Carib Scope

博客

  • Rotaract Club of Antigua to Host “Peace Starts Here” Youth Peace Initiative

    Rotaract Club of Antigua to Host “Peace Starts Here” Youth Peace Initiative

    A groundbreaking youth-focused peacebuilding effort is set to kick off in Antigua next year, as the Rotaract Club of Antigua and its International Service Committee prepare to host the “Peace Starts Here” Youth Peace Initiative. The event is scheduled to take place at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, September 23, 2026, at the Rotary House located on Nugent Avenue in St. John’s, and it aims to carve out a deliberate, accessible space for young people across Antigua and Barbuda to unpack critical conversations around peace, conflict resolution, and ethical leadership.

    Chaired by Rotarian Dr. Errol Samuel, the interactive session will bring together a diverse cohort of invited guests, including national youth ambassadors and representatives from the CARICOM youth ambassador program. These young leaders will bring on-the-ground perspective to discussions about the most pressing challenges facing young people and local communities across the twin-island nation.

    Organizers have outlined a range of core topics tailored to the realities of modern youth life, addressing issues that too often escalate into division and harm. These include the growing prevalence of bullying and cyber-enabled conflict, common interpersonal disputes that can spiral into tension, and the persistent crisis of youth violence. The dialogue will also center on building core skills: intentional communication, empathetic engagement, ethical and responsible leadership, and evidence-based strategies for resolving conflict through peaceful means.

    This initiative is not an isolated event, but rather a core component of the Rotaract Club of Antigua’s broader 2026–2027 operational strategy, aligned with its organizational theme “Leading with Heart, Serving with Purpose.” The club has long centered its work on youth civic engagement and grassroots peacebuilding, and this event extends that commitment into actionable, community-centered programming.

    Through the “Peace Starts Here” initiative, organizers hope to empower young people to recognize their individual agency in creating more peaceful social environments. From school hallways and family homes to digital social platforms and neighborhood communities, the program emphasizes that every person has a role to play in fostering constructive dialogue, empathetic connection, and nonviolent approaches to disagreement.

    To expand the conversation beyond the in-person event, the club is also launching a public engagement campaign inviting young people and all community members to share their perspectives on peace. The campaign asks a simple, provocative question: “What does peace in Antigua and Barbuda mean to you?”, creating an opportunity for broader public input on what a peaceful nation looks like for its residents.

    Organizers extended an open invitation to all young people across Antigua and Barbuda, as well as interested members of the general public, to join the conversation. They emphasize that building a more peaceful, cohesive society starts with the small, intentional choices and actions of individual community members – and that this initiative is the first step toward cultivating that collective change.

  • Guyana, Suriname working on alternative vessel if MV Canawaima is taken out of service

    Guyana, Suriname working on alternative vessel if MV Canawaima is taken out of service

    As the critical cross-border ferry MV Canawaima faces a potential full suspension from service next month for urgent major repairs, Guyana and Suriname have moved forward to draft a contingency plan to avoid disrupting travel and trade between the two South American nations, Guyana’s Public Works Minister Juan Edghill confirmed in an interview Sunday.

    The aging vessel, which serves the busy route between Moleson Creek in Guyana and South Drain in Suriname across the shared Corentyne River, has only been granted a provisional operating permit that expires September 28. This temporary approval came after a six-day total service shutdown last month that left hundreds of passengers, dozens of vehicles, and tons of commercial goods stranded on both sides of the river. The ferry only resumed limited, temporary operations on August 29 following emergency patchwork repairs.

    Edghill told local outlet Demerara Waves Online News that authorities are preparing the Motor Barge Sandaka, a retired fallback vessel that previously stepped into the same role in 2019 during another service disruption, to take over operations if the Canawaima is pulled from the water for good. “We are working on the MB Sandaka which was used before,” Edghill noted, confirming the barge is being readied to minimize disruption to cross-border travel and commerce.

    The current deadline for the Canawaima was set earlier this September by the Suriname government, after a full inspection by the Suriname Maritime Administration uncovered a list of serious safety and technical shortcomings that failed to meet regional operating standards. Naraindeth Seopershad, chairman of the Canawaima Management Company, which operates the ferry, confirmed that core safety systems including fire suppression, emergency rapid evacuation infrastructure, and navigation radar all do not meet required regulatory benchmarks. Suriname officials also added that unresolved leaks in the vessel’s hydraulic systems pose an ongoing safety hazard.

    Officials on both sides note the Canawaima has not undergone a full major dry dock rehabilitation since 2021, and was originally scheduled for mandatory deep maintenance back in 2023. Inspections have also found that the ferry will reach the official end of its operational lifespan in 2027, leading senior Suriname officials to warn that a permanent replacement needs to be sourced immediately. Faizel Baarn, a presidential advisor to Suriname President Jennifer Simons, called the vessel’s current technical condition “worrying” and confirmed Simons has issued a formal order prioritizing passenger and cargo safety over maintaining uninterrupted service.

    Right now, the Canawaima Management Company is actively soliciting bids from qualified firms to carry out the required repairs and upgrades to address the safety gaps. Beyond immediate technical fixes, Seopershad added that a restructuring of the operating company is also needed to secure the long-term future of the key cross-border link, which is a critical corridor for travel, trade, and family connections between Guyana and Suriname.

  • Landslide in Delices area highlights ongoing South East access concerns

    Landslide in Delices area highlights ongoing South East access concerns

    A landslide that struck the AuDelices Road in southeastern Dominica over the weekend has amplified long-simmering community demands for the full restoration of a critical alternate route that has been partially complete for more than a decade after being destroyed by a major tropical storm. The event has exposed the vulnerabilities of limited transportation access in the region, impacting both local residents and the island’s key tourism sector.

    According to official statements from Dominica’s Ministry of Public Works, the landslide occurred late Saturday night, blocking the AuDelices Road and disrupting safe vehicle passage through the area. Fortunately, no injuries were reported in connection with the incident. By Sunday afternoon, heavy equipment had been mobilized to clear tonnes of rock and debris from the roadway, and authorities confirmed that driving access had been restored, though motorists are still being advised to proceed with extreme caution and plan for potential delays.

    Thomson Fontaine, leader of the island’s opposition United Workers Party (UWP), shared on-site updates Sunday via social media, noting that roughly a dozen tourists traveling through the area had to be rerouted before the road was cleared. Fontaine also claimed that a number of visitors who had planned trips to the nearby Rosalie region opted to cancel their flights and hotel reservations amid travel uncertainty caused by the landslide, dealing a fresh blow to the local tourism economy already strained by unreliable infrastructure.

    This latest landslide comes as communities in southeastern Dominica have continued to push for the full restoration of the Petite Savanne-Delices link road, a critical connection that was completely destroyed when Tropical Storm Erika hit the island in 2015. The storm also displaced the majority of residents in Petite Savanne and left the region with drastically limited travel options between neighboring communities. Almost immediately after the storm, the government pledged to restore full vehicular access to the area, and incremental progress has been reported over the intervening years.

    In April 2024, government officials noted that preliminary road clearing operations had cost roughly $2.6 million, while construction of the replacement Bagatelle Bridge ran to $2.5 million, with full reconstruction of the route through Petite Savanne set to follow mobilization. By January 2025, Public Works Minister Jullan Defoe announced that construction was ongoing, and that vehicles were already able to traverse the unfinished route, even though it had not yet received a formal official opening. However, more than 11 years after the storm destroyed the original road, the connection remains incomplete.

    Local community advocates have long highlighted the severe impacts of the lost connection on daily life in southeastern Dominica. A Change.org petition launched in November 2022 by Debra Charles-Mark, on behalf of area communities, framed the incomplete road restoration as an urgent public issue affecting healthcare access, school attendance, employment opportunities, emergency response times, and delivery of essential goods. The petition also outlines how the current limited route forces longer travel times, creating cascading economic and social harm for local residents.

    Charles-Mark updated the petition within hours of Sunday’s landslide, reporting that minor rockfall was still occurring in the area as of Sunday morning, and reiterated calls for the immediate full reopening of the Petite Savanne-Delices link road. The petition argues that restoring this connection would provide a much-needed alternate route for communities in the southeast, reducing overreliance on the geologically vulnerable AuDelices Road and mitigating the risk of future travel disruptions. In the wake of this latest landslide, the petition update calls on authorities to publish a clear official timeline for the link road’s completion, conduct full geotechnical risk assessments of all affected travel routes, and maintain safe alternate access for residents while construction is finalized.

    While the government has repeatedly reaffirmed its commitment to completing the Petite Savanne-Delices link road, the continued partial status of the project, paired with this latest disruptive landslide, has underscored the urgency of addressing the region’s infrastructure gaps. Community leaders and opposition figures alike are now doubling down on calls for accelerated progress to improve transportation safety and reliability for both local residents and visitors to Dominica’s scenic southeastern coast.

  • SHE CAN initiative paves the way for Saint Lucia’s first WCPL Team

    SHE CAN initiative paves the way for Saint Lucia’s first WCPL Team

    Caribbean cricket is set to take a landmark step toward gender equity with the launch of a groundbreaking initiative that could expand the Limacol Women’s Caribbean Premier League (WCPL) to a fifth franchise based in Saint Lucia by 2028. The project, spearheaded by the newly announced SHE CAN women’s cricket trust fund, is the brainchild of veteran Saint Lucian entrepreneur and business strategist Tarjia Julien, who designed the initiative to address longstanding gaps in professional support for female cricketers across the Caribbean.

    For decades, top female cricket talent across the region has faced an all-too-common barrier: when major tournaments like the WCPL end, competitive opportunities dry up, forcing many skilled players to walk away from the sport entirely rather than building sustainable long-term careers. To solve this problem, the 12-to-24-month SHE CAN initiative will introduce year-round contracts for regional female cricketers, creating a continuous development pipeline that supports athletes between tournaments and nurtures talent from the grassroots level up.

    The trust has already secured initial seed funding from a diverse group of backers, including existing investors from the men’s Caribbean cricket circuit, a community-focused Fan Pool Fund, and two high-profile current West Indies Women cricketers, Deandra Dottin and Karishma Ramharack. Beyond just adding a new franchise to the WCPL, Julien’s vision for SHE CAN extends far beyond the boundary rope, framing the initiative as a catalyst for broader social and economic change across the Caribbean.

    In an exclusive conversation with St. Lucia Times, Julien explained that the project is built on more than just growing the sport – it aims to create a full ecosystem that moves promising young female athletes from raw talent to professional opportunity, and from public visibility to leadership roles across sectors. “For decades, women’s cricket in the Caribbean produced exceptional talent, but the professional structures needed to support that talent were limited,” Julien noted. “The emergence of the Women’s Caribbean Premier League has demonstrated that women’s cricket can attract audiences, inspire communities, and become a powerful vehicle for social and economic transformation. SHE CAN is important because it seeks to strengthen and build the ecosystem around the player and the fans.”

    The initiative aligns with a growing regional movement centered on placing women at the forefront of Caribbean development, working to break down the interconnected financial, educational, and social barriers that have held back female athlete development for generations. SHE CAN is structured as a collaborative movement, bringing together fans, players, corporate entities, educational institutions, community groups, and regional governing bodies to build a holistic support network that nurtures talent off the pitch as well as on it.

    Julien emphasized that the initiative’s success depends on collective action from across the region, calling on a wide range of stakeholders to contribute in ways that match their capacity. “There is a role for everyone,” she said. “Corporate partners can provide sponsorships, professional development opportunities, and support. Governments and institutions can support policy initiatives, facilities, and youth development programmes. Community organisations can help identify and nurture emerging talent. Mentors and professionals can volunteer their expertise to guide young women. Supporters and fans can attend matches, share stories, advocate for women’s cricket, and contribute to the movement. The true power of SHE CAN lies in collective action.”

    The formal launch of SHE CAN, including the official establishment of the trust and its independent governance framework, is scheduled for January 27, 2027. Fan participation is open to all, with entry-level membership starting at just $25. The first 500 founding public supporters will receive special recognition at the WCPL Final following the launch.

  • Frankrijk en Canada aan Trump: aan onze grenzen en soevereiniteit wordt niet getornd

    Frankrijk en Canada aan Trump: aan onze grenzen en soevereiniteit wordt niet getornd

    In a striking departure from traditional diplomatic venue choices, French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney gathered for high-stakes talks this week on Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, a tiny French overseas archipelago located just 25 kilometers off the Canadian coast. The location choice carries sharp political weight, coming on the heels of a provocative move by U.S. President Donald Trump, who recently shared an altered image depicting the French territory under an American flag. During his visit, Macron left no room for ambiguity about the islands’ status, forcefully reaffirming French sovereignty over the territory. This historic visit marks the first time a sitting French president has traveled to Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon since 2014.

    The timing of the meeting is no coincidence. Both Paris and Ottawa are currently navigating heightened diplomatic and trade tensions with Washington, and Canada has been actively pursuing deeper economic and strategic ties with Europe to reduce its long-standing overreliance on the United States. Just days before the Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon talks, Carney addressed the European Parliament to argue for a far closer strategic partnership between Canada and the European Union, identifying energy, defense, artificial intelligence, critical minerals, and digital trade as core areas for expanded collaboration.

    Located in the North Atlantic Ocean just off the coast of Canada’s Newfoundland and Labrador region, Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon is made up of eight small islands and stands as the last remaining French sovereign territory in North America. France and Canada share a maritime border around the archipelago, a geographic fact that infuses the Macron-Carney meeting with unique symbolic meaning. Global news agency Reuters has characterized the visit as an intentional, coordinated signal directed at the Trump administration, a reading widely shared by diplomatic observers following Trump’s provocative social media post.

    Beyond the symbolic posture against Trump’s territorial provocation, the two leaders used the meeting to advance concrete discussions on expanding cooperation in areas that are increasingly central to shifting global power dynamics. Energy cooperation topped the bilateral agenda, with additional talks covering aerospace development, critical mineral supply chains, and advanced technologies including quantum computing, satellite infrastructure, and supercomputing research.

    For Canada, this meeting is part of a broader, deliberate strategy to diversify its international economic partnerships. Carney has made no secret of his government’s push for closer alignment with Europe at a time when Canada-U.S. trade relations are under growing strain. In a significant policy shift, the European Commission has recently floated the idea of Canada exploring a never-before-used “associate membership” status with the bloc. What this status would entail legally and practically remains unclear, and the proposal has already sparked internal debate among EU member states.

    Trump has already issued sharp criticism of Canada’s European overtures and threatened punitive trade measures in response. Carney has pushed back against this pressure, emphasizing that deeper Canada-EU cooperation is not intended to create a new anti-U.S. power bloc. At the same time, Carney has highlighted the mutual benefits of the partnership: Canada holds extensive reserves of strategically important commodities that Europe is eager to access, including energy resources and critical minerals, and Carney has proposed expanding exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and clean hydrogen to European markets.

    In sum, the meeting on the tiny islands of Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon carries implications that stretch far beyond the archipelago’s limited geographic footprint. While Trump’s altered map reignited global debates over territorial sovereignty and the projection of American power, Macron and Carney seized the same location to simultaneously reaffirm French sovereignty and demonstrate a shared commitment to deepening strategic cooperation between Canada and Europe at a moment of shifting global alliances.

  • Independence Weekend Is Here: Drive Sober, Get Home Safe

    Independence Weekend Is Here: Drive Sober, Get Home Safe

    As Belize prepares to mark its 45th year of independence this weekend, public safety agencies across the country have stepped up coordinated appeals for responsible road use, particularly targeting impaired driving amid nationwide celebrations headlined by Orange Walk’s iconic Carnival Road March.

    The Ministry of Infrastructure Development and Housing has emphasized that upholding strict road safety standards remains one of its core priorities over the holiday period. In a public statement released ahead of the weekend, the ministry stressed that using a designated sober driver is a responsible, shame-free choice that can prevent tragic accidents and ensure all revelers return home without harm.

    This latest public safety appeal builds on a road safety awareness outreach held this past Saturday in downtown Belize City, which was organized as part of the Ministry of Health and Wellness’ ongoing “Stay Alive, Arrive Alive” September campaign. The interactive event, developed in partnership with the National Drug Abuse Control Council and the Belize Police Department, directly engaged with road users including motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians to discuss the importance of responsible behavior on streets and highways.

    “Road safety is everyone’s responsibility,” the Ministry of Health and Wellness affirmed in its messaging for the campaign.

    Authorities are extending the warning to all travelers, regardless of their plans: whether journeying to Orange Walk for the Carnival Road March, commuting between towns to gather with loved ones, or heading out for small-scale local independence celebrations, all motorists are strongly urged to avoid getting behind the wheel after consuming alcohol.

    Public safety officials are advising residents to plan ahead for a safe ride home: anyone intending to drink during independence festivities should arrange for a designated driver or book an alternative sober mode of transportation before celebrations begin, to eliminate last-minute risky decisions.

    As the nation comes together to mark 45 years of independence, agencies are calling on all Belizeans to celebrate the milestone responsibly, prioritizing the safety of themselves, their passengers, and other road users across the country.

  • Where is PC Kenyon Barrow? Search Continues

    Where is PC Kenyon Barrow? Search Continues

    Nearly a week after 24-year-old on-duty police officer Kenyon Barrow cut off all contact with friends and family, coordinated search operations resumed at dawn on September 20, 2026, to locate the missing law enforcement officer stationed in Orange Walk District.

    The official search team departed at 8:30 a.m. from the Belize Defence Force Camp adjacent to Muffles College Auditorium on San Andres Street, launching a fresh sweep of areas of interest in the region. As of the latest update, no trace of Barrow has been uncovered by search teams.

    The timeline of Barrow’s disappearance dates back to September 11, when the officer made his last confirmed contact with loved ones. Surveillance camera records obtained by investigators show Barrow leaving his West San Martin Street residence in Trial Farm around midnight on that date, with no confirmed sightings of the officer reported since then.

    News of Barrow’s unexplained disappearance has spread rapidly across local social media platforms, sparking widespread concern across the community. Friends, former classmates and relatives have shared public appeals, urging anyone with information to come forward and praying for Barrow’s safe return. A former educator who taught Barrow described him as a sharp, intelligent young man, while another community member who knows him characterized the officer as quiet and reserved, echoing calls for his safe recovery.

    For his mother, Therese Robinson, Barrow’s prolonged silence is completely out of the ordinary. In an interview with local outlet News 5 on Friday, Robinson explained that Barrow had always been consistent about answering her calls before his disappearance, and the uncharacteristic lack of communication has left her increasingly worried about his safety.

    “Everyone who knows Kenyon is worried sick about him,” Robinson said. “All I ask right now is that if he is safe and unharmed, he just reaches out to let us know he’s okay.”

    Robinson has conducted her own search for clues, tracing her son’s connection to a rental property in the Blackwater area. When she contacted the landlord of that residence, she learned Barrow had not been seen at the property for roughly two months, even though monthly rent had continued to be paid automatically online. That changed this week, however: the rent payment due this past Wednesday never went through, deepening the mystery around Barrow’s whereabouts.

    Robinson is asking any member of the public who may have seen Barrow or has information about where he could be to contact local law enforcement immediately, or reach her directly at the phone number 609-4492.

    In a background note from an unnamed police source, it has been revealed that this is not the first time Barrow has failed to report for duty without advance notice, though no further details about previous absences have been released to the public. Search operations are set to continue as investigators work to piece together what led to the officer’s disappearance.

  • “I Just Feel Lost”: Eugene Thompson Breaks Down in Emotional Livestream

    “I Just Feel Lost”: Eugene Thompson Breaks Down in Emotional Livestream

    A devastating turn of events has left a Belize City man displaced and distraught, sharing his raw grief with the public via an emotional live-streamed video that has drawn widespread attention to his crisis.

    On a Tuesday in late September 2026, a catastrophic fire tore through Eugene Thompson’s residence in the Belama neighborhood of Belize District, reducing the home he had built his life in to a pile of charred rubble. What makes the tragedy even more wrenching? The disaster came just 24 hours after Belize’s Family Court ordered Thompson to vacate the property amid an ongoing domestic dispute with his former common-law partner, Ashema Chang. The 15-day eviction order left Thompson with no permanent place to go even before the fire broke out, and the inferno has now destroyed any chance of returning to his home in the near future.

    In a 12-minute live broadcast shared online, a visibly shaken Thompson could not hold back his tears as he described the overwhelming despair of losing everything he owned. Walking through the still-smoldering ruins of his property during the stream, Thompson called the aftermath “pure shambles, pure nothing”, struggling to process the total loss of the space he once called home.

    “Anybody who sees me riding around out here would think I’m happy, but I’m not happy about nothing,” Thompson said in the broadcast. “I got food and I can’t eat it, can’t do nothing. I just feel lost. Everybody has emotions, and I have to walk back right now and look at something I once called home… pure shambles, pure nothing. How am I supposed to feel as a man?”

    Since the fire, Thompson has relied on the kindness of neighbors for emergency temporary shelter, turning to his community for a roof over his head after official channels offered only limited support. Local law enforcement has issued a wanted poster for Chang, who is currently sought for questioning in connection with the suspicious blaze.

    While government officials from the Human Services department have offered short-term temporary accommodation, Thompson says that band-aid solution does not address his core need: long-term support to rebuild the home he lost. He has also openly criticized the court system that forced him to leave the property just one day before the fire destroyed it, arguing that the ruling put him in an unthinkable position.

    “This system is messed up,” Thompson said. “The system just wants to put you in pain. I’ll be honest with you, this is pain—watching something you once called home turned to nothing. I’m tired of it, I’m tired of feeling bitter, I’m tired of feeling bad. I’ve never needed anything from anybody, I just tried to live a life, an honest life.”

    The incident has sparked local conversation about how the country’s legal system handles emergency eviction orders in domestic disputes, and gaps in support for people left displaced by unexpected disasters following court rulings.

  • The flavours that made us: Barbados is on the menu

    The flavours that made us: Barbados is on the menu

    As Barbados prepares to mark a landmark milestone – 60 years of national independence and five years as a republic – the island’s annual Food and Rum Festival is turning the celebration into an edible journey through Bajan identity, putting local culture, heritage, and culinary talent front and center.

    For acclaimed Barbadian chef Damian Leach, the connection between home and flavor is not just a professional focus – it is a lifelong, sensory memory. Before any dish touches his tongue, the scent of saltfish simmering in a pot is enough to carry him back to his childhood. Roasted breadfruit, its soft, creamy texture paired perfectly with salted cod, is another staple etched into his culinary origin story. Leach credits his mother and grandmother for his first lessons in flavor, noting that a great cook’s education begins at the family table. “You gotta learn flavours from home first,” he says, laughing that growing up eating well is the foundation of any great culinary career. Years of global exploration have expanded his palate, but he says those early, familiar tastes remain the heart of his work.

    That focus on home as a starting point is the core theme of this year’s festival, running from November 5 to 8. For event lead Carol Roberts Reifer, the 2025 gathering carries extra weight amid the dual national celebrations. “This year is especially meaningful as we celebrate 60 and five,” she explains. “Food allows us to share who we are in a way people can experience for themselves.”

    Widely hailed as the culinary capital of the Caribbean, Barbados already offers instant, joyful flavor experiences from the grilled fresh marlin served at Oistins beachside stalls to the crispy, hot bite of a traditional Bajan fishcake. This year’s festival builds on that legacy, inviting attendees to explore how a new generation of local chefs is reimagining those beloved classic flavors.

    The event traces its origins back to 2010, when it launched as the Barbados Food, Wine and Rum Festival, drawing big-name international culinary stars like Marcus Samuelsson and Anne Burrell to the island. In 2016, ahead of the 50th anniversary of Barbados’ independence, the festival rebranded to its current name, shifting the spotlight to local Barbadian culinary talent. A decade on, that commitment to elevating homegrown creators remains central to the festival’s programming.

    One of the festival’s most anticipated signature events is Rise & Rum, themed “Bridgetown, Early Saturday Morning”, which honors the island’s culinary roots. Leach’s personal, memory-rich connection to homegrown flavor infuses the event, bringing warmth rooted in the people who shaped him and the tastes he first discovered as a child.

    No celebration of Bajan culinary identity would be complete without rum, Barbados’ iconic gift to the world. The island is universally recognized as the birthplace of rum, with a distilling tradition stretching back to the 17th century – legendary distillery Mount Gay traces its own heritage all the way to 1703. For award-winning local mixologist Ashley Morgan, a distinctly Bajan cocktail is about more than just local rum: it draws from every ingredient grown on the island. “Most of everything that you can find [in a great Bajan cocktail] is local on the island,” she says, pointing to the unique, bright flavor of locally grown Barbadian grapefruit as a standout ingredient. Morgan has kept most of her festival menu under wraps, sharing only one tantalizing hint: meringue will make a surprise appearance in one of her signature creations. The full reveal will have to wait until November.

    The festival’s premium Liquid Gold Feast event carries the theme “These Fields and Hills”, centered on the slogan “This is what sustains us”. The event centers the often-unrecognized work of local farmers and producers, tracing the full journey of Bajan cuisine from farm to table. Over the coming weeks, the festival will highlight more of these growers and their work ahead of the main event.

    The festival officially kicks off with a launch event at Haymans on October 10, with the main November programming opening with “Oistins Under the Stars” on Thursday, November 5, starting at 6 p.m. with free admission for the public. The beachside location already draws crowds for its evening grilled fish and live music, making it a natural, welcoming opening for the celebration.

    On Friday, November 6, international chef demonstrations will take place across three scenic locations: Speightstown Esplanade, Hastings Rocks and Pile Bay. Later that evening, the Rum Route event kicks off at 6 p.m., dedicating an entire evening to celebrating the island’s most famous spirit.

    Saturday brings an early start for Rise & Rum, which begins at 4 a.m. on November 7 at Copacabana on Bay Street, with Morgan leading the mixology programming. Attendees will enjoy breakfast and signature cocktails as the sun rises over Carlisle Bay. The festival also features live entertainment from top local Bajan acts including Alison Hinds, Rupee and Lil Rick, adding another layer of local culture to the celebration of Bajan identity.

    The festival wraps up on Sunday, November 8 with the Liquid Gold Feast at CARIFESTA House in Waterford. Leach will be joined by other leading local culinary talents including Javon Cummins and pastry chef Esther James, alongside visiting international chefs Fatmata Binta and Jason Howard.

    Roberts Reifer says the festival’s core goal is to create a space that feels meaningful for both locals and visitors. “We want Barbadians to recognise something of themselves here, and visitors to get to know the people behind the food,” she explains. “The farmers, fishermen, the mixologists, the culinary artists and the families who kept these traditions alive all have a place in this celebration.”

    A celebration marking two major national milestones deserves a generous spread, and this year’s festival makes room for both beloved familiar favorites and exciting new discoveries. This November, the whole island of Barbados is on the menu – and all are invited to come hungry.

    Ticket pricing for individual events is set in Barbados dollars: $200 for Rum Route, $250 for Rise and Rum, and $350 for Liquid Gold Feast. A combination ticket for Rise and Rum and Liquid Gold Feast is available for $500. More information and ticketing can be found at ticketnation.bb.

  • Caribbean infrastructure challenge is bankability not capital

    Caribbean infrastructure challenge is bankability not capital

    Despite boasting a robust pipeline of infrastructure proposals and ample access to global capital, the Caribbean region continues to struggle to translate development ideas into investment-ready, financially viable projects capable of enduring economic volatility, political shifts, and multi-decade operational timelines. That key finding took center stage during a dedicated session at the 2024 Caribbean Infrastructure Forum (CARIF), titled “The Mechanics of Bankable Projects: How To Best Use the Tools Available”, which brought together top leaders from regional banking, development finance, and global advisory to outline pathways for attracting larger volumes of private capital to the region’s critical infrastructure sector.

    Speaking at the panel, Kemar Polius, Senior Director and Head of Corporate Banking and Sustainable Finance at CIBC Caribbean, framed project bankability as fundamentally rooted in investor confidence. “Capital follows confidence: confidence in project sponsors, confidence in long-term cash flows, confidence in regulatory frameworks, and confidence in contractual agreements,” Polius explained. With a presence across 10 Caribbean markets and a track record of leading or arranging more than $1.5 billion in infrastructure deals over the past 10 years — supporting high-priority assets including ports, airports, and hospitals — Polius noted that most project failures occur long before financing proposals reach commercial lenders.

    “Where we see projects stall or collapse is long before they come to us for a term sheet or final financing approval. The bottleneck is almost always on the project preparation side,” he said, pointing to common gaps including incomplete feasibility studies, unresolved regulatory permitting, and fragmented or inconsistent regulatory frameworks that erode investor trust. “We are not short of project ideas, and we are certainly not short of available capital, as the strong attendance here at CARIF proves. The missing piece is consistent, high-quality project preparation.”

    The session, moderated by Victoria Miles, Founding Partner of ImpactA Global, assembled a cross-sector panel of experts including Polius, Roger Kirton (Director of Deal Advisory at KPMG Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean), Naweed Nuhuman (Director of Deal Advisory for KPMG CARICOM), and Pablo Pereira dos Santos (Principal for Public-Private Partnerships at the Inter-American Development Bank, IDB). Panelists explored a range of mechanisms available to governments seeking to mobilize private investment, including public-private partnerships (PPPs), blended finance structures, risk guarantees, and strategic risk allocation. Across all discussions, however, participants consistently circled back to the non-negotiable importance of early-stage preparation, predictable revenue streams, credible regulatory and contractual frameworks, and assigning risk to the stakeholder best positioned to manage it effectively.

    Polius also warned against the common pitfall of aligning long-lived infrastructure projects with short political election cycles. “Many projects stall out because they are designed to fit the term of a single administration, but infrastructure assets by their nature operate across decades,” he said. “The contractual frameworks that underpin these projects absolutely must stand the test of time and survive political transitions.” He cited the $300 million Prince George Wharf redevelopment project in The Bahamas as a successful model: the project maintained consistent momentum across multiple changes in government and continued construction through the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, which brought unprecedented disruption to the Caribbean’s core tourism sector. At the project’s opening ceremony, three consecutive Bahamian prime ministers were in attendance, a visible demonstration of the cross-administration continuity that builds long-term investor confidence.

    Pereira dos Santos echoed this assessment, noting that political and institutional continuity is particularly critical given the extended timelines of major infrastructure development. A complex project can require three to six years of preparation before it even reaches the market for financing, he explained, and the resulting operating concession can extend for 30 years or more. “When you sign the final agreement, the project isn’t over — it’s just getting started,” he said.

    The discussion also covered the rising use of blended finance, and the role that multilateral development institutions play in helping projects reach financial close. Polius described concessional financing and partnerships with multilaterals as valuable “accelerators” that can support early-stage project preparation, strengthen government institutional capacity, and provide guarantees and other risk-mitigation tools that make projects attractive to commercial investors. However, he emphasized that development finance should complement, rather than replace, private commercial capital, outlining three core principles to guide this collaboration: additionality (confirming concessional support is necessary for the project to move forward), targeting (ensuring the intervention addresses a specific identified risk), and proportionality (matching the level of support to the actual need).

    Pereira dos Santos reinforced this view, noting that blended finance delivers the greatest value when it is used to address residual risks after a project has already been fully prepared and structured. “Finance cannot fix all the foundational flaws an underprepared project has. Trying to do that is a guaranteed recipe for failure,” he said.

    Limited project scale remains an additional persistent challenge for the Caribbean, where many high-priority projects in emerging sectors like renewable energy are relatively small by global investment standards. Panelists identified project aggregation and the development of repeatable, predictable project pipelines as key strategies to address this barrier, allowing investors to aggregate smaller assets into larger, more attractive investment bundles. Kirton emphasized that regional governments need to move beyond publishing generic lists of infrastructure ambitions to give investors the clarity they require. “Investors don’t just want to see a laundry list of desired projects. They need prioritized proposals, completed preparation, clear procurement processes, stable regulatory frameworks, and a visible pipeline that lets them plan long-term capital deployment,” he explained.

    The session also highlighted a growing shift in investment interest beyond traditional Caribbean infrastructure assets such as airports, seaports, and tourism-related developments. Panelists noted that renewable energy, water infrastructure, climate-resilient construction, and digital infrastructure are all attracting rising attention from global investors.

    For the Caribbean, unlocking this wave of new capital will depend less on proving that infrastructure is needed — a case that is already widely accepted — and more on consistently delivering well-prepared projects that investors can confidently back over the long term. As Polius summed up, the core requirements for success are straightforward but non-negotiable: credible project sponsors, predictable long-term cash flows, durable contractual agreements, and regulatory environments built to last.