Sage Garden Barbados

16/06/2024

🌱✨ Before & After: Agricultural Transformation ✨🌱 Mission Work

Welcome to Day 1 of our rebirthing journey! 🚜🌿 We’re excited to share the start of our transformation with you. Despite facing challenges, we're dedicated to clearing the path, reinventing our approach, and removing obstacles to bring our vision to life.

Here’s a sneak peek of where we started and a glimpse of the progress we've made so far. 📸

A wise woman once told me to never give up on my vision, no matter what. So here we are, staying true to that advice and committed to making this dream a reality. 🌾💪

27/10/2023

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03/06/2020

We get by with a little help from our friends, and we can in no way do this alone! As such, our group of friends, allies, kind hearts and experts who help us out in a pinch mean the world to us.⠀
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Amidst the lockdown, as farmers with emergency passes, the first two weeks were rough and we were a bit scattered we are still aligning our minds and spirits to move through all of this new information around food security that has been the banter since lockdown. ⠀
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We acknowledge that overnight our world shifted to a point where our livelihood was compromised, and the new model of economics is at best teetering on the brink of support. This, while scary, is also another opportunity for us to think about bartering, cooperatives, allyship and other collective community initiatives that would bring us into thinking about our ecologies in healthy and holistic ways.⠀
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We might be small, but that makes us nimble and crafty. Early during COVID-19, we managed to get some assistance laying piping from a dam near Sedge Pond and recently we were able to secure a secondary water source which means that we are nearing our goal of growing and shaping the land. We are patient and know that it will take a few years for all of what we envision to come to be. Every box ticked is a celebration deep in our souls. ⠀
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It is essential to know the history of the thing that you are in; it is wise to know that the rules of engagement can turn into new narratives of possibility. If we are serious about food security in our countries, we need to be serious with our minds and practices. As people of colour who are moving towards securing our livelihoods and reconnecting to nature, we know we cant be unsteady with our input nor accountability. ⠀
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03/06/2020

We have been silent on our end as COVID-19 put a spoke in our wheels but not in our ideas or imaginations. We have been working slowly but surely to counter the issues around being on water-scarce land with hopes to start integrating mosaic landscape applications to turn our land of promise into a sustainable tropical food forest with healing at its core.⠀
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We have been using the time to prepare for the rains to come. ⠀
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With drought conditions expecting to persist into the first seven months of 2020, with 2019 being the driest year on record in some 70 years, we are facing an uphill battle to ensure our sustainability and viability early on. As such, we have begun to clear and furrow the terraces, and we have begun planting undergrowth crops like cassava, pumpkins, sweet potatoes. We have also littered the first terrace with coconuts and bananas, and the cherries we pruned in February are beginning to sprout and bud. ⠀
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It is exciting to see the drought-resistant crops bloom and thrive and as we survey the shrub forest, we are beginning to map what we need to bring this green and flourishing food and healing space into being. We have designated our two water catchment on the lowest points of the land and near gabions as we prepare for the rains to fall. We have also identified a dam close to the property in Bawdens that we can use as a secondary water source.⠀
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It has been daunting to think about how climate change is going to continue to impact our Small Island Developing States and now that we are moving full force into Hurricane season and rainy season we acknowledge that the patterns that came before are shifting drastically and as farmers and healers our jobs now are to survey the various landscapes to make the best decisions for the longevity of the project. ⠀
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In the midst of it all, we keep anchored in our practices of praying and honouring the ancestors who have survived droughts, turmoil and upheaval that we cannot envision and created systems of resilience which provided them with adequate nourishment, medicines and life force. These are hard times, but these are also essential times to invite our creativity to the table.⠀
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15/04/2020

When we were granted the six acres of land through the FEED programme scheme, we knew that it was going to be quite difficult to think about what sustainability would mean as Barbados, a water-scarce country, has entered one of the most severe droughts since the 1940s. Aquifers are at their lowest levels in years, and April showers have been slow to come and when and if the June showers arrive we want to be able to be prepared to store as much as we can and be in an environment that offers clear and safe passage to the nourishment.

Across our islands, we live in disconnection with nature. By observing this, we are understanding less and less about our role as stewards and equals to nature. When we chose to not care for our environment, we dirty our homes and spread energectic disharmony with nature. This blockage needs to be cleared; the first thing that we can do is to take track of our actions around and within nature.

And so, during the end of January early February, we undertook a few days of walking the stream that runs to the northern end of the land, surveying, clearing and cleaning it of debris and garbage. We worked with Sky our neighbour from the Sojourner Foundation, Adrian, Ramo, Brad and had fun with makeshift rakes, chainsaws and fire. A few days after we did the work, as predicted by several professionals from the Soil Conservation Unit, the stream dried up. We will be using the waterway during the rainy season as a point of collection and in the coming years, the banks to grow beautiful tropical flowers and even more medicine.

28/03/2020

Cherita and I have been taking a lot of time developing an intimate space for us to share and grow our gifts. I won't lie, the energectic chaos that we are all feeling as a collective is bearing now and overspilling revealing the raw, worn, hurt and traumatised parts of ourselves.

This low vibrational energy if not contained, managed and or transmuted can dredge up patterns of fear, hostility, resentment– all evidenced by the hoarding, xenophobia, upswing of nationalism, and the political tactics of late-stage capitalism which will severely impact the elderly, poor, and underdeveloped countries of the global south, which we in the Caribbean are a part of.

Like most allies, I want to tap out of the fear and into something else. Into something rich, cosmic, interconnected and creative. I want for this celestial shift of Saturn/Pluto conjunct (structure butting up with the shadow and underworld) and the Age of Aquarius, to shed light on the systems that continue to compromise our hearts and souls from healing, expansion and evolution.

I believe the core of this is grounding is in spiritual practice, rooted in ancestral knowledge and alignment within Mother Nature. Earth's Energetics are powerful and we neglect her ability to heal even when we have pushed her capacity and bled her of resources, poisoning ourselves in return. We have moved far away from our purpose, our intentionality and I know many of us are struggling to find homes of reconnection and spaces where we can feel like we belong or be in our truth, irrespective of how brutal or difficult they might be.

I feel this sense of home when I am grounding my feet in Mother Earth, when my hands are wrapped in soil, and when my heart space is comforted by the quiet, colours, skies and wind. I feel this infinite peace, the ancestors and cosmic connectivity and when I brush up against a plant that calls out to me when the medicine that I am unaware I need moves into orbit with me. In this moment I am transformed, healed and held.

I still don't yet fully understand how Sage Garden Barbados will manifest and what it will become outside of our hard work, passion and our fathers working double time in the ancestral realm to become upright and to bring this knowledge to us. The one thing I know is that being on the land makes me happy. The energetic chaos of this moment doesn't enter into our space, the land provides a vortex where other thoughts, cosmologies and other realities are abundant.

This Earth (elemental) medicine is potent, resourceful, dangerous, sacred and willfully stubborn.

With love and earth blessings,
Holly

26/03/2020

Our ancestors have been using earth medicine from time immemorial to clear our bodies of illness, poisons and toxins while moving blockages in our energetic bodies to make way for the spirit of healing our ancestral lines of traumas. This medicine is plentiful on our six acres, and during this drought, the vines are sprouting, happy and miraculous in their spread. The Earth Mother is witnessing the spread of this disease and in her generosity, growing medicine all over as a reminder of her love and care towards humanity.

Cerasee, Momordica Charantia, is a herbaceous tropical vine from the Cucurbitaceae family, widely grown in Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean. It is also known as bitter melon, bitter squash, or balsam-pear, and is believed to have originated in India and was later introduced into China in the 14th century. The yellow fruit which the plant produces, bitter melon or bitter guard, can be eaten raw and is cooked in many Chinese and Indian dishes. As a child once ripened, we would suck the red seeds, although now we know that this can be poisonous.

Across the Caribbean, cerasee's leaves and stem are usually boiled or drawn into a tea and taken for a number of ailments including hypertension, diabetes, parasitic worms, abdominal pains, and purging/detoxing the body and blood. Cerasee is also used for constipation, and it is sometimes given to children for fevers and colds. In addition, cerasee is also used sometimes with other herbs to make a bush bath to treat skin problems like rashes and eczema. Cerasee is also used as a tea to reduce menstrual pains and to cure urinary tract infections.

Spiritually it is used to clear energetic blockages, it aids in loosening spiritual cords and decreasing negative attachments, and it is a visioning medicine. There are other applications around this plant medicine that we would love to know more about. Please share knowledge of your traditions and customs and how you use this in your immunity arsenal.

29/02/2020

Today we had the pleasure of welcoming the Hon. Rabindre Parmessar, Minister of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries of Suriname and Tania Lieuw-A-Soe, Chairman of the Woman’s Agricultural Corporative to our Sage Garden.

Many thanks to the for this connection as Barbados and Suriname strengthen ties to develop awareness around Brokopondo Programme. This programme focuses on build a thriving exchange environment to support food security and knowledge transfer between the countries. We are thankful for the opportunity to share in our journey.

19/02/2020

A few weeks ago we started the hedges along the terraces of the land with Fiddlewood, Jamoon/Jamun/Java Plum to act as a windbreak while we think about the fruit groves that we will plant once the drought passes. Some say we will get rain in June, and some say Barbados will be in a dry spell through October. Tonight, as the drizzle and rain wet the land in Turners Hall, we are grateful for these brief moments of respite.
So far, we have planted about 50 coconuts, five flamboyants, five neem trees, one curry leaf or sweet neem tree and we have finally cleared our cherry grove. We have had several essential voices/friends on the land who are giving us council and lending their time to advise us on water security, w**d control and all-around direction for the first steps.
These allies are essential for the sustainability of the land, along with giving us ideas about how we will innovate and care for a space that needs a whole lot. We have upscaled and downscaled within hours, troubleshoot our moves and moved from the sky of creative ideas to the earthbound realities.
Our Jamoon/Jamun/Java Plum are thriving and have caught, as have everything that we've planted. We are excited and have so much to share on this beautiful medicine.
Jamun is an evergreen fruiting tree with the scientific name Syzygium cumini. The tree bears fruits which are oblong in shape – that are green when raw but turn pink or purple as they ripen. This fruit holds a great significance in holistic treatments like Ayurvedic, Unani and Chinese medicine as it attenuates Kapha and Pitta. Jamun found a special mention in Ramayana and is prized as the ‘Fruit of Gods’ as Lord Rama survived eating this berry during his 14 years of exile in the forest.
Jamum’s ployphenolic compounds are effective against cancer, heart diseases, diabetes, asthma and arthritis. Various digestive disorders i.e. flatulence, bowel spasm, stomach disorders, dysentery, are cured by Jamun. It is also eaten as tonic to increase sexual activity.
Jamun is known by different names such as Jambul, Jambas, Jamun, Jambolan, Rajaman, Kala Jamun, Neredu, Naval, Nerale, Jamali, Java Plum, Black Plum and Black Berry.
Jamuns are low on calories, which makes them the perfect healthy snack. They also aid digestion and promote natural bowel movement. Jamun juice has bioactive phytochemicals that minimise the risk of liver disease and cancer. They are also known to be effective in the treatment of diabetes. Extracts of bark, leaves and seeds are used in combination with herbs to reduce levels of glycosuria and blood sugar. Jamun juice acts as a natural astringent and is used as a mouthwash, as it eliminates bad breath. The pulp of this fruit is used in the treatment of gingivitis (bleeding gums).
This plant medicine is powerful, and we will be leaving some more applications in the comments. p.s the bones, stones, shells and crystals (selenite) are all naturally pulled from the land.

09/02/2020

On the eve of the full moon in Leo, Cherita, Adrian and I planted 14 coconuts onto the first terrace of the property. We now have 28 in the coconut grove and will be focusing our energies on sourcing water and figuring out best infrastructure to support our dreams of developing a strategic, integrated and organic healing space that works with the land in the wake of climate change.
The evening was so peaceful as the Turners Hall Valley lit up with slight drizzle during the sunset just as the moon rose over the Atlantic.
We surrendered to the peace, silence and bounty knowing that the waters that we so desperately need in a drought ridden Barbados, will come.

03/02/2020

We started the hedges and the lanes along the terraces of the land yesterday with Fiddle wood and Jamoon/Jamun/Java Plum. These will act as natural wind breaks to prevent the destruction of future crops and groves while creating organic pathways to explore the property over time. The word “future” here denotes decades and a process of cultivating and shaping a space that will have lasting effects on the landscape and our psyches as we witness the space transform daily. The simple gesture of introducing medicine into the landscape with intention and creatively offer healing to Mother Earth and her kin. Our purpose beyond time.
Fiddle wood or Citharexylum spinosum treats several ailments, below we will list some of the common ways the plant assists and aids in healing. *It works to treat asthma, the leaves are pounded and the juice extracted and mixed with a spoon of oil. *For a bad chest cold with phlegm, juvenile leaves are pounded in a little water to extract the juice and a teaspoon each of olive oil and castor oil or coconut oil added, swizzled well, and given to drink. *For rheumatism, remove the thick bark of the tree, dry it, and put it in a pint of wine. Drink a small wine glass full every morning. This is to purify the blood.
The Mayan name for Fiddlewood is Yaxnik (Maya), Vitex gaumeri and it is from the Verbenaceae Family. Since ancient times Maya J-Men Healers use its leaves in traditional healings.
It is also amazing for bees, as the nectar-rich flowers are very attractive to them, and we all know we need more bees in our fragile ecosystems. Next up we will share about the Jamun!

02/02/2020

In the wake of the rampant disconnection that we are facing in this late-stage capitalist and post-colonial era, we are consciously moving back to the land to reconnect with our ancestral knowledge which will provide multiple ways for us to heal, feed ourselves, connect to broader local, regional and international communities.
This movement will allow the sharing of wisdom on womb health, matrilineal traditions, plant medicine, other alternative healing modalities and spiritual practices that have been lying dormant, underdeveloped and under-supported in our communities. We are conscious that our traditions have shifted due to colonization and globalization but as impacts become more evident, the return to community based practices will mitigate some of this emptiness and chaos.
The images here are from our visit to the Soil Conservation Unit which is a partner of The Farmers’ Empowerment and Enfranchisement Drive (FEED), a programme aimed at reducing agricultural imports into the island of Barbados which will ensure national food and nutrition security. The Barbados Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation (BADMC) is responsible for the planning, implementation and management of FEED and we are grateful for their support.