House of Vetiver

The prototype Vetiver Education & Empowerment Project (VEEP) model was developed in the hillside farming community of Paramin, Trinidad in 2016 – and it was there that the community supported brand “House of Vetiver” was born. While the primary goal of VEEP is to introduce rural communities to vetiver grass as a bioengineering tool to help tackle soil and water challenges and build resilience to extreme weather, another component included in the project model is training on the production of sustainable and carbon neutral vetiver handicrafts. These include baskets, mats, (upcylced) chairs, fragrant root bundles, and soaps – among other items such as Christmas decorations and more.

Vetiver handicraft training for the Paramin project was provided to participants by Mr. Milton John, originally from St Vincent, who has been skillfully producing vetiver handicrafts and selling privately to customers in Trinidad for over 40 years. The project participants took pride in the high quality items they learned to produce during the project, with several members continuing to further practice and refine their expertise after the project ended producing various items for sale. With the second iteration of VEEP taking place in another community in north eastern Trinidad – Sangre Grande, in 2018, with focus on the Rehabilitation of Quarries (ROQ) under the IWEco Regional Project; one of the original Paramin project trainees Ms Shurland Romany became the trainer! Through a series of workshops led by Shurland, approximately 15 new community members in Trinidad were trained in vetiver craft making.

Throughout 2018, House of Vetiver was further developed as a platform for vetiver handicrafts to be produced and sold by community members from anywhere across Trinidad & Tobago at fair value; empowering women, men and youth in low income areas. Products are taken to market under the brand and sold to customers interested in the wide range of beautiful, sustainable and high-quality ‘artesanía’.

House of Vetiver can be followed on Facebook and Instagram; and to make orders you may contact: houseofvetiver@gmail.com and +1 868 352 5061