IWEco Rehabilitation of Quarries (ROQ) in north east Trinidad

As part of the IWEco Rehabilitation of Quarries (ROQ) project in Trinidad, IAMovement is undergoing a project entitled, “Building Climate Resilience through Community Led Rehabilitation” in partnership with the GEF Small Grants Programme and UNDP, the EMA, National Quarries Company Limited and the Trust for Sustainable Livelihoods, among many other vital contributing partners. As the T&T implementing agency for the Integrating Water, Land and Ecosystems Management in the Caribbean Small Island Developing States (IWEco) Project, the EMA is working with IAMovement to translate the first phase of the project kick-started through support from GEF SGP, towards the goal of rehabilitating 20 hectares of land over a 4-year period. The initial program being implemented from August 2018 to July 2019 seeks to develop and train 30 community participants from Turure Community in Sangre Grande and environs, to become “Quarry Rehabilitation Champions”. In partnership with the Trust for Sustainable Livelihoods (SusTrust), participants train and engage in classroom learning and field quarry rehabilitation techniques. IAMovement’s focus has primarily been on (i) the use of vetiver grass and The Vetiver System (VS), which aids in slope stabilization, reducing soil erosion, and soil and water conservation among other things; as well as (ii) the channeling of organic waste streams into a mulching system to rebuild organic topsoil, whereby waste is also diverted from the Trinidad landfills thus reducing stress on their already overloaded capacities. Organic wastes being used primarily include grass, shrub and tree cuttings, sargassum seaweed, wood chips, and spent grain from beer brewing processes at the Carib Brewery. This program is meant to serve as a vital kick-starter ‘training and learning pilot project’ under the broader IWEco, where 2 hectares of land will be rehabilitated contributing to the IWEco’s greater 4-year goals of 20 hectares. Another prominent aspect of the IAMovement-led project is the production of carbon-neutral beautifully handcrafted Vetiver products, such as baskets, mats, chairs, fragrant root bundles and soaps. Participants who learned how to make these products are now developing the opportunity to earn livelihoods through independent production and sale, or integration into a newly launched cooperative brand called House of Vetiver, which was born in Paramin under the original ‘Vetiver Education & Empowerment Project (VEEP)’ implemented there in 2016-2017. After having learned under the original GEF SGP supported VEEP, members of the Paramin community helped bring that knowledge to the Turure, Sangre Grande Quarry Rehabilitation project, leading training on the production of handicrafts.