Thoughts of a minibus traveller

  Earth is burning  "last question.. how do we centre collective joy while the earth is burning?".. the facilitator asked during the final session of the 2023 Caribbean Women for Climate Justice conference. The 'earth is burning ' sounded strange. Rain and flood two days before but then the place was hot and humid while I was listening to the session.  And overnight rain as I type this. The Climate Conscious Podcast , The Breadfruit Collective and Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI), with kind support from the Open Society Foundations, partnered to host the 2023  Caribbean Women for Climate Justice (CW4CJ). The first one was held in 2022. The organisers invited me to be on one of the panels. I felt a bit imposter-ish as I have just the average amateur knowledge of the climate change concepts and have not been involved in any organising around climate justic e. The organisers though, were intentional in bringing people with different experiences to part...

  Flood Drains look low in the morning even though rain falling. Place had been hot and so, day before I watered plants.  Plants which I had not planted. Plants which include the random gift from seeds discarded down the kitchen sink.  The muck from the 'gutter', soil which was piled up provide fertile for watermelon, pumpkin, tomato and maybe cucumber and baigan. The  dishwashing liquid probably providing some of the 'fertilser'. I invoked the man who comes to do yard work when he wants money for food or alcohol as guidance. He fixed the boards, told me leave the grass to 'keep them cool' and throw water, brought a bag of cow mole and then promises to bring another when he needed money but I had no work so he took payment in advance. Another garden man showed me the small watermelons. Small whitish yellow flowers on the watermelon, and the tomato.  I don't want to look too much in case I bad eye them. So the rain falls, not too heavy but yard floods as th...

  Full Moon "If you see how he watch me" the woman said.."me show he de lock ". The woman chains her adult son so that he does not come out of the house. "Me tek out he food and suh , he nah want meat and suh now, only greens" "Nah Full Moon... , he does seh me a go wid man and so.. when dis Moon pass.. all gun arite.. he does deh good good, help me clean and cook and suh" "When he been lil.. he went by he father sister and dem do some wuk and dat lef he suh.. ".. he goes to the clinic and gets medication. She was never asked about full moon . She tried getting public assistance, five months after she applied and the Ministry of Human Services says 'dem gat plenty people in front of me'..poverty is probably on the increase. I had asked her about the chaining, telling her to get help but she said 'you tink me want fuh chain am, but whah mo me can do?" She tried asking other priests and so on to see if they could undo the...