c qoi o jus' ? ki sa sa ki sa yé ?

MERE DESH, by KHEM - AN ODE TO TRINIDAD WORKERS

The rising sun in the eastern sky,
The lush green grass across the hills high.

The "rayo" on the sugar cane top,
The delicious juice of the sour sop.

O the dark green forrows of the riceland,
An integral part of our Indian  tradition.

Beneath the murky waters the cascadura,
"Guabeen", "coscorub" and talipa.

Three majestic mountain ranges standing strong,
Equaled with three swampy low lands long,

Coconut jelly with it's delicious water,
Dasheen bush, edoes,cassava greater.

Mango trees swaying in the wind,
Chennette falling with into a little boy's bin.

Ah the cooling water of the Maracas Falls,
Nothing more delicious than the tambran balls.

The Gulf of Paria, Caroni River and Atlantic Ocean,
Bears the mark of a beautiful nation.

Down de road is the doubles vendor,
Ah lil more pepper there  my brudder.

Beneath this bless land is the black gold,
A treasured resource this strengthens our economic hold.

Don't talk about chutney soca and tassa ,
Without this life in Trinidad would be a disaster.

How about a good curry duck and stew chicken,
A lime by the beach and few friends visiting.

Ah the joy of life in Mere Desh,
Marred only by the parasites who life off our grace.

Khem Harrinarine.

VILLE CHINOISE ECOLOGIQUE

La première ville écologique sera chinoise
Jusqu'à 80 % des déchets solides sont recyclés!
LE MONDE | 15.04.06

©

CARIBBEAN FOOD BOOK FROM TRINIDAD & TOBAGO!

Sweet hands: Island Cooking from Trinidad & Tobago
by Ramin Ganeshram

Photographs by Jean-Paul Vellotti 

Hippocrene
October 2005
$29.95/Hardcover
ISBN: 0-7818-1125-2

Sweet Hands:
Island Cooking from Trinidad & Tobago

by Ramin Ganeshram
photographs by Jean-Paul Vellotti

Callalloo and Buss Up Shut, Mother-in-Law and Kuchela, Chip Chip and Doubles.

The verbiage of Trinidad’s cuisine is both lyrical and mysterious. The variety of foods from this Caribbean nation and their fanciful names tell the story of a rich and eclectic cultural heritage.

Trinidad and Tobago was a British colony from 1779 until 1962.

During those years, the population there grew to include East Indian and Chinese indentured servants who worked in the sugar plantations alongside former African slaves.

Trinidadian food is marked by the blending of these cultures. As such, curry, Indian breads, callaloo (a soup of West African origin), and fried rice are all among the national dishes. SWEET HANDS: Island Cooking From Trinidad & Tobago includes these dishes, as well as many others, including:

Shrimp Creole

Beef Stew with Dumplings

Ginger Beer

Pelau

Dad’s Curried Chicken

Also included are fascinating histories and anecdotes on such topics as Trinidadian rum, Buccaneer Cooking, and Black Cake.

Stunning photographs by Jean-Paul Vellotti bring this beautiful island nation and its unique cuisine to life.

About the Author
Ramin Ganeshram was born in New York City of a Trinidadian father and Iranian mother.

She has been a journalist for 13 years and has written about food for Gourmet, Saveur, Four Seasons, Cooking Light, Newsday (as a regular contributor), and many other publications.

A professionally trained chef, she has a degree from the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City and a master’s degree from Columbia University.

GUYANA - WHO TO BLAME?

From my understanding the bad blood between Indians and Africans in Guyana came way after 1838, most likely in the mid 1900'ss. However, anytime new ethnic groups are introduce anywhere, this could cause resentments, but normally it will not cause the type of racism and destruction as seen today between the Africans and Indians in Guyana. The question is who should be blamed for all the racism and problems that took place in Guyana? Should it be the Indians and Africans alone? 

ONCE MORE REMOVED - A DOCUMENTARY

GUYANA : ON PROBLEMS IN THE PUBLIC SERVICE

REPORT OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION OF JURISTS

From time to time, when Dr. Cheddi Jagan was Premier of Guyana during 1961-1964, he raised with the British Government the problem of the racial imbalance     in the police and security forces in the country.

On those occasions he asked for the setting up of a commission of inquiry to examine this situation and to make recommendations to allow for more Indians to be accepted into the Police Force.  

The British government apparently agreed that the racial imbalance in the police and security forces acted to increase racial insecurity in the country but dragged its feet on the setting up of such a commission.

However, when the PNC-UF coalition came to power, the British Colonial Office offered in January 1965 to appoint a commission of inquiry to examine this matter, but Forbes Burnham, the new Premier, opposed it on the ground that such a commission would undermine the self-governing status of Guyana.

...

Extracted from full article on http://www.guyana.org/

 

PROTECT THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE SOUTH

WE SUPPORT
Gene Campaign!

Dr. Suman SAHAI, who has had a distinguished scientific career in the field of genetics, was honored with the 2004 Borlaug Award for her outstanding contribution to agriculture and the environment. Dr. Sahai received her Ph.D. degree in genetics from the Indian Agricultural Research Institute in New Delhi. From 1981 to 1989, she served as a faculty member at the University of Alberta in Canada, University of Chicago in the U.S., and the University of Heidelberg in Germany. Dr. Sahai returned to India in 1989 and organized Gene Campaign, a non-governmental organization dedicated to protecting farmers’ rights and food and livelihood security.  

Gene Campaign which has played a key role in formulating Farmers’ Rights and fostering genetic and trade literacy among farmers and the general public, has been at the forefront of generating awareness on issues relating to trade, intellectual property rights, and genetic resources conservation and sustainable use.

WE SUPPORT
Gene Campaign!

Gene Campaign is dedicated to protecting the genetic resources of the South, and the rights of farming and tribal communities. Gene Campaign works to strengthen self-reliance in agriculture and the basis for  sustainable food security. 
Gene Campaign charter is to work for establishing the rights of local communities over biological resources and to develop an alternative paradigm of development, by seeking to influence legislation, policies, and programmes to empower local communities. Gene Campaign is working for the recognition of the Indigenous Knowledge as an important technology and its potential for increase incomes    for rural and adivasi communities. An important goal of Gene Campaign is to develop a system to grant legal rights to communities over the Indigenous Knowledge that they have created and  continue to create. 

As part of its endeavour to protecting Indigenous Knowledge, Gene Campaign has lobbied hard and has succeed in keeping medicines and products derived from Indigenous Knowledge, out of purview of patents so that they are exempted from the Patent law.

Gene Campaign! contact

POUR PRESENTER LA CARAÏBE A VOS ELEVES

De «Trade Winds» à «Right Track» -
des profs d'anglais soucieux de présenter la Caraïbe. 

La revue pédagogique quadri-annuelle d'anglais «Right Tracks» publiée par le Centre Régional de Documentation Pédagogique Midi-Pyrénées (Toulouse) a consacré à la Caraïbe son n° 4 d'Octobre 2005, mené avec brio par Mademe l'Inspectrice de l'Enseignement Technique Francine Doquet avec le  concours de plusieurs enseignants anglicistes, dont Madame Laurence Bernard du Lycée La Jetée en Martinique, et M. Jean-S. Sahaï du Lycée d'Hôtellerie & de Tourisme Archipel Guadeloupe.

Pratiquement passée sous silence, cette information est à mettre en première ligne. Il est indéniable que de tels outils outils manquent cruellement. Comme tout parent-pays qui se respecte, le prof d'anglais d'ici-îles ne peut ignorer la nécessité de sensibiliser l'élève à son environnement anglophone et créolophone immédiat — le vaste et divers monde de la Caraïbe, et à son histoire complexe.

Mais le professeur et l'élève sont-ils bien outillés pour ce faire?

Les manuels d'anglais d'en-France s'ouvrent généralement sur des cartes de Grande-Bretagne, Etats-Unis/Canada, Australie et Nouvelle-Zélande. La carte du pays où vit le plus grand nombre d'anglophones au monde, l'Inde, est absente.

Quant à la carte de la Caraïbe, lorqu'il y a en a une, elle est toute rikiki!

Paru il y a des décennies, l'ouvrage «Trade Winds» fut en son temps une petite révolution, dûe à la préoccupation caribéenne des membres de l'Association des Professeurs d'Anglais de Guadeloupe (APAG) - Antooine Toumson, Guillemette Roche, Bernard Banny..., pour en citer quelques-uns. Mais cette pièce de musée est introuvable et, forcément, devenue tant soit peu caduque.

On peut regretter, dans ce «Right Track» n° 4 de 2005 qui décrit aussi la Guadeloupe et la Martinique, et présente le créole, la piètre sinon inexistante allusion aux immigrations indienne ou chinoise.

Notons en passant, le cas singulier des descendants français des Saintes, Désirade, St. Barthélemy, Moule-Matignon, des mondes mulâtre, chaben, béké, syrien, libanais...

Tous bien présents et actifs dans la Caraïbe depuis plusieurs générations, leur absence  est encore, hélas, monnaie courante dans les descriptions scolaires. Ces composantes humaines sont trop souvent occultées dans les descriptions de l'ère colo- et post-coloniale, au profit de la seule descendance africaine confrontée au monde blanc, ce qui donne une piètre description du monde antillo-caribéen. 

Gêne? Du fait de leur rôle, de leurs apports et de leur spécificité, tous les apports doivent  sans conteste trouver leur juste place dans les programmes - avec l'histoire de l'esclavage et de l'engagisme, en toute objectivité historique et sociale.

Il est donc grand temps qu'émergent d'autres compléments didactiques équilibrés sur le thème caribéen, en format papier ou informatique, aux livres de langues conçus pour l'élève hexagonien.

En attendant, chaque prof d'anglais des Antilles - et les plus ouverts de ceux de pôle-métro - se doivent de sauter sur ce «Right Tracks» Special Caribbean  riche et bien conduit.

A commander en ligne, ou solliciter au CRDP de Guadeloupe qu'on vous en fasse venir un'n. Une enseignante de Martinique qui l'a commandé via le CRDP foyalais en novembre... l'a reçu en... mars!

Voir également, par Michelle Henry, professeur d'anglais à Nancy, une page web interactive à l'intention des enseignants désirant enseigner The Caribbean, the West Indies.

BLOC INFO CRDP TOULOUSE
La revue 'Right Tracks' du CRDP Midi-Pyrénées (Toulouse) consacre son n° 4 d'Octobre 2005 aux Antilles.

A partir d'une réflexion sur l'image cliché ou reflet de la réalité, ce numéro propose plusieurs axes de découverte des Antilles et de la Caraïbe; l'exploration maritime, l'esclavage, le climat, les festivals, la musique, la publicité sont le support des pratiques pédagogiques que viennent compléter l'étude de films, les pistes de lecture et d'autres ressources.

ISBN : 2-86565-040-5 - 12 (doux) euros.

TAMOUL ET HINDI EN GUADELOUPE

TAMIL AND HINDI LANGUAGES REVIVED IN GUADELOUPE!

  "Je pense qu’il faudrait enseigner le tamoul aux Antillais.
  Bien entendu entre autres langues."
  - Aimé Césaire, 26 juin 2003.
     Source.

Deux européennes et un mauricien, soit trois heureux nouveaux diplômés de Tamoul en... Guadeloupe. 

Question: les indo-guadeloupéens boudent-ils encore la langue de leurs ancêtres, décimée par la colonisation?

Deuxième phase d'apprentissage pour la promotion 05 de stagiaires en langue tamoule, au collège de  Douville, à Ste Anne (Guadeloupe).
La première phase avait réuni  une dizaine de stagiaires.
Trois participants arrivés au bout de cette phase ont reçu l'attestation !

Elodie Zubar reçoit son diplôme des mains de Sirji Jean-Boniface Hira, président de Guad'Inde.

Quatre étudiants reçoivent leur attestation d'initiation et six autres leur attestation de compétence en hindi de base standard lors d'un stage organisé en Guadeloupe. 

Félicitations aux organisateurs!

Dommage que ces courageuses manifestations soient si timidement médiatisées en Guadeloupe, que les remises de diplômes se passent dans un quasi-catimini.

Au risque de faire passer - bien à tort - ces événements pour "élitistes"...

Voir article et photos sur Guadeloupe Parishad.

BANANA - THE ALMOST PERFECT FRUIT

DIVERSIFICATION OF BANANA INDUSTRY

Guadeloupean Researcher Nathalie Minatchy creates Banana Juice.
See her site.

See Nathalie's site.

Almost perfect fruit!
Tuesday | March 28, 2006.

Dr. Audia BARNETT speaks up.

"I THINK banana is almost a perfect fruit. It is quite nutritious in terms of the profile of nutrients in banana and so at Scientific Research Council (SRC) we are fortunate to have played a role and still continue to play a role both at the primary level and at the value added level...

"The market for neutraceuticals is a booming one, worldwide. Just the fruit (of the) banana is considered a nutraceutical.

Nutraceutical just means that you can eat that fruit whole and, in addition to getting the regular nutritional value in terms of your bodily functions, you get some added health value...

We have looked at banana flour, which may seem to not really have a place, but this flour can be used in baked products.

There are several persons or a percentage of the population which is allergic to gluten, for example, so they cannot have wheat flour; banana flour can be used as a replacement. It can also be used in other value added components from the flour.

We also have done banana figs, not just the regular figs but exotic figs coated with toffees, you name it. We have done sauces, like barbecue sauce using banana as the base.

We have done a clarified banana juice which I think has exciting prospects because a lot of persons don't like the heaviness that banana has when they are using it as a component in their punches.

So we have the clarified banana juice which there is a special procedure for that and you know the usual chips and jams..."

Read full article on The Jamaica Gleaner

A banana a day keeps the doctor away!

After  reading this, you'll never look at a banana in the same way  again!

Bananas contain three natural sugars -  sucrose, fructose and glucose combined with fiber.
A banana  gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy.
Research has proven that just two bananas provide enough energy  for a strenuous 90-minute workout.   

No wonder the banana is the number one fruit with the world's leading athletes. 
But energy isn't the only way a banana can help us keep fit.  It can also help overcome or prevent a substantial number of illnesses and  conditions, making it a must to add to our daily diet.

Depression
According to a recent survey undertaken by MIND amongst  people suffering from depression, many felt much better after  eating a banana. 
This is because bananas contain tryptophan, a  type of protein that the body converts into serotonin, known to make you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel happier.

PMS
Forget the pills -- eat a banana. The vitamin B6 it contains regulates blood glucose levels, which  can affect your mood.

Anemia
High in iron, bananas can stimulate the production of hemoglobin in the blood and so helps in cases of anemia.

Blood Pressure
This unique tropical  fruit is extremely high in potassium yet low in salt, making it  the perfect way to beat blood pressure. So much so, the US FDA has just allowed the banana industry to make official claims for the fruit's ability to reduce the risk of blood pressure and stroke.

Brain Power
200 students at a Twickenham (Middlesex) school were helped through their exams  this year by eating bananas at breakfast, break, and lunch in a  bid to boost their brain power.  Research has shown that the potassium-packed fruit can assist learning by making pupils more alert.

Constipation
High in fiber, including bananas in the diet can help restore normal bowel action, helping to overcome the problem without resorting to laxatives.

Hangovers
One of the quickest ways of curing a hangover is to  make a banana milkshake, sweetened with honey. The banana calms the stomach and, with the help of the honey, builds up depleted blood  sugar levels, while the milk soothes and re-hydrates your system.

Heartburn
Bananas have a natural antacid effect in the body, so if you suffer from heartburn, try eating abanana for soothing relief.

Morning Sickness
Snacking on bananas between meals helps to keep blood sugar levels up and avoid morning sickness.

Mosquito bites
Before  reaching for the insect bite cream, try rubbing the affected  area with the inside of a banana skin.  Many people find it amazingly successful at reducing swelling and irritation.

Nerves
Bananas are high in B vitamins that help calm the  nervous system.

Overweight and at work?
Studies at the Institute of Psychology in Austria found pressure at work leads  to gorging on comfort food like chocolate and chips.
Looking at  5,000 hospital patients,  researchers found the most obese were more likely to be in high-pressure jobs.
The  report concluded that, to avoid panic-induced food cravings, we need to control our blood  sugar levels by snacking on high carbohydrate foods every two hours to keep levels steady.

Ulcers
The banana is used as the  dietary food against intestinal disorders because of its soft  texture and smoothness.  It is the only raw fruit that can be eaten without distress in over-chronicler cases.  It also neutralizes over-acidity and reduces irritation by coating the lining of  the stomach.

Temperature control
Many other cultures see  bananas as a "cooling" fruit that can lower both the physical  and emotional temperature of expectant mothers. In Thailand,  for example, pregnant women eat bananas to ensure their baby is  born with a cool temperature.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
Bananas can help SAD sufferers because they contain the  natural mood enhancer tryptophan.

Smoking
Bananas can also  help people trying to give up smoking. The B6, B12 they contain, as well as the potassium and magnesium found in them, help the body recover from the effects of nicotine withdrawal.

Stress
Potassium is a vital mineral, which helps normalize the heartbeat, sends oxygen to the brain and regulates your body's water balance.  When we are stressed, our metabolic rate rises, thereby reducing our potassium levels.  These can be rebalanced with the help of a high-potassium banana snack.

Strokes
According to research in "The New  England Journal of Medicine," eating bananas as part of a  regular diet can cut the risk of death by strokes by as much as 40%!

So, a banana really is a natural remedy for many ills. When you compare it to an apple, it has four times the protein, twice the carbohydrates, three times the phosphorus, five times the vitamin A and iron, and twice the other vitamins and minerals.  It is also rich in potassium and is one of the best value foods around. 

So maybe its time to change that well-known  phrase so that we say,

A banana a day keeps the doctor away!

South India Nature Temple, jan. 2006. ©J.S. 06.