research, defines change agents as: “Individuals who formally influence or facilitate intervention decisions in a desirable direction”. It is within this framework that The Caribbean Voice is launching Project Change

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Agents (PCA) to tackle domestic violence specifically and violence in general in the Caribbean.

The project currently in its fund-raising phase, aims to involve schools, ministries of education, the media and other stakeholders in a process that will hopefully result in young people been identified and trained to become anti-violence

change agents in communities across the Caribbean, with special focus on domestic violence but also with skills sets to address sexual abuse, child abuse and hopefully substance abuse.

At the crux of the project is an essay contest on domestic violence for fourth to sixth form students in all English-speaking Caribbean nations during the 2022/23 school year. However, the plan is to secure the support of ministries of education in these nations with respect to getting domestic violence on the curricula for the 2021/22 school year enabling students to engage in research, including primary research within their communities. This will provide sensitization and the information they will use to write their essays during the 2022/23 school year.

TCV also plans to approach Caribbean media to partner with respect to widely promoting the essay, providing constant coverage of domestic violence and publishing the winning essays in each nation as well as the overall regional winners. While cash prizes will be presented to the overall winners, TCV is hoping that ministries of education can reach out to the private sector for help to organize for cash prizes within each participating nation as well. All winners will be provided with certificates by TCV and regional winners will also receive plaques.

The expectation is that with higher sensitivity and

greater knowledge about domestic violence, students would be willing to undertake training, to be provided virtually by The Caribbean Voice and other stakeholders, that will enable them to then become change agents within their communities. Ongoing support will be provided by TCV in collaboration with other stakeholders.

Given that attitudes are harder to dispel the older one gets, TCV hopes that by starting with young people, the entire next generation adults can be socialized towards a positive change attitude with respect to relationship violence and abuse thereby laying the foundation for an ongoing reengineering of attitudes.

TCV is appealing to the public to support Project Change Agent by donating to our gofundme account at https://www.gofundme. com/f/caribbean-high-school-domesticessay-contest?fbclid=IwAR1091sAxXMLpOKEBMsrTVyc6MoW3SrmuxKXYL4IDLWoueTkETEfS2vPs. Donors can be included as supporters of the project and businesses and organizations as partners in all publicity and promotion. For info or to be involved in this project as a supporter or partner please email caribvoice@ aol.com or call/what’s app 646-461-0574.

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www.Cannabisjamaican.com

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