The Moruga 2050 Association for Sustainability is determined to nurture their community and encourage families to get more involved in planting and reaping their own produce. Additionally, the group is also on a mission to develop an arboretum in Moruga which will reintroduce and replant a variety of plant species back into the Moruga Forest.
The group recently utilised a grant of TTD$100,000 which they received from the Digicel Foundation through its EPIC programme to build a tool shed and shade house in the Bois Jean Jean Village, Moruga. The project was launched to the community and the media on January 7th, 2023. The project funding was used to back fill the land to prepare the site, material, labour and construction of the shade house and tool shed. Funding also covered the cost of water tanks and fittings to develop a rain water harvesting system. The Shade House project will provide the community with a nursery for plants which will range from seasonings, fruit trees and forest trees. The group will also use the space as part of their community outreach and training.
The Shade House is just one phase of the wider community initiative for future development of the arboretum. Francis Paul, President of the group shared, “A lot of the forest’s trees have been cut down and families in Moruga are also moving away from planting.” He concluded by expressing that it is the group’s hope that the project helps to bring persons back to the land, so that the community can once again become the stewards of nature.
Digicel Foundation Board Director Jerren Lewis was also in attendance and stated “We are proud to be partners on this project that proves to be a sustainable social change initiative address issues of food security, youth involvement and using the simple technology of a shade house to combat harsh weather conditions and climate change.”
The Moruga 2050 Association for Sustainability is 1 of 10 NGO groups that received $1million TT this year to implement an EPIC project. To date there have been 129 EPIC projects, with an investment of TT$35.1million impacting 63,802 persons in Trinidad and Tobago.
