On a rainy Sunday in mid-June 2026, the historic Belmont Estate in Grenada hosted the official launch of *Grenada’s Island Life: Where Family, Culture and Farms Thrive*, a groundbreaking community-led children’s book project funded by the Caribbean Culture Fund. The event brought together hundreds of attendees spanning students, educators, local families and regional community partners for a day of celebration centered on oral storytelling, cultural heritage and climate-conscious sustainable agriculture.
Co-authored by two local teens – 13-year-old Kaedi Ettienne and 14-year-old Meghan Noel, both raised on Belmont Estate – alongside academic and mentor Dr. Efua Akoma, the Grenada volume is one piece of a broader cross-Caribbean initiative that centers youth storytelling to elevate critical conversations around traditional farming practices, cultural identity, regional food security and climate-resilient agriculture.
Even as steady downpours forced organizers to adjust the day’s outdoor programming, the launch did not lose momentum. Attendees turned out in full force, bringing energy and enthusiasm to every scheduled session. The day’s clear highlight was a joint presentation from Ettienne and Noel, who shared their journey from community teens to published authors with confidence and poise. The young co-creators drew widespread praise from attendees and organizers alike, celebrated not just for their finished work but for stepping into role model positions for other young people across Grenada’s rural communities.
Dr. Akoma, who served as both co-author and mentor for the project, walked the two girls through every step of the storytelling and writing process, helping them shape their personal lived experiences into an accessible narrative for young readers. The book’s plot is rooted in Grenada’s recent climate reality: it follows the two young authors through the aftermath of a devastating hurricane, as they watch their local community unites to repair damaged farmland and rebuild collective hope. Through the beloved characters of Grand Mummy and Zumbee the Bee, the story introduces young readers to core sustainable practices including seed saving, soil conservation and collaborative community resilience-building.
The wider Island Life Project reaches across three Caribbean nations: Grenada, Dominica, and St. Lucia. It was intentionally designed to center intergenerational knowledge exchange, bringing together voices from children, parents, grandparents and long-time farming communities to document time-honored agricultural wisdom while promoting modern climate-smart techniques such as mulching, crop rotation, companion planting and raised bed farming.
Beyond the core book publication, the project includes a full suite of free educational resources for communities and schools, including teaching toolkits, student workbooks, structured lesson plans, activity coloring pages and instructional video content tailored to support teachers, learners and family groups. Organizers also conducted on-the-ground interviews with participating small-scale farmers to capture their lived experiences and preserve irreplaceable traditional agricultural knowledge for future generations.
A popular feature of the launch event was the custom agricultural swag bags distributed to all student attendees, packed with hands-on learning materials and beginner tools designed to encourage practical engagement with farming from an early age. These resources directly reinforce the project’s core mission: cultivating interest in sustainable agriculture among young people and inspiring the next generation of Caribbean farmers. Every attendee also went home with a complimentary copy of the new book, ensuring the messages of sustainability, community resilience and cultural pride extend far beyond the launch event into homes and classrooms across the island.
While the day’s planned outdoor activities were disrupted by the unseasonable heavy rain, organizers have confirmed that local teachers will lead the activities in school classrooms in the coming weeks. Student work and progress from these activities will be documented and shared with the regional Island Life project team for inclusion in future resources.
Organizers closed the event by extending sincere gratitude to all partners, funders, participating teachers, family volunteers and attendees whose collective contributions turned a rain-soaked day into a resounding community success.