Regenerative agriculture is taking root in Barbados, and Trinis are part of the revolution. Pat Ganase takes a tour with Rheanna Chen who will soon return to Trinidad.

Rheanna Chen left Trinidad in 2018 for Italy. In her continuing mission to heal the world through food, she was headed to the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo to pursue her masters in gastronomy, world food cultures and mobility. It was the path she charted with her first degree, a BSc in international agriculture development at the University of California at Davis; and continued at the Green Market Santa Cruz.

By the time she was ready to return from Italy in 2020, Trinidad’s borders were closed against covid19. The route became circuitous – through France to Martinique. She applied for an opening in Barbados and took that job. Programme co-ordinator at Slow Food Barbados, a registered charity founded in 2012 that seeks to lead the way in transforming the food system, provided yet another window of opportunity and education for Chen who intends to be back in Trinidad by year-end.

[caption id="attachment_919953" align="alignnone" width="768"] In the Slow Food Kitchen: Rheanna Chen, left, adds breadfruit to the soup.[/caption]

“Barbados has the goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2030,” she said. This was a commitment made in 2016 to reach 100 per cent renewable energy in this decade, and Barbados set the most ambitious climate resilient vision in the world. The Barbados Renewable Energy Association is anticipating nearly 300 megawatts of renewable capacity between 2019 and 2023. Recognising that 80 per cent of GDP is generated in high-risk areas such as beaches which are most vulnerable to natural disasters – hurricanes, flooding storm surges – mitigations against climate change include planting trees and growing food.

“Across the island there are projects leading the way, models of changed lifestyles and attitudes that are culturally relevant, community-based and financially sustainable. They are people-driven, collaborative and innovative systems that provide ecosystem services, offer new job opportunities and chart the way to regenerative tourism and land management. Best of all, they revitalise healthy food practices.”

This is Chen’s perspective at Slow Food Barbados, a chapter of Slow Food International, the world's largest grassroots food movement that believes in good, clean and fair food for all.

She said, “We reconnect Barbadians with the plants, animals, fertile soils and waters, while aiming to protect the heritage and culture that growing food makes possible. We focus on biodiversity, education and advocacy with programmes designed for access to good food. We work with farmers, fisherfolk, butchers, chefs, community leaders and schools across the island.

Slow Soup

“We run a Slow Soup programme, serving over 700 bowls of soup every week during the pandemic: youth, single mothers, elderly, amputees, recently unemployed and displaced, and those with physical and cognitive differences. We lead a Regenerative