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A landmark initiative to preserve one of Dominica’s most culturally significant traditional wooden structures is moving forward, after the Society for Historic Architectural Preservation and Enhancement (SHAPE) secured regional funding to launch the restoration of a historic 1850s ti kai in Roseau. Backed by a Caribbean Collaboration grant from the Caribbean Culture Fund (CCF), the project is being carried out in partnership with the Saba Heritage Center as a core component of SHAPE’s ongoing Resilient Houses Project, focused on protecting at-risk Caribbean traditional architecture.

Located at 14 Hillsborough Street, the ti kai is currently owned by local business Prevo Cinemall, which has made the decision to save the structure from demolition rather than clearing the site for a modern concrete development. According to Prevo Cinemall Chairman Norris Prevost, the acquisition of the property aligns with the company’s long-term vision to build a connected heritage hub in the heart of Roseau, making the partnership with SHAPE a natural fit for their goals.

Unlike basic structural restoration projects, this initiative will reimagine the historic ti kai as a dynamic, multi-use community space centered on cultural exchange, education, and local economic empowerment. Working alongside Valarie Honore from the I Have a Right Foundation, the project team plans to open an on-site youth-run café, where participants in the foundation’s social programs can build hands-on small business and hospitality skills. The venue will also host a dedicated museum highlighting the ti kai’s centuries-long history and cultural roots, plus an affordable secondhand and independent bookshop focused on works by Caribbean and Dominican authors—including titles from local independent publisher Papillote Press. The bookshop will be managed by acclaimed Dominican writer Joanne Skerrett, best known for her works *Island Man* and *Abraham’s Treasure*. In collaboration with the Waitukubuli Artists Association, the restored building will also host rotating art exhibitions, literary readings, and community cultural events for residents and visitors alike.

SHAPE President Marica Honychurch emphasized that the project is rooted in a core belief: historic structures are far more than old buildings—they are living repositories of collective community memory and shared cultural experience. By restoring the Roseau ti kai, the organization is not only protecting Dominica’s unique architectural legacy, but also ensuring the stories tied to the space are passed down to future generations.

A key secondary goal of the restoration is to raise public awareness of the distinctive construction techniques that define Dominican ti kai, which evolved from a blend of Kalinago, West African, and European building traditions adapted specifically to the Caribbean’s tropical climate and hurricane-prone weather. Despite their proven natural resilience to extreme storms, these historic wooden structures are facing growing threats from unregulated modern development and accidental fire. Recent blazes in Roseau have underscored how vulnerable the island’s remaining built heritage has become in recent decades.

The project draws inspiration from *Still Standing*, a 2023 book by Adom Philogene Heron with photography by Honychurch, which documents surviving ti kai structures across Dominica and outlines the urgent need for their protection. Beyond local conservation, SHAPE’s partnership with the Saba Heritage Center is designed to foster broader regional cooperation, creating space for knowledge sharing around best practices for protecting historic structures while adapting them for sustainable modern use.

At its core, the Resilient Houses Project aims to serve as a replicable model: proving that heritage conservation does not have to be a static, purely preservation-focused exercise. Instead, it can protect irreplaceable traditional architecture while creating vibrant, inclusive public spaces that support cultural expression, community connection, and intergenerational learning for all of Dominica.

The Caribbean island nation of Dominica has earned a prestigious spot among the top 20 islands across the Caribbean and Atlantic regions in the 2026 Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards, the country’s Ministry of Tourism has officially confirmed.

Ranking at 11th place in the regional ranking, the island widely known as the “Nature Island” joins an elite group of destinations recognized by the leading international travel publication’s annual awards program. This yearly initiative celebrates islands and on-the-ground tourism experiences that resonate most strongly with global travelers, based on reader votes and firsthand travel assessments.

Dominica’s Ministry of Tourism framed the latest honor as a landmark milestone and a source of national pride for the small island destination. The recognition, officials note, underscores the one-of-a-kind visitor experiences that have long set Dominica apart from competing tourism hotspots across the Caribbean.

Famous for its unspoiled, lush tropical rainforests, dramatic volcanic landforms, crystal-clear river networks, cascading waterfalls, and vibrant coastal marine ecosystems, Dominica draws adventure seekers and nature lovers from across the globe. Beyond its abundant natural treasures, the island also offers visitors deep, immersive access to its centuries-old, rich cultural heritage, creating a well-rounded travel experience that cannot be replicated at more commercialized Caribbean destinations.

This latest international accolade strengthens Dominica’s growing global tourism profile, coming as the island government steps up efforts to promote its unique natural and cultural offerings to travelers across every major global source market. Beyond the prestige of the award, the recognition also reinforces a key industry priority for Dominica: maintaining high-quality, authentic visitor experiences while continuing to showcase the natural and cultural assets that form the core of the island’s appeal in one of the world’s most competitive regional tourism markets.

As the global community prepares to mark World Food Day 2026 on October 16, the Commonwealth of Dominica’s Ministry of Agriculture is aligning itself with international observance efforts, reaffirming its long-standing dedication to three core goals: strengthening national food security, scaling up adoption of sustainable agricultural practices, and elevating the critical work of local farmers who keep Dominican households fed.

At the center of the country’s World Food Day outreach are two homegrown initiatives: Green Thumb Seedlings and D Smart Farm. Through these programs, agricultural officials and organizers are drawing attention to how targeted innovation and expanded local food output can lay the groundwork for a more robust, shock-resistant agricultural sector that can serve both current communities and future generations.

In an interview with local media, Dionne Francis, the founder and operator of both Green Thumb Seedlings and D Smart Farm, underscored the urgent need to recognize the unseen labor and systematic work that puts food on consumers’ tables across the island. Francis explained that commercial and small-scale food production is built from a sequence of small, non-negotiable steps: it starts with sourcing high-quality seeds and growing healthy seedlings, moves through careful cultivation and attentive harvesting, and concludes with the complex logistics of moving fresh produce from farm fields to residential kitchen tables.

Each step in this supply chain, she emphasized, highlights the irreplaceable contribution that local farmers make to maintaining a consistent, reliable food supply for the Dominican population. Beyond drawing attention to farmers’ work, Francis detailed the core mission of Green Thumb Seedlings: the initiative removes a key barrier for small and mid-sized producers by granting them affordable access to top-quality seedlings, a foundational resource that underpins any successful effort to build a food-secure future for the island.

Francis closed by calling for deeper collaboration across all sectors of Dominican agriculture, from producers to distributors to retailers, and urging the general public to cultivate a greater appreciation for local agricultural goods by intentionally choosing to support domestic producers. “Let’s support one another and let’s grow together for a better, healthier and stronger tomorrow,” she said, extending official World Food Day greetings to all residents of Dominica.