Introduction to Majela and Her Work

Speaker 1 0:00

Hello everyone , welcome to another episode of Carry On Friends , the Caribbean American experience , and I'm excited to have this person on the podcast because I'm going to try to pronounce our name and the name still should be Majella , right ? Yes , it's a pretty name , but we have to make sure that we , you know , learn to pronounce the name properly . But , welcome to the podcast , Majela how are you Thank ?

Speaker 1 0:29

you , I'm good . I'm good , all right . So why don't you tell our community of friends a little bit about who you are , caribbean country you represent and the work that you do ?

Speaker 2 0:39

So I'm representing Grenada . I am very , you know , small but mighty island . My mother's from Guam , my father's from Krosu , so , like true and true , I'm , you know , grenadian and the work I do is it has layers to it . So I guess well , one I'm on the board of directors handling international relations and special projects for the Karakum Museum that is currently on its way of rebuilding . I'm project lead to help get that done after Hurricane Beryl . Also on the founding board of directors for Ika House Collective , which is kind of a focus on sustainable co-living in urban spaces or urban cities , really trying to create the dream of actually , you know , owning a home , while also directing on connecting with community and also focusing that on the whole initiative of sustainability . And then , lastly , I am the founding director of the Caribbean Futures Forum Think Tank under the Institute of Caribbean Studies here in Washington DC , where I currently am . I just end up attending the annual legislative forum under the Institute of Caribbean Studies speaking on disaster resilience and sustainability development for the Caribbean . So that's my focus .

Speaker 1 2:17

Yeah and true to form , I'm a Caribbean person , one by the things on the list of things to do , but I do . I am familiar with the institute of caribbean studies , um , I was the chair for the 30 on the 31 year and I did , did . I did see um dr nelson a couple times in passing , um , so you do . The museum in um grenada , so the caracool museum and ika , is that also in grenada or is it us base ?

Speaker 2 2:51

uh , so you mean ika as in uh , the other thing that you said , the house collective yeah eco house collective that's based in brooklyn .

Speaker 2 3:01

Um , it was a group of friends who came together because we all thinking is , it's expensive to live in New York , but we want to own a home , right ? So then we thought like , well , okay , what does that look like ? And , of course , a lot of us was kind of thinking like how do we support the initiative for the 2050 Sustainability Initiative in New York City and somehow own a property ? So our task was and we met , you know , every other Sunday for two years speaking on how to buy a property together and then kind of living in our own units and then looking at what does that mean ? What does that look like legally , you know , when it comes to mortgage broker , when it comes to taxes , what's called , you know , comes to all that Because Brooklyn is expensive now .

Speaker 2 3:51

We haven't noticed . Brooklyn is very expensive now and really look at what does it mean to try to attain the American dream , especially in Flatbush , where I live , and trying to figure out how do we still able to just live where we are with the rents going up . You know just that , not even thinking about just owning something . Just how do we just maintain our lives ? As you know , things keep skyrocketing .

Speaker 2 4:31

So we're now very focused on how do we go ahead and make sure that we create some kind of initiative that is spoken of sustainable co-living , where it could be multi-generationals in one community or building or it could be multiple families , where this idea of being self-sufficient , with you know solar panels and a rain catch system and everything in a city so you could cut costs on utility bills and if you have a food co-op , that also helps with saving costs , and if you have multiple families in one building , that saves costs on babysitters because you know someone can take your child in the building and they feel safe to have your child with them . So it's just this idea of really focusing on how do you really create a village in a space where a lot of times , especially in urban cities in the US , there's this isolation kind of epidemic . So that's really what we were doing , twofold for that .

Speaker 1 5:41

It's so interesting that you're having this conversation and I also see the through line with the work that you're doing . Um , I'm in the middle of reading paul marshall's I don't know if it's pronounced paul or paulie , but it's paul marshall , she's of barbadian heritage her book brown girl , brownstone and it's about , you know , it's really focused on the Bayesian community and how they're all working to buy brownstones and all the characters who are living in this brownstone . And very interesting read . So you know what you're suggesting or proposing .

Speaker 1 6:16

With this eco-living , it is

The Hurricane Beryl Experience

Speaker 1 6:18

not new , it's just that we departed from it . Departed from it , you know , it's something that I feel like it's foundational to us multi-generational living . I think we just kind of moved away from it because , you know , families moved to different states , we were a little bit more spread out , a little bit everybody wanted space , which is fine , and I think we might have to come back around to this multi-generational or co-living lifestyle , you know , to make life or living sustainable , you know , and not go broke . So it's very interesting . I recommend reading it . It's a very interesting read .

Speaker 1 6:59

But all these characters , but really the you know everyone's coming from Barbados . This is really early in the 1900s , it's around 1920 , 1930 , and they're all working very hard , they're renting these brownstones , but the goal is to buy a brownstone , um , and then you have all these characters living in this house . So it's very interesting . So , switching to the museum in Karikou , talk to me a little bit . How did you get to that , so we understand how you got to eco-living ? I live in Brooklyn , I live on the other side and , trust me , brooklyn , as we said , deer , it's deer bad . Everybody left Manhattan . Come drive up Brooklyn Price . That's another forum for the Brooklyn community board , but you know that's another forum for the Brooklyn Community Board and I thought they would leave Flatbush alone , but nope .

Speaker 1 7:49

No , they , no , sir , nowhere is , nowhere is Unscathed , Unscathed , yes , basically Everything , everything is everything . I even feel like people from Long Island will come back to Brooklyn . I'm like what is going on ? But all right , enough of the local talk , let's go back to the museum .

Speaker 2 8:15

Let me know how did you get to be in that role at the museum . So I was in Grenada for Hurricane Beryl and I was there with my sister in our home , so we had to experience it ourselves and we decided to stay in our home rather than going to the community center because we figured , you know , we have a downstairs , we can , you know , kind of , you know , buckle down . And one thing I realized after the storm was Karakul and Pitimatnik is smaller islands and I know that they have a different system is smaller islands and I know that they have a different system , even though in the mainland of Grenada , you know we got our power up after a couple of days and you know we were able to get the water system up . I know Karakou and Pink Manic have more . You know they don't have streams on the islands . They don't have . You know they have septic tanks . They have , like rain catching system , so they don't just necessarily have the different utility companies that they would just kind of come around and pretty much revive the communities .

Speaker 2 9:14

My first thought was the museum itself . I know that I work as a researcher by trade or historian . So my first concern was you know what happened to our history ? And so , of course , I went and saw the museum itself and saw the whole top floor was gone . It was really devastating to see how , just within a couple hours , you can see the history of Grenada , and specifically the kayak people , completely disappear with one storm . So what I did was I thought I'd just send some emails out . I sent emails out to the Museum Association of the Caribbean . I sent emails to other organizations just saying hi , just letting you know , after the hurricane , the Carribean Museum is definitely going to need assistance . So at the time , you know , with the instability , of course , I expect everybody is really focused on rebuilding their homes and trying to get their lives back together . So I wasn't expecting them to really focus on the institutions . You know it doesn't have to be the hospital . It's more important than you know , than the museum itself , you know , which is understandable .

Speaker 2 10:31

So what I thought was me just simply sending some emails was didn't turn into me applying for grants , didn't turn into me putting strategic plans together , which didn't turn into me meeting with different people and then going into and to connect with people in conferences . And so I'm very blessed that I was able to get a grant to be able to reestablish a digital presence for the museum through Blabook it's a company based in California in the US spreading museum um through playbook it's a company based in california , in the us um , and then with that , now we have a website , email address , social media up . Then I was like , okay , now from there we look you know legit again with , you know , a digital presence . So when I apply for grants , um , they can actually look something up . So then I'm very grateful where somehow the massive amount of emails and me , pyongyang , pyongyang people actually led to some grapevine . Someone said , oh , your email was forwarded to so-and-so and so-and-so and got back to me and connected me with an organization called the Culture Emergency Response and then they handle a lot of the preservation and the salvaging of cultural sites after natural disasters especially . So through that I was able to go ahead and get a grant and I , you know , of course , for the people in the community , especially the Karakul Historical Society , I made sure they kept track of everything I was doing . And then , as of last week , I made sure they kept track of everything I was doing and then , as of last week , we had a board meeting where they had to establish a new board and I guess it just made sense for me to be on the board to handle a lot of the international connections , since I've been doing that .

Speaker 2 12:23

I attended the Global Sustainable Islands Summit and St Kitts last week of May and went to different conferences . Again I'm here in DC speaking on disaster relief for the Caribbean and it obviously snowballed into me really getting into this space where I haven't before . So I guess you could say I found my calling somehow within the last year . So now that I'm on the board I really am focused on being a project lead of rebuilding this museum and really hoping that it becomes a catalyst for the rest of the island and for Piedmont Nick to really see like OK , we can rebuild , we can rebuild better , we can rebuild , we can rebuild better , we can rebuild sustainably , we can rebuild with the notion of focusing on hurricane and natural disaster resistance so that we can go ahead and actually survive .

Speaker 2 13:16

I mean the US aid which again with this administration , no longer exists . They only provided 4.5 million for the Caribbean and a million of that went to Grenada , a million went to St Vincent and $2.5 million went to Jamaica and understandably , grenada did receive about $44 million from another entity and then was able to go ahead and , through the Hurricane Clause , was able to erase $30 million out of their actual debt , and that's including debt they owe to the US . So there is some kind of relief . But what I spoke in the Capitol building yesterday was this notion that the small islands , especially in the Caribbean region which is on the hurricane belt , they are not the key players in the term climate change issues . My face is throwing you off .

Speaker 1 14:11

Let's just make it clear we are not the perpetrator of the climate issues that we're having , but we are the ones who are at risk . We're experiencing the risk of it , yes , yes .

Speaker 2 14:23

So I think what I was speaking on was .

Speaker 2 14:27

What I was speaking on was this notion that we need to stop and , to be quite frank , this savior complex of being reactive , my girl , oh God and be preventative .

Speaker 2 14:41

So it's nice where you go ahead and you want to send some money down after the storm happened , but having actual investment through green tech jobs , through

Caribbean Museums and Cultural Preservation

Speaker 2 14:52

actual infrastructure , through actual entities , something as simple as like an actual insurance fund , so then we don't have to keep on and I can speak on that . But you know , this idea of the Western world coming in and kind of having these assessments and having all these NGOs come in doing their assessments and serving food , and I am truly grateful and I'm sure everyone in Caribbean is truly grateful . But we have a lot of intelligent people architects , engineers , people who work for NGOs , people who are more than capable , those who are military veterans , who are more than capable of helping their country especially as we're in the Caribbean diaspora and be able to contribute back to their country if they just got the support they needed and not just being enabled or kind of being gaslit with this notion of you know like , oh well , we know best because we are developed versus developing . I'm not jealous girl .

Speaker 1 15:59

I mean , where do I begin ? Because I acknowledge your experience through the hurricane , the , the , the . The biggest hurricane I experienced was 1988 , hurricane Gilbert , and last year I recorded an episode but I had to edit it because I got some information at the . I didn't know this existed . So last year during burial , it's the thing that annoys me . Let me just take a step back , because I can't even gather my thoughts the way I'm excited . It's the thing that annoys me .

Speaker 1 16:37

Every time a hurricane happens in the Caribbean , as a people , as a diaspora , we are very reactive and about 3 billion people that's collecting money and there is no insight . I just feel like there's a little bit more organization that needs to happen around the collection of the money and where it's going . It is not a disrespect to all of the people doing an effort . It's what we do . You're going to action mode , but we need to put some structure and organization behind the momentum and the volume of people we have . And it was frustrating last year because I saw it . And what people don't see is there are other people . You have people who are engaging and say , yes , they're giving . Well , what people often miss is there's also a very large group of people who are observing and seeing that too many people are collecting money . Who do I trust to give money to ? How do I know ? Is my money going spending the right place ? What kind of report am I getting ? Like no , there are a bunch of people who are asking that question . Right , when you go , think like no , there are a bunch of people who are asking that question .

Speaker 1 17:49

And I recorded a solo episode . I'm like is there an organization ? Then I forgot . I remember that there was another organization that existed , but it was associated with CARICOM and they don't really accept public funds . And I'm like wait one thing . And so people have reached out to me and they're like hey , what's a trusted organization I can donate money to ? So , while there's collection and donations happening on one end , what people overlook is like businesses and organizations . They want to see a trusted place that they can give their money to and they want to be able to get an insight as to did my money go to the museum ? How is this money being spent ?

Speaker 1 18:36

And we hamper our efforts , our recovery efforts , when we don't have a process in place on the diaspora end . I don't live in the region , so the region have the region system , but on the diaspora end , we need something in place to do that . As a result of that , I recorded an episode recently with Caribbean Philan philanthropic Alliance and talk about what they're doing in the region . But here you come again highlighting another issue that we have , just kind of continuing the conversation . There's a chance that when this episode release , it's still going to be hurricane season , cause that's the thing Hurricane season happened every year , every year , and so can we shift from being reactive to proactive , right ? So , yeah , so my question for you , then ? We don't have to go into all of that . I think the question and the conversation that we want to have here is let me , as you were talking , is let me , as you were talking I wrote this down , I want to make sure I read it . When culture , cultural artifacts , lives in buildings , right , what happens emotionally , psychologically ?

Speaker 2 20:11

when they are destroyed by natural disasters , Because this is something we don't talk about . Yeah , so it's quite unfortunate where there has been a bit of destruction and , by all means , when you don't have the infrastructure in place , if you don't have funding , that's , you know , in a bit of a cushion , it's hard to be able to make sure you have the proper equipment , the proper skilled staff , etc . Hard to be able to make sure that you have the proper equipment , the proper skilled staff , et cetera , to be able to maintain this . And I'm talking about it's not even just statues or maybe some arrowheads that has been collected on the land itself . I'm talking about people who donated their diaries that was from their great-grandparents . I'm talking about photographs that people have taken from the 1930s , where it's not properly stored because , again , the resources weren't there . But again , at the same time , when you don't have the diaspora and again I'm not saying that everybody needs to go ahead and pitch in and feel like they feel like an obligation , but when the diaspora doesn't contribute to the preservation of their own history , it becomes quite strenuous and devastating when things like this

Intergenerational Challenges and Succession

Speaker 2 21:13

does happen and then they're wondering what happened and why they didn't talk .

Speaker 2 21:18

It's just to say it's fine when we're doing all these galas and you want to dress up and you want to do you know , you want to , you know look nice and you want to have a nice , you know , a nice line and like a nice little classy fat and what have you . But at the same time , we have to think about we need to also have those types of events where we're able to actually do some planning , actually having some lawyers involved , having , you know , experienced curators involved , having experienced architects involved , having experienced engineers and technologists involved , where we actually come up with actual solutions , as so many times I see , like a 10-point plan . Carrickham has a 10-point plan , I see , as has a 10-point plan , everyone has a 10-point plan . But it's like how we actually and how we actually executing the 10-point plans . It seems like there's a constant talk of things , whereas we need to be able to actually have a timeline to actually get things done .

Speaker 2 22:14

Now , I know we have a history of a barrel economy that's what I call it where you have those in the diaspora who they kind of just give what they can and they put in their barrel for whatever relatives , and even relatives they don't even know , those generational tradition of you know , being able to give what you can or what have to , especially as these small islands are seeing a lot more impact , not only by natural disasters but by political turmoil , by this notion of reparations as we keep on talking about it and talking about it , Thinking about , you know , the younger generations who they can't find work on the island , so of course , after they finish school they're going back to Canada and UK and US and they don't see a future on those islands .

Speaker 2 23:13

So then there's no people there , especially those who may have skill sets to be able to push society forward on these islands . They're not there on the islands themselves and then they don't see a future there , so therefore they're not going to contribute . So it's really a challenge , as we see the museum itself and how a lot of times it's very challenging to maintain them . But the reason why it's hard to maintain them is because the funding is not there . It's because you have those who do have skill sets who are not willing to go back to their home country to actually do the work to maintain these institutions .

Speaker 1 23:53

So , yes , go ahead , I have one better for you . Funding cannot be there if people aren't aware that they are there . Yes , because I don't know if you know this , but I also produce , strictly Facts a guide to Caribbean history with Alexandria Miller , and I was pleasantly surprised about the museum in Barbados and I'm like I didn't know that , I did not know that I didn't know about this museum in Carriacou , so one there needs to be awareness . Awareness not just from a tourism standpoint , but a diaspora standpoint . Right , we are returning visitors , we're returning , you know , citizens , right , and they should , you know . You know , a lot of times people say you go back to Jamaica . I have not discovered every crevice on Kana , jamaica , so I can go to Jamaica every year and go someplace different , and I'm okay with that . And I think you know , as a , as an awareness , some people just don't even know that this exists .

Speaker 1 24:56

So let's step back and talk about the museum . Before the hurricane , what was the museum ? What was the the most popular thing in the museum ? What was the museum ? You know , housing in terms of , you know , grenada , caracos , history and all of that . So let's take a step back there , because this is an opportunity to tell people about the museum how long it's been around , right , because somebody might say box me , never know , you know . So let's talk about the museum in that way .

Speaker 2 25:27

So the museum has been around since the 1970s and in this current building it's been around since the 1980s . Now again , because of the few people who have been trying to maintain it . You have to understand that a lot of the displays and a lot of the different , you know , makeup at the museum is not your moment in the US , it's not your . You know Smithsonian here in DC . Yeah , so it really is kind of they're working with what they got . Yeah , you have Ms Clemencia Alexander . She's been with the museum as a curator for 50 years . January makes 50 years and one of the discussions I've had , which is a painful discussion , I know our elders are very stuck in their ways and they're comfortable and they do their job and they like to handle things . But discussing a secession plan is even a bit of a challenge . And then understand that a lot of the organizations and institutions that's in the Caribbean , whereas secession is quite challenging .

Speaker 1 26:28

It's not just in the Caribbean , it's in the community , diaspora included . So let's just you know .

Speaker 2 26:37

Yeah , there's a generational disconnect of and I spoke about this on many occasions this notion of the elders being very comfortable where they are and they either don't know how or they're just not willing to because they're very comfortable to pass the baton . So it's become a bit of a frustrating battle when we have this notion of like . So where's these institutions going to be in 50 years , especially if you can't engage the young people to even just go into these institutions ? So even though , yes , the museum was there before the hurricane , but to get young people to go in , there was just not happening . It was just not happening . There was just not happening , it was just not happening . So I know that with the future of the museum , the plan is to be able to find a way to engage the youth , if it's through like actual video work , if it's through like workshops , if it's through different notions of engagement , to actually let them be excited about their own history and let them be a part of it , help them build the future . I think participation is absolutely necessary and I think that's one of the challenges for a lot of the museums and institutions that's in throughout the Caribbean .

Speaker 2 27:56

I've spoken to directors with the Cayman Islands and I've spoken to a few you know what I mean where a lot of it was either shocked that there's young people who's willing to work , or they just don't expect young people to even want to do it .

Speaker 2 28:12

Therefore , they're not going to waste their energy , even trying to engage them . But I keep on trying to remind my community and remind people especially as I get into more and more in these conversations is there has to be a future for these institutions and there's no reason why we have to go back to the starting line . And that's and I and I said that multiple times in multiple different people there's no reason why . I think it's quite unfair to expect the younger generations to go back to the starting line because you struggle and they didn't send you to school to do X , y , z , or you know the , you know this government and that , the , you know infrastructure . That's in that and we don't cover for race . It's like no , like how do we make sure that you are confident and capable of passing the baton to the next generation ? So one they feel a sense of participation and involvement , but also they feel confident to actually take on the tasks .

Speaker 1 29:17

You know , there was a guest German and we were talking about Louise Bennett and it really works like this . He's like she did the work . So these elders have done the work and we have to do a transition . When they are energized , they have the energy , they have the health . You know , to do this for the very reason that when the transition happened , they're not going back 30 steps , they're just maybe going back five steps , 10 steps to continue .

Speaker 1 29:58

I agree , and it's very hard because I've also said , like I can tell the health of any of our community organization based on the makeup . So if you have too many elders in there and not enough young

Government Support vs. Community Action

Speaker 1 30:13

people , we know that that is um . Preservation is at risk . Let's use the word at risk , right and um at the same time . If there are too many young people , there is also longevity is at risk because we don't have the wisdom to kind of help , guide and anchor some of the things that are happening of preservation , intangible artifacts and museum . It is also , you know , intangible and even if you think about eco-housing , all of this is around how we continue , you know , like we don't . I don't want to say die off , but you know we continue .

Speaker 1 31:11

Each generation is building on the next generation and and making advancements , and I think that is what you're trying to do . I mean , you're talking about Grenada but , as you pointed out , this is not isolated to Grenada . This is a regional thing and I guess , I guess I want to go back , or maybe our conversation is going regional thing and I guess I want to go back , or maybe our conversation is going off tangent . How much of this is government enablement ? Because the diaspora can do work , but how much of this is government enablement and priority ?

Speaker 2 31:48

So , for example , the Caracom Museum is run by the people . So it was started by the people and is run by the people . So there is not government run , it's not a satellite museum to what's happening . So it really is the responsibility of the community itself . And there's a lot of cases like that , where it is grassroots communities that are really trying to build something within the island , not only in the sense of just wanting to have something for the future , but it's a sense of pride , a sense of understanding of like okay , where's the future leading us and how do we make sure that we are at the same pace and we're catching up ? I know that we have a lot of technological advances that , I'm sure , is just more than capable of really helping these islands improve just basic things . But if we don't have governments that are willing to take action , and take action in a timeframe that really makes sure that these nations do not get held back , we will face those challenges . Something that could have been invested in years ago could have prevented the destruction of 80 to 90 percent of Karakum and Petit-Matnik after Hurricane Beryl . Now , if there was infrastructure that was put in just a year prior , maybe we wouldn't have such destruction that hurt . Maybe with the different museums and institutions that are in place , maybe there would have been opportunity to actually kind of engage the Ministry of Tourism or to be able to engage those nations where we have ties to . I think and I won't say which rep , but yesterday it was made very clear like , do not expect a bill to get passed . Now I know here in the US there was an act put in place since 2017 where the US is supposed to update those of the Caribbean on actual relations between the US and the Caribbean and it hasn't been done for quite some time and to then take into consideration this notion of possibly having a hearing so that reps do have to talk about you know what's happening in the Caribbean and what is their contribution . Because , again , the Caribbean is in the Americas , right , and again we have established that there are many different countries in Europe , in the US , who still have Commonwealth-like ties to a lot of the islands , but we don't see consistent support . We just don't , and it's quite unfortunate .

Speaker 2 34:59

So then when we see a lot of these governments who are saying like , well , we're going to go ahead and just wait until we get some aid in , and then they just have the money sit there and then their solution is to give out loans to help people rebuild their home . It's like so what are you doing with the money that was given ? And those are questions that I know people are asking . But , at the same time , one thing about Caribbean people I love our people , but they're not the type to go ahead and start , you know , protesting and marching in streets . They're more of just having , you know , discussions about things and and and trying to gauge politically through voting , um , but to say that they , they're going to be an uproar and uh , is very rare . It's very rare for to take very aggressive statements or aggressive action to have something change .

Speaker 2 35:51

So , at the moment where we have a lot of these issues of if it's in Haiti again that was a big discussion yesterday in what's happening , in the violence happening there or how Jamaica is in concerns of becoming a Haiti that seemed to be a big topic yesterday as well where the violence happening there or how Jamaica is in concerns of becoming a Haiti that seemed to be a big topic yesterday as well where the violence is extruded , I don't think they take into consideration that we cannot rely on these bigger or more quote-unquote developed countries to give support and as a diaspora as a diaspora we are , as private citizens , we are not only capable but it's obligated , I believe , to actually do what we can to help these countries develop , because not everybody can leave and go to Canada or US or UK .

Speaker 2 36:43

Not everyone could do that , not everyone's going to get the degrees or the certificates to do that . So then , when you have private citizens who are willing to actually say you know what ? I have this amount of years of military experience . Let me go down to Haiti and be able to see what I can do to help with the violence there . Or I'm an architect , or just you have individuals . Yeah , go ahead .

Speaker 1 37:05

I think we can go on for days to this conversation . I agree , you know a lot of our talent . Everybody's talked about brain drain , a lot of that . We . You know there are many who stay , there are some who go back , but there's a lot of cap . You know human capital , people in the diaspora that can give back to their country , their home country or country , a heritage country , right , I still maintain that . The fundamental challenge and then we can talk more about this in the after show Anybody can come in at a community if you're the after show . But I think the fundamental challenge is process . Right , if you have a line of people out here to give money but you have no way to collect that money , what happens If you have a line of people out here who have shovels , spears , buckets , whatever you know , hammer , drill , everything to build , but you have no way of triaging these things . There's what you're going to do about this . So I still think that there is a process that's missing . But , yeah , we're not going .

Speaker 2 38:32

Yeah but I do believe that government is not the answer .

Speaker 1 38:36

Yeah , I I agree , they can enable , meaning that they support it , right , but that we , you know , and that's what I mean , government enabled means that , okay , the , the government of what's it , what's it , acknowledge that this organization is doing so-and-so and that's fine . But I don't . I agree , we cannot depend on the government , because they have other priorities and this has to be a separate thing . I completely agree with that . So we're going to talk about that separately , because this could be a whole three-day lecture . But no , as we wrap up , I want to make sure we get very succinct and one like what are the top three things that you are raising the alarm

Action Steps for Diaspora Engagement

Speaker 1 39:26

about , the Caribbean largely , and your three call to actions , like let's do the sandwich technique , the problem , what you think the solutions are , and then your call to action so I think the problem is is that there is a lack of support from the diaspora specifically coming coming in to the Karaku specifically , but the Caribbean in general .

Speaker 2 39:55

So I think one of the issues is having the actual diaspora more engaged and involved . So the three action plans is one we need to be able to come up and it doesn't have to be through CARICOM , it doesn't have to be through them . It's actually having an entity that can handle , for example , the way that you go ahead and send money through Western Union or MoneyGram to your people in the islands . That was expressed yesterday was if we was to put that same money into an actual natural disaster fund so that actual people could actually know that gosh forbid another hurricane come . There's actual fund in place of money that was already accumulated to be able to help out . Number two , having actual and I get it nonprofits and NGOs . They work right , they work for it , they do their part . But actually having action plans where it's project-based , so it's individuals with their skill sets doing one project at a time . So if it is something as simple as , for example , rebuilding a museum , having somebody who could donate the lumber , having somebody who could handle the electrical work , having somebody who said you know what I'll pay for the glass cases , for the artifact . It's actually going project to project . So if it is building a school , if it is creating actual technologies in place or donating to technologies to be able to help with the actual natural disasters , if it is everyone coming in and putting money to be able to build , you know , the institutions that are needed , something , especially when it comes to the healthcare system , especially when it comes to this dependency on tourism , and so creating jobs when it comes to the healthcare system , especially when it comes to this dependency on tourism , and so creating jobs . When it comes to agriculture , and how do we then go back to being more self-sufficient so we don't have because that's again a whole nother financial restraint on importing of goods , especially produce , when we have all that landed to go ahead and grow on ? So it's having actual projects and solving one problem at a time , and you don't have to be , you know , some kind of scientist from Yale . It can be simple , like I know how to make fences , I know I can contribute that right .

Speaker 2 42:26

And number three , I think education is highly necessary . Now I I did push this quite often in the last year , where I do feel like the youth that is already in the Caribbean , they need the support system and they need the encouragement to be able to get the skills needed to be able to contribute to the islands . So another solution is the same way . You have the Jewish community , where every youth have to go to Israel . In South Korea they have their own program where they get a sponsor to bring them to the US . They have to report to that sponsor and they stay for a year . They actually get skills needed to then go back to South Korea a year and they actually get skills needed to then go back to South Korea . We need something like that in the Caribbean , where we know that our youth can get the training they need , they can build the confidence and the connections and then they have the encouragement to return home because they know that when they go back they're able to contribute to society with the support of elders , with the support of the government , with the support of actual infrastructure that is put in place .

Speaker 2 43:36

And it can be very simple . It's as simple as possibly partnering with HBCUs and saying , ok , I put together . And again , the pandemic it was . I was , you know , I was finding ways to keep busy . So one thing I did was I created a site called educationdiasporaco and I literally accumulated all of the online degree programs for all the HBCUs in the United States and I put it on this site .

Speaker 2 44:07

And what the goal was is , if there's and this is again before this whole administration , with this whole deportation issue is that if we were able to go ahead and connect our diaspora that's in the caribbean and on the motherland , the continent of africa , how to get them access to the online degrees from accredited universities at hbcus and , knowing that those degrees , they don't have to come to the us to get the college degree , they can stay where they are . They don't have to come to the US to get the college degree , they can stay where they are . They just need to have access to broadband , to internet , get the college degrees they need and know that while they're getting their college degrees , they're beginning to get real life , like real upfront practical experience in their countries . If it's in nursing , they know they could get their practical experience in their countries . If it's in nursing , they know they could get their practical experience in the hospitals . If it is technology , they could go ahead and get the practical experience of like okay , somebody there right on the island is building some kind of app , you know that you could go ahead and intern right there while still getting a college degree . We need to make sure our youth is prepared not only prepared , but they feel that they have the support needed .

Speaker 2 45:16

So my call to action is with every issue that we may have , it takes one step at a time , one step at a time to actually resolve those issues . So actually doing one problem after another problem and solving each one independently . Every island is different . Every island is different . I understand that . But having a group of people who's like you know what , I'm able to go ahead and figure out the agriculture issue . I could go ahead and donate you know a piece of my land so to be able to help you know people learn new techniques on growing food . Or I can go ahead and contribute . I have many years of experience working for museums and art galleries . I can actually go ahead and train those locally to go ahead and run a museum , which is , I'm very grateful . We have a volunteer from Puerto Rico who's going to come in and actually help with the salvaging and archiving , and it's going to train at least five to six volunteers who are local to Karakut to actually handle , so they could feel that they have ownership of their own museum .

Speaker 1 46:21

So please go ahead , we're going to push back because we know somebody going to listen to push back but the diaspora don't support . And I say I know you said every country is different but Jamaica is going to say , well , we send money all the time and we donate to so-and-so all the time and we know those things are happening . So I want you to clarify that , because it's not , I believe I understand where you are saying . It's not the remittances that you're specifically talking about . I know in jamaica we have a very robust old boys , old girls , old school organic network .

Speaker 2 47:00

that happens like , yes , it's robust , it is and it's based off of the school you went to the alumni it's as robust , right ?

Speaker 1 47:08

I know that . So it is not . That this is is something else that you are speaking , so I just need you to clarify that , because you know I want to make sure that your message doesn't get lost in translation about what you mean by support .

Speaker 2 47:25

So just , clarify that what I mean by support is not just donating money to an organization , it's understanding or asking what is that organization doing to solve an issue ? So it's one thing that , okay , you're donating to an orphanage , you're supporting the children , but how is that organization solving the orphanage problem ? Does that make sense ? It's like , okay , you're donating canned goods to you know in a barrel , but then saying like , well , who is actually on the island growing food ? How do we go ahead and invest in farming ? So then I don't have to send canned corn ? I know that there is . We put money together , we support and invest in one farmer . They're going to go ahead and they're going to grow corn . We support and invest in one farmer . They're going to go ahead and they're going to grow corn , and so now the island don't need to go ahead and get corn from elsewhere . We know that we invest in .

Speaker 2 48:21

You know , like , for example , in Grenada I recommend this many times because Grenada is the second , the second exporter of nutmeg after Indonesia . Now Grenada have an issue where they export the nutmeg

Sustainable Economic Models for Islands

Speaker 2 48:35

but they don't make the nutmeg products . They may have a little something here that people have their little business where they're making nutmeg oil or nutmeg spray for various things , but to say that there's actual like a robust manufacturing of products , that's not there . So , having a group of people , again from different skill sets , to actually say you know what , we're going to go ahead and invest in building a company where it's , in manufacturing products from the nutmeg , and that's what we are doing . We're helping bring infrastructure , manufacturing jobs , we're helping bringing actual self-reliance through one product which is nutmeg , and that's how I'm contributing .

Speaker 2 49:21

Right , if it's another place where again , palm oil , coconut oil , palm oil originated in Africa , in the Western hemisphere of Africa , we see that , due to colonization , they move palm oil and palm trees and they made most of the production in the Asian countries , indonesia being one of the highest exporter of palm oil , even though it originated in Africa . Africa right now only has three percent of the market . The Caribbean they have so much coconut trees but they only have a very fraction of the actual market of selling coconut oil . Most of it is in Asia . Now we need to go ahead and , yes , you can go home and you can buy a little coconut oil . You can buy your little local thing , your moringa , what have you ?

Speaker 2 50:07

But wouldn't it be great if a group of individuals say you know what , we're going to go ahead and put money together and we're going to go ahead and actually start the manufacturing of coconut oil and actually bring that together to actually create industry and enterprise so that there is actual jobs created . Again , we know that there's actual business being done . The island is a big player . We're getting share , market share of the actual market and of the industry . And now we see that the small islands right , the small , you know , sids , the small , you know , small island developing states , actually have a say in a lot of these enterprises . Right , I think it's very much possible , I think too much that we we have so much like .

Speaker 2 51:02

You know how many times you , I , go to grenada and see mangoes just on the floor , you know , on the ground , and I'm thinking now , imagine how much products can be made with those mangoes , if it's not mango , like essence or just anything , coconuts . I was in Cuba and so , notice , there was coconuts that was on the ground and I said , okay , they have an issue of they could grow their food , but one of the issues they have is they'll spend half their monthly salary on shampoo . One of the issues they have is they'll spend half their monthly salary on shampoo , knowing that coconut shells , if you go ahead and actually produce and burn it properly , you can make black soap . So they can actually manufacture their own soap and their own shampoos , if they actually had the skill set to do it .

Speaker 1 51:51

So I think , yeah , go ahead . No , I mean , I'm going to again pulling this cause . I'm listening to you and I'm like , not only preserving , but you know , ecology is a big part of what you are doing . Like you're able to see these things because , again , our environment is a very fragile environment and we have to be able to one figure out how we're going to make it more resilient and sustainable , reducing , you know , maybe our imports in order to make sure that our countries have the budgets and stuff . We could go on and on , but I don't mean to cut you , but we're going to clip it here . So , for the audience , we'll continue talking , but we're going to clip it here for the . For the audience , we'll continue talking , but we're going to clip it here for the audience , tell them where they could find you and learn more about you and your cause and everything that you are championing .

Speaker 2 52:41

Well , I guess the first place I guess , is my website , majellamartcom Really caracommuseumgd and caracommuseumcom as well to learn more about the museum and also social media . We're just getting that started , so I would appreciate a lot of support and if you guys have ideas I mean if anybody have ideas on how do we keep , you know , the revitalization of these institutions , that'd be great . I know , with a lot of the organization of it , you could definitely just follow me on social media , as I will . I'm gonna get better at posting things on , uh , instagram and what have you . So majella mark on instagram and I'm really just trying to be solution oriented . So , um , yeah , I guess that's . I will do better at posting in real time , or better at real time , as I'm doing . Especially , I've been traveling quite a lot this year , learning a lot and connecting with people and coming up with ideas , inspiration to help not only just Karakubo , the Caribbean overall on how do we really deal with a lot of the restraints we have .

Speaker 1 53:52

Yeah Well , majela , thank you so much for being on the podcast . I'm sure there's a lot more that you have going on . We're going to be in the after show . If you're not in the community , join the community . And you know , as I love to say at the end of every episode walk good , but you know , majela and I are going to

Closing Thoughts and Contact Information

Speaker 1 54:11

still labrish over here , so