It all started with Hurricane Dudus. Because of the events around Kingston, Peace Corps felt it was best to move me out of my community in Portmore and away from the corporate area completely (this includes Kingston, Portmore, and Spanish Town, where I spent nearly all of the last year and a half). I got the call at 9:00 a.m. and was out the door by noon. I haven't been back since, but I was able to call all my community members and tell them I'll come back to visit as soon as I am able.
While talking to staff in the months leading up to my move, I mentioned that I'm interested in winemaking and "agro-processing"; preserving fruits and produce by making jams, dried fruit, salsa, and other products. Some of the Peace Corps staff knew of an opportunity to do this in historic Port Antonio, Portland, on the North-East corner of the island, about 2 hours through the mountains from Kingston. Soon after I was headed to my new home.
Port Antonio, or "Porty" as the busdrivers will yell, is the capital of Portland Parish, and a beautiful little town with a marina and a few resorts along the North coast road. Compared to my previous site, it's tiny, wet, green, lush, and overall just amazing. My first few months here were spent setting up my assignment, working out what I hope to accomplish with this "agro-processing" idea. I was paired up with Mrs. Smart, who runs a nationally certified vocational school and offers courses in nursing, hospitality, and food preparation. Already having a full kitchen facility and experience in food education, it was a great fit, and I was off to work.
After talking with Mrs. Smart and many local farmers, produce sellers, and businessmen, we developed a framework around teaching simple food preservation techniques that are easily accessible to farmers or any interested person. Using common fruits such as mangoes, pineapple, guava, and others, the supply cost for the preserves should be minimal. For example; during mango season, there are literally thousands of mangoes rotting on the ground. "Stringy" or "Common" mangoes, while sweet, are very fibrous and not attractive to the produce market. However, if they were fermented, the fibers should settle or float out to be discarded. To test this theory, I used some leftover winemaking equipment to start a two gallon batch of mango wine at the school. Mrs. Smart helped, along with her husband and son.
I also ordered some additional equipment to test and further refine my winemaking skills and to adapt them to my new tropical climate. My hope is to test all different kinds of mangoes, pineapples, guava, and other fruits, setting up dozens of fermentations to determine which combination of fruits and additives will yield the best wine. After enough testing we will develop recipe and training guides and eventually start up our own agro-processing training school. Winemaking will be just one avenue, in addition to preserves and fruit drying, which I will also be experimenting with to develop local recipes and training guides. The ingredients and equipment that cannot be found easily on the island we will import and package into "wine kits" to sell to farmers at an affordable price that will include everything needed to start several batches of wine yielding hundreds of bottles. Anyone interested in making wine will be able to come to the school for training, recipes, and equipment.
The last few months have been some of the most intense in my life. I moved and re-moved, traveled all over the island for meetings and trainings, and had to adjust myself to an entire new community. Luckily I have the benefit of a Peace Corps staff that was helpful and understanding, Jamaicans who are welcoming and friendly, and a few other volunteers who are just great to have nearby. I will miss my former coworkers at Food For the Poor, however I am still in contact with them and hope to continue working with them in an auxiliary role.
Every day here is a new face, a new sight, new smells, new sounds. What comes next for me, I am excited to say I have no idea.
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