Feeding the Earth
by Kervelle Baird
Languages and volcanology were my first passions. I eventually understood they represented people and the environment. I valued communication, cultures and the influence of the environment on societies. In 2014, I saw a documentary that underscored that the seeds of our future lay in agriculture. I was about to matriculate into a university whose history was rooted in agriculture and engendered by geology. I studied Environmental Sciences, Geosciences and GIS which allowed thorough exploration and understanding of the earth system and its relationship to people.
Alpha Sennon didn’t like growing up on a farm in a rural village of southern Trinidad and Tobago but he enjoyed watching Captain Planet who inspired his environmental consciousness. Career fairs never featured farmers or promoted agriculture as a viable career. In university, he found his strengths in Agribusiness, Communications, Extension and Entrepreneurship. Alpha established WHYFARM (We Help Youth Farm) in 2015 to inspire young people to engage in agriculture using creative methods that incorporate visual and performing arts. He pioneered agricultural educational entertainment (agriedutainment) and introduced the world’s first food and nutrition security superheroes - AGRIman, PhotosyntheSista and Agribot. WHYFARM collaborates with communities, educational institutes, private sector and volunteer organizations in Trinidad and Tobago to facilitate community and school garden developments and agri-entrepreneurship training sessions.
I started volunteering with WHYFARM in October 2020 as their Research Officer after learning about the organization during the stakeholder consultation for the revision of Trinidad and Tobago’s Climate Change Policy. I helped establish a curriculum that connects people to the environment by exploring the past, present and future of this relationship. It teaches indigenous farming practices that mitigate the effects of climate change and introduces technologies.
The goal is to equip vulnerable populations such as youth and women to be changemakers in their societies as agricultural entrepreneurs to help recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, achieve the Sustainable Development Goal of Zero Hunger and mitigate food insecurity that looms in 2050. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, WHYFARM partnered with various organizations such as the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) to teach households how to ”plant their plate”, created a produce delivery service, “Dash-een Yuh Doorstep”, and launched the AGRIman Callaloo Pack (Local Vegetables Pack). To build sustainability and to adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic, the curriculum will be delivered online.
WHYFARM is dedicated to empowering people and remediating the environmental and socioeconomic consequences of climate change. Alpha is passionate about inspiring young people to enjoy agriculture and pursue opportunities in the field. He values looking to history for safe agricultural practices that preserve the environment and protect human health. He believes that food should be medicine - a tradition that is threatened by the debilitating effect of climate change on the nutrient content of food. He now proudly identifies as AlpharmerPreneur and champions farmers as the heroes who will secure the environment and our wellbeing.
About
Kervelle Baird studied Environmental Science, Geoscience and Geographic Information Systems at the University of Connecticut. Her goal is to mitigate climate change in order to protect vulnerable communities. She intends to pursue a Master’s degree in Environmental Hazards and Risk Management.
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