Ontario Agriculture

The network for agriculture in Ontario, Canada

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

Views: 121

Comment

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

Join Ontario Agriculture

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

The 13-Year Lag: Why Today’s Wheat Breeding Success Depends on Yesterday’s Investment

Wheat varieties are performing better than ever, but a “slow drip” of budget cuts means the next generation of innovation is at a critical crossroads. Wheat varieties that deliver high yields, exceptional quality and strong disease packages are available in abundant choice to Manitoba farmers. This choice and performance are thanks to an often-overlooked wheat breeding innovation system. “Wheat is one of my favourite crops to grow; it can withstand whatever the year throws at it,” says Jocelyn Velestuk, chair of the Canadian Wheat Research Coalition (CWRC). “In past decades that hasn’t always been the case.” There’s lots of variables driving the success of wheat in Western Canada, but Velestuk is adamant that the foundation of that success is our wheat breeding programs. “We can’t take that system for granted and right now, it’s at risk,” she says. While the varieties available today are excellent, the process of plant breeding means those successes are built on efforts made over 1

Rotimi Aluko, professor, University of Manitoba

Rotimi Aluko is a professor at the University of Manitoba (UM) in the Department of Food and Human Nutritional Sciences, as well as director of the Richardson Centre for Food Technology and Research. Originally from Nigeria, he completed his undergraduate and master’s degrees in biochemistry there before earning a PhD in food science at the University of Guelph. He moved to Winnipeg in 2001, where he lives with his wife. Their two children are grown; one lives in Winnipeg and the other is in Alberta. Where did you work before UM? I’ve been here for 25 years, but before UM I worked as a research scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) in Saskatoon. What got you interested in becoming a professor? From my undergraduate days I was fascinated by my professors, how they taught, carried themselves and were respected in society. I worked as a scientist with AAFC after my PhD, but I was always on the lookout for a professorial position. It had been a longtime goal, so when t

Canadian Cattle Association Statement on Revised Regulatory Approach to the Livestock Traceability Regulations

The Canadian Cattle Association (CCA) is pleased by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s (CFIA) announcement that new movement reporting requirements for cattle will not be moving forward while changes for other species will proceed. CCA remains committed to our support for livestock traceability as a core pillar of disease preparedness, market access and confidence in Canadian beef. CCA and provincial member organizations are in the final stages of convening a Task Force to work for producers on a risk-based, industry-led approach to disease preparedness and emergency management and will be making an announcement soon, pending finalization of the Task Force members.

Waterton Biosphere Region seeking input on predator losses

The Waterton Biosphere Region is seeking input from livestock producers who have experienced losses to bears, wolves or cougars between 2021 and 2025. Information collected through the survey will be used to help inform discussions around Alberta’s predator compensation program.  Producers are asked to provide up to five years of data on livestock inventories, overall death losses and predator-related losses. Personal information will remain confidential and will not be shared externally.  The survey is currently open to producers located within the Waterton Biosphere Region and will remain open until the end of June.  The survey is available online:  Producer Data – Predator Losses  Paper copies can also be obtained through local municipal district offices.  Understanding the biosphere region The Waterton Biosphere Region is a biosphere region located in southwestern Alberta. According to the organization, biosphere reserves are traditionally organized into three zones, known a

Wild boar eradication efforts continue across Alberta

Province reports nearly 600 animals removed since 2018 Alberta’s Wild Boar Control Program says efforts to eradicate invasive wild boar from the province are continuing to advance, with nearly 600 animals removed since 2018. In an update shared through the Alberta Invasive Species Council (AISC), the province reported that 595 wild boar have been removed through trapping efforts since the program began, including 108 animals in 2025 and nine more so far in 2026. Tracking progress toward eradication Wild boar are considered one of the most destructive invasive species affecting agriculture in North America due to their ability to damage crops, pasture, fencing, water systems and native ecosystems. They can also pose disease risks to livestock and wildlife populations. “The Wild Boar Control Program is taking some big steps towards eradicating wild boar in Alberta with the support of all our amazing partners,” wrote Hannah McKenzie, Wild Boar Specialist with the Alberta government,

© 2026   Created by Darren Marsland.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service