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January 2021 – December 2024
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ME-WE-GREEN Programme: An Education and Empowerment Programme for Climate Change Adaptation
The first programme in the western hemisphere driving education and access to vetiver grass and the Vetiver System (VS) as a climate resilience tool at the national level.
The ME-WE-GREEN programme was developed and launched by IAMovement to promote and support greater overall climate resilience in T&T relating to soil and water related challenges through the use of the Vetiver System (VS) as a green infrastructure tool. The project commenced in January 2021 with an initial two (2) year implementation period and was extended several times with most core activities being completed in 2024, due to challenges in funding.
The project supported the education, empowerment and mass implementation of the Vetiver System (VS) throughout T&T, and with specific focus on eight (8) identified Project Communities in Trinidad and a one (1) in Tobago – as a simple, green and cost-effective tool to tackle a wide range of soil and water related challenges.
The main targeted and involved communities were:
- Lopinot
- Cedros/Icacos
- Moruga and environs
- East Port of Spain
- Santa Cruz
- Paramin, Cameron and Deigo Martin
- Brasso Seco and environs
- Forres park and environs
- Charlotteville Tobago
ME-WE-GREEN was executed utilizing the Vetiver Education and Empowerment Project (VEEP) model which is the best practice method developed over the years of introducing Vetiver grass as a green infrastructure tool into communities which it will be beneficial for.
The programme coordinated various workshops in both the Vetiver System (VS) and Vetiver Handicrafts in each community supporting livelihood opportunities for community members. The Vetiver System workshop comprised of a two-day theoretical and hands-on training on Vetiver grass as a land stabilization tool with focus on installation, maintenance, preparation and propagation of the grass, while the Handicrafts workshop series entailed an eight (8) week course which aimed at teaching community members about Vetiver grass and how it can be utilized to produce carbon neutral handicrafts which they can in turn take to markets, using the leaves as well as the fragrant vetiver roots.
A major element of the Programme was also an education and awareness campaign which consisted of a national level campaign aimed at raising awareness of climate change, climate impacts and climate adaptation techniques to enhance the resilience of communities with Vetiver grass. The campaign entailed traditional elements of media such TV and newspaper ads alongside press releases, social media, videos and fun elements such as Climate talks in schools and various competitions.
There were three (3) main competitions under the programme which aimed at bringing out participants creativity and innovation.
These competitions were:
- The Grow Your Roots Competition: A competition designed for participants to grow the longest vetiver root specimen over the course of one year. The creativity was in participants being able to extract the roots in one piece and bringing it to the judging point. The winner produced a root system of 9ft 4 inches while the next runner-up produced a specimen 8-ft in length with impressive root density for the whole length down.
- Jingle Competition: Participants were tasked with producing catchy 1- 1.5 minute spoken word/jingles which highlighted the work of the MWG programme, making use of key words/phrases. Due to the creativity of the participants four winners were announced with their pieces utilized with their permission in the educational campaign of the programme. Three out of the four pieces were also utilized further in MWG’s animated video production and can be found on the IAMovement website film room page.
- Handicraft Competition: Participants were asked to produce crafts either (1) with vetiver for previously trained crafters, (2) without vetiver for non-trained crafters or (3) utilizing recycled products.
Some key accomplishments of the ME-WE-GREEN programme were:
- 158,800 vetiver plants installed (60,000 directly supported through Green Fund resources)
- 208 different Vetiver System (VS) installations on properties and public lands across T&T
- 2700 participants directly engaged with some level of training
- 8 short educational and sensitization videos and 1 documentary film produced
- 45+ educational and awareness features across traditional media outlines (radio, TV, newspaper)
Notably, the ME-WE-GREEN Programme in Trinidad & Tobago is the first of its kind in the western hemisphere, in terms of an initiative which is focused on driving education and accessibility to vetiver grass as a green and cost-effective tool for climate adaptation at the national level.
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