Additional paid human resources, whether employed or contracted, available at appropriate times to manage the anticipated workload increase which is required to transform CPRI into a financially sustainable organisation and to build and maintain its reputation as a centre of excellence for permaculture learning, development of innovative climate smart agroecology, research and collaborative business and community development.
2
Capacity development which includes succession management includes enhancing the competencies of existing and new resources in the relevant core knowledge areas of permaculture, research, community outreach and building, social media marketing and communications, financial and project management and reporting, training and workshop/ course delivery, team management, proposal writing, database management and human resource management.
Additional physical and infrastructure capacity will be required over time for laboratory testing in support of research undertaken, IT to support operations and enhanced training facilities and amenities for students and resident interns, volunteers and WOOFFERS.
The capacity building strategy will cover the short and medium term of this project as well as long term beyond the duration of this project.
CPRI intends to:
Continue to build its teacher database to build capacity through providing more people with the ability to teach regenerative agriculture courses.
Replicate the soil rehabilitation model through partnerships with other organizations at several sites including schools island wide.
Continue to demonstrate sound sustainable agricultural practices through its partnership with WIRRED at Walkers Reserve.
Develop a robust set of available courses to deliver to the public
Involve more farmers and interns as stakeholders for knowledge dissemination at its Walkers Reserve site.
Continue to develop the soil rehabilitation data which was begun during this project to develop a full report of its achievements over a period of years, the first data set of which will have been developed on a site such as Walkers Reserve, silica sand to bio active soil.
Project sustainability
Long term sustainability of this project will depend primarily on the ongoing relationship with the co-funders, WIRRED Barbados and the relationship between CPRI and Walkers Reserve as the site. Providing that the ethos and goal of CPRI continue to align with those of WIRRED and Walkers Reserve, issues are not foreseen. Other factors influencing the longevity of the project will be public demand for in-person regenerative knowledge, availability of competing online education, and the number of teaching staff available to execute permaculture related courses.
Gender Focus
Men and women will have roles of trainers, permaculture designers, consultants, managers, team leaders, field labour, farmers, financial analysts, researchers, monitors, reviewers, Board directors, advisors, conceptualisers, planners, proposal writers, corporate leadership and visioning, project and team leaders, problem solvers, fundraisers, operations management, site management, community partners.
Men and women will benefit from enhanced knowledge and skills in permaculture/ climate smart agroecology practices, sustainable and productive farming, more resilient communities and farms, decent employment and self-employment, heightened sense of achievement, improved food security and nutrition.
Inovative Financial Mechanisms
Open House events - excellent, visual inperson demonstrations aided understanding and inspired participants.
Virtual tours - excellent, before and after photo examples showcased possibilities.
Social media campaigns - good, broad reach was made and new contacts developed.
Free lectures - good, generated interest in future educational activities, contacts added to database for future collaboration and involvement.
Permablitz - good, generated interest in future educational activities, contacts added to database for collaboration and involvement. Hands on activities built on implicit knowledge.
Course outlines and PDC Course Manuals
Notable Community Participation
Students from local universities will be involved in the conduct of baseline research; volunteers registered with CPRI will participate in permablitzes and other community events; to assist with social media communications and promotions; to assist on-site at Walkers Reserve when overseas students are resident for the Permaculture Design Certification courses (PDC) and internship programmes.
CPRI has recognised the need for youth engagement by these courses and will seek to target training, tours and other educational activities at schools and interested young persons within the study area.
Targeted Output (s):
? 50 PDC graduates including at least 4 interns.
? Updated student database for community outreach and volunteers; and potential course leaders or PDC teachers, site managers, administrators.
? Course and workshop guides for the PDCs AND short courses.
? Over 10 registered farmers and community members included as graduates and interns.
? Renewed TVET Centre Approval certified for Walkers, St. Andrew site.
? TVET NVQ Subject Approval in progress; i.e. CPRI permaculture curriculum mapped to an existing N/CVQ Standard; and a draft NVQ Standard in progress for permaculture.
Promoting Public Awareness of Global Environment
The Communications Consultant will provide social media management services, web-based communications and promotion of CPRI, outreach to volunteers and alumni, monitors and responds to queries through Face Book and other social media; conducts market research surveys, plans and coordinates the permaculture education and training programme. Organises and participates in community outreach activities such as permablitzes; coordinates special events, e.g. Agrofest, Knowledge Fair and other events supporting CPRI, WR and SF as required. Interacts with partner organisations to promote and implement collaborative activities.
Emphasis on Sustainable Livelihoods
The surrounding communities including, farmers, vendors, other NGO's will be engaged to participate in the project by provided products and services as well as their expertise through the provision of services as well as benefitting from sales through the project.
Planning non gef grant
Upon completion of the project, additional funding through developed partnerships will be sought. This funding is needed in the form of sponsorship of farmer education through the ?Sponsor-a-Farmer Programme?. This will enable CPRI to continue its mandate of disseminating good agricultural practices through education, and will allow us to continue to Associationrun courses, driving income for the organization by selling some of the spots to the public and receiving funding for the majority of our community members
Stronger partnerships with other educational organizations such as CARDI, IICA, and the UWI will be sought out to incorporate the permaculture curriculum designed by this project into their existing framework.
Project Results
Revenue generation: during the course of the project time line income generated totaled, $53,482.38
Income generated received from 1) course fees from full fee paying members taking our PDC courses as well as short workshops held in collaboration with WIRRED were the main source of revenue for CPRI. 2) In coooperaton with WIRRED, CPRI received income for the creation of a series of short courses and execution of permablitz-style installations in communities throughout the island, as CPRI was able to act as the educational partner through project based capacity building which was undertaken through out this project.
Project outputs:
One (1) Low Carbon Energy Access with Co-Benefits model - Bio Gas Digester.
One (1) climate smart agroecological permaculture and soil rehabilitation model - Zone 1
One (1) sustainable agriculture and fisheries, and food security model - Aquaponics system
Baseline Report for model development.
A Permaculture and Climate Smart Agroecological soil rehabilitation Database.
Model demonstrations and knowledge management materials.
Three (3) Permaculture Design Certificate Courses
11 Short permaculture courses
Six (6), one-day educational off-site events
64 PDC graduates which was made up of community members who were involved as students and interns over the project life cycle.
4 community member completed internships
35 registered farmers included were graduates in Permaculture education.
Course and workshop guides for the PDC and Modular Permaculture workshops.
TVET Centre Approval in progress for Walkers, St. Andrew site.
TVET NVQ Subject Approval in progress.
CPRI permaculture curriculum mapped to N/CVQ Standard; and draft NVQ Standard in progress for permaculture.
10 completed Permablitz events including over 130 volunteers.
Updated database for community Outreach which captures Students and volunteers, including potential course leaders or PDC teachers, site managers, and administrators.
Outreach products: Digital knowledge management products,, social media marketing images and video, flyers, and webinars.
Community Outreach programmes established in three (3) communities in Barbados and the region:
Belleplaine/Walkers, St Andrew,The Grotto NHC Housing Complex, St Michael and Trinidad and Tobago.
Evidence acquired of interest established between CPRI and organisations in regional network such as OGCA, Slow Food Barbados, WIRRED Barbados, IICA, Trinidad and Tobago through Wa Samaki Ecosystems, UWI Cavehill Environmental club, Vauxhall Primary Boy Scouts, Soroptomist Barbados, Rotary Club of Barbados, Environment and Climate Change Canada through Bird?s Caribbean.
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The installation of the biodigester was completed by WIRRED and CPRI, who provided labour and designed the layout, respectively. After the biodigestion system was installed, a training session was held by CPRI educators to demonstrate to community members and CPRI and WIRRED staff members, how to use the equipment and inform them of its added benefits for the community.
In collaboration with WIRRED, the initial permaculture design was completed. In order to adapt to the original planting pattern designs in the quarry, a test pattern was designed and installed in zone 1 with the assistance of on-site support such as interns and WIRRED staff, where observational data was gathered and evaluated over a six (6) month period, after which adjustments were made to the planting patterns before further expanding the test plot.
To determine the skill gaps among CPRI's staff, volunteers, and directors, a needs analysis was carried out using a SWOT assessment. Pertinent on-the-job, self-improvement, and internal and external development programmes in a range of areas were then identified. Practical onsite and internationally recognized courses from organisations like Google were used to enhance the capacity of the team and stakeholders.
Before the expanded test plot was installed, a baseline evaluation was completed. This served as the reference point when measuring the models and comparing them to the measurements taken across the regeneration site. Monitoring was completed by WIRRED. Testing was done by CPRI in collaboration with WIRRED and community members. Reporting was completed by WIRRED in partnership with CPRI under a Walkers Reserve Soil Science Partnership.
Despite the restrictions brought on by COVID-19, to highlight the results and lessons learned, virtual open house days were organized at CPRI for the GEF SGP UNDP national steering committee (NSC) site visits and for GEF SGP's World Environment Day 2021. Additionally, virtual webinars were held highlighting climate-smart agroecology. Events for promotion were developed in conjunction with WIRRED.
The PDC course was designed by Caribbean Permaculture Consultant (CPC) and adapted to a Barbadian context by CPRI to enhance the capacity of the Barbadian farming community. Through stakeholder consultations, short, intensive courses were designed in niche learning areas.
The internship programme structure was designed with the intent enhance skills of individuals to eventually serve as trainers for the PDC course. Additionally, one intern position was developed to increase internal capacity of management and strengthen the knowledge base of CPRI?s administrative procedures and functions.
The PDC course was redesigned to feature 10 modules covering regenerative climate smart strategies. These modules were designed by Erle Rahaman Noronha to be run according to the demand of each stakeholder organisation, who expresses interest in participating.
Two, two (2) week PDC courses were implemented between August and November 2019. One of these courses was held in Barbados, while another was held in Trinidad & Tobago. One, modular PDC course was ran, one module per month between January 2019 and January 2020.
Packages were developed with notes and diagrams for each module. These packages are available in both digital and hard copy formats for distribution to course participants and stakeholder organizations for knowledge sharing and management.
Registered farmers were identified in the neighboring community of Belleplaine, St. Andrew, as well as stakeholder organizations like OGCA. These applicants were given discounted opportunities and scholarships, and they were invited to apply for internship programmes and jobs with partner organizations.
Consultations with organizations like the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, OGCA, and the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI) would have identified individuals or groups that could benefit from exposure to climate smart agriculture workshops and training sessions. Following that, an up-to-date database of students, interns, farmers, volunteers, teachers, and professional regeneration personnel was developed with the intention of involving these stakeholders in the future to provide a multiplier for community spread and information distribution.
They were engaged in order to support obtaining site and course approval from the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Council of Barbados, as well as professional services for the creation National/Caribbean Vocational Qualifications N/CVQs Courses and any associated course materials.
A volunteer drafted the CPRI permaculture curriculum to N/CVQs standards using the PDC course materials as a guide. Thereafter, an application was submitted by the consultant to TVET Council for approval of the Permaculture Level 1 NVQ course.
Led by CPRI, interns performed site visits to determine suitable locations to host these events. It was also important to source equipment and materials for event activities, as well as design teaching materials. Following that, the interns would have invited stakeholders, crowd sourced volunteers, and conducted a series of one (1) day events in identified communities.
Stakeholders captured and submitted images and video to Google Photos, where educational and promotional content was created using Canva. Following that, these were shared on Facebook and Instagram, both of which combined have over 4000 followers, in an attempt to extend the reach, interaction, and followers in order to get more people aware of permaculture and climate smart agro ecological activities.
Assessments of all participants who engaged and participated in activities held by CPRI and its partners were conducted by volunteers. Following, relevant persons and groups were identified and sorted accordingly to further enhance the multiplier for community spread and information distribution.
CPRI and its co-Funders highlighted community engagement as a strategic area. The community was constantly integrated in a number of ways throughout the project's lifecycle. Collaborated occurred with key members of the St Andrew Parish Independence Committee (PIC) and St Andrew Church to identify members and groups who could benefit from the programs.
WIRRED invited CPRI to partner as the education and design partner in executing educational installations island wide through its Permablitz model. CPRI undertook to design and install a variety of models at external institutions, properties, churches, and schools. CPRI also hosted educational sessions teaching on the topics presented on the day as well as a series of short courses developed for this partnership project.
CPRI participated in a number of meetings with local partners, stakeholders, and like-minded organizations to collaborate in a variety of ways. The objective was to develop plans and identify synergies in the upcoming activities and beyond. Following this, partnerships were formed with local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and regional farmers. Where there were synergies and potential partnerships, CPRI maintained strong relationships.
The database was used to identify organizations whose members would have benefited from CPRI trainings, workshops, and courses. Following that, we invited these organizations to attend the activities as guests.
Sister organizations were defined as organizations with which CPRI can benefit from a collaborative relationship due to shared work areas. A close relationship was formed with these organizations, and frequent collaborative planning sessions were held in order to design initiatives that would have a collectively high impact within the communities served.
