As of December 2008 the following project activities were undertaken:

? A familiarisation seminar on the project and organic farming, for members of the differently-able and organic farming communities who expressed an interest in the project. This was held in August 2007.

? Home assessments of all the differently-abled /and or caregivers interested in participating in the project and the final selection of 15 project participants.

? Procurement, purchasing and installation of equipment at the homes of the participants. This activity included the setting up of rainwater harvesting materials and the construction of the seedling units.

? One-on-one field workshops at the homes of the participants. These were used to introduce the participants to the basic techniques and methods they would be utilising such as the loading of the seedling trays, the planting of seeds and the use of the watering system. The grantee also received invaluable assistance from a group of students from the McGill University who chose to work on the project through their university?s internship programme. The students along with the farmers volunteered and work diligently to install the rainwater harvesters and seedling units at the homes of the project participants.

? Monitoring of the seedling producers and an evaluation of the rainwater harvesting systems. This included monitoring each seedling producer on a monthly basis for a total of 4 months (from October 2007 until January 2008). During this period the BEPG also met all the farmers involved in the project twice a month to assess record keeping, seed procurement and to attend to any unforeseen challenges. The interns from the McGill University also provided assistance to this aspect of the project. They were involved in the designing, of a suitable monitoring process and assisted in the collection of information from the farmers and the seeding producers. They also undertook an evaluation of the rainwater harvesters carrying out interim inspections of the rainwater collection systems to check for mosquito larvae, leaks and their holding capacity.

? A mid term feasibility workshop was held in December 2007. This workshop was used as forum to discuss the business viability of the project. It also presented an opportunity to attain from the project beneficiaries primarily the seedling producers how they felt about the project thus far. The seedling producers agreed that the project was beneficial to them as it provided a source of additional income. Some of the seedling producers also shared the ability of the project to bring their family closer together through the time spent as a family producing the seedlings for sale.

? Bio control Trials. Two types of bio controls were selected for trials,these were the wild tamarind Neem. The Neem is known for its natural properties as a pesticide and the Wild Tamarind was tested as a fertilizer. Both were prepared by crushing the bark of trees an allowing them to soak in water to produce a tea which was then sprayed on the crops. The initial trial showed some positive indications however there are no conclusive results to date and the grantee is currently undertaking another set of trials under more rigorous conditions.

? A seminar in April 2008 which sought to expose all the project participants to various business options in an effort to develop a micro enterprise system among the seedling growers and the farmers. The meeting was well attended and included the participation of Dr. Rosina Wiltshire, the resident representative of the UNDP for Barbados and the OECS; the Honourable Patrick Todd, Minister for urban development and social care, and representatives of the Barbados Investment Development Corporation. At the end of the seminar the seedling producers and the farmers agreed that a partnership agreement was the best business option for the micro enterprise system. Currently the grantee is drafting the agreement

? Participation by the grantee in several local exhibitions including, St. Andrew Independence environmental program in November 2007 and the Heart of Barbados expo in June 2008. The project was also featured in Select Magazine, a local publication, in December 2007. Additionally the group was featured on a local radio station in 2007 and they appeared on three local TV programmes in 2008.