AALP Class 13 International Study Tour to Guatemala and Belize – March 1, 2011

Power to Women. We had a very unique cultural experience this morning when we visited the Garifuna School and Museum in Dangriga. The Garifuna are a people of African-Caribbean descent and while the Garifuna make up 30% of the population of Belize, the culture, music and language are being lost to English and North American culture. Phyllis Taremaro, the founder of the school and museum welcomed us and then the children impressed us with cultural songs, the national anthem and morning prayers before heading to class. We were able to tour the humble classrooms and experience the learning environment. This school is one of the rare schools which teaches the Garifuna language.

We took a tour of the Garifuna museum where we learned the history, the tragedies and the triumphs of their culture and the country of Belize. We were then treated to a wonderful display of traditional music and dance. There were four female dancers, one singer, two male drummers and one maraca player. One of the dancers was 69 years of age and still had more moves than any of us!

Phyllis was so proud to show us her culture and so humble to talk of her accomplishments as a community leader. She then took us on a tour of the community, showing us a drum maker and a cassava bread bakery, presently led by young women. Phyllis even invited us to her home where she served us a traditional Garifuna meal. While inside her house we noticed, she had won the 2010 leadership award for women in Belize.

Marie Sharp is also a leader in her community. She started as an executive secretary at the citrus processing plant, which we visited on Monday, only to have her life change when she inherited some farm land. Failing to find a market for her high value crop of habañero peppers, Marie began filling up pails with her home blender in her garage with the product of her good idea. She started the multi-million dollar company she is still directing today. At 71 years old, Marie Sharp has been through tough times and great opportunities with her company but managed to make it one a pride of Belize. Marie Sharp’s hot sauce and products are now distributed around the world, in dozens of countries, including Canada, and is the number one hot sauce across Belize! In fact, her sauce was on almost every table we sat at for the last ten days. To this day, Marie still designs new recipes from her humble factory but now stores her peppers in several huge tanks. Three containers were waiting to be filled for a Japanese order; they were just waiting for bottles to fill them with her special concoction of habañero – so delicious! Marie told us how hard work is the key to success and sure told us what she thinks of sitting down in her factory!

Truly this day showed us the power of women and educational involvement can do for a community.

Andrew Chisholm, Matt Langford, Michel-Antoine Renaud – AALP Class 13

Comment

You need to be a member of Ontario Agriculture to add comments!

Join Ontario Agriculture

Welcome to
Ontario Agriculture

Sign Up
or Sign In

Agriculture Headlines from Farms.com Canada East News - click on title for full story

Waterloo Farmer Convicted for Breaking Detention

On April 27, 2023, investigators with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness’ Regulatory Compliance Unit executed a Provincial Offences Act search warrant at Joris Salverda’s farm in Wilmot on an unrelated matter. Investigators found unlabelled meat product and subsequently detained it to determine if it was from an inspected source. Detention involved marking a potentially non-compliant product with a detention tag and placing it in a freezer or cooler to preserve its integrity until it could be determined whether the meat product was compliant. No person shall move or interfere with a thing that has been detained unless authorized or required to do so by an inspector. Later, officers conducted an inspection at Salverda’s farm and discovered the detained meat product had been removed without authorization. Following an investigation into the movement of the unlabelled meat product, Salverda was charged with one count of breaking detention of a thing without autho

Guelph Business Owner Convicted of Obstructing Inspectors

Background: On October 4, 2023 and January 10, 2024, Compliance and Advisory Officers with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness (then the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs) attended Klops Meat and Deli for the purpose of verifying compliance. On both occasions, the owner/operator, Leszek Rzeznik, refused the inspectors entry to complete an inspection. Subsequently, investigators in the Ministry’s Regulatory Compliance Unit initiated an investigation that resulted in Rzeznik being charged with two counts of obstructing an inspector under the Food Safety and Quality Act, 2001. On January 8, 2025, after a trial in absentia, Rzeznik was convicted on both counts by Justice of the Peace Michael Cuthbertson. Rzeznik was fined $3,000 for each count, plus a 25 per cent victim fine surcharge, which totalled $7,500.

York Region Man Convicted of Obstructing an Inspector

Background: On September 25, 2024, an inspector from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness appointed under the Food Safety Quality Act, 2001 attended Ve & Be Corporation at 793 Alness Street to conduct an unannounced inspection. As a free-standing, licenced meat plant, the business is subject to inspection by ministry inspectors. When the inspector arrived, the plant operator, Andrei Berliaev, behaved in an aggressive manner and prevented the inspector from conducting the inspection. The inspector then left the plant and withdrew the inspection. Following an investigation, Berliaev was charged with one count of obstructing an inspector under the Food Safety Quality Act, 2001.

From soil to supper – how farmers care for the Earth all year long

Every April, countries around the world mark Earth Day – an excellent and vital opportunity to raise awareness about the importance of caring for and protecting our environment. As farmers, we often like to say that every day is Earth Day on the farm, and while that sounds a bit cliched, it actually is very true. That’s because in raising livestock and growing crops of all kinds, farmers work very directly with the soil, the air, and the water every single day. The weather is our constant companion and more than almost anything else, will influence the kind of year we’re going to have. Whether it’s too much or too little rain, temperatures that are hotter or colder than normal, or snow, ice and rain storms, it all impacts the quality and quantity of the products we’re able to produce on our farms. I farm near Burford close to Brantford with my wife and son where we raise sheep and grow hay, corn, and soybeans as well as a biomass crop called miscanthus. I’m also a director on the bo

Q+A: Trevor Jones to draw on experience as Ontario agriculture minister

Chatham-Kent–Leamington MPP Trevor Jones is settling into his role as Ontario agriculture, food and agribusiness minister. The former Leamington town councillor and OPP officer was named to cabinet last month in just his second term as an MPP. We asked Jones about his new role in cabinet. His responses have been edited for style and brevity. Q: Just beginning your second term as an MPP, can you describe the honour of being named minister for a portfolio as prominent as Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness? A: It is an honour . . . I grew up and continue to live and raise my family in Chatham-Kent-Leamington, where our communities have a long tradition of farming, greenhouse growing and food processing. As such, I developed a strong appreciation for this sector and remain inspired by the hard-working people who feed Canada and the world. Early in my career with the OPP, I earned a position on the Emergency Response Team and . . . was given the opportunity to work with members of the

More…

Badges | Report an Issue | Terms of Service