Helping The Fondes Amandes Hills Breathe Again
By Natalie Sifuma
North of Port of Spain, the Trinidad and Tobago capital, is the city’s lifeline, the Fondes Amandes Hills in St. Ann’s. These hills are a vast expanse of greenery, a home to thousands of trees, and a testament to mother nature’s blessing to the earth and the people in it. The serene melody of the St. Ann’s River – also a blessing – carries on through the rainforest and old cocoa and coffee plantations, eventually finding moments of rest at dams and other reservoirs the community in the forest has set up with natural materials.
The Hills, like much of the capital, relies on the country's rainy season – an abundance period of six months, between June and December – to boast its effervescent green. It becomes a terrestrial paradise, and for this Akilah Jaramogi gives thanks.
Her gratitude reveals itself in her smile, in the calm way she shares the tale of how her late husband, Tacuma Jaramogi, a Rastafarian, rallied his community in the early 80s to begin a forestation project. The aim was to greenify the Fondes Amandes Hills when rain was abound; however during the other months, when bushfires were a menace and the area was eventually deemed a fire climax zone, they’d forget about the trees, go on with their lives, and wait for June to begin the work again.
Akilah joined the project a few years after it had begun and brought with her a different perspective. Rather than continue with a pattern that proved unsustainable, she redesigned the approach such that more long term crops were planted during the rainy season. Thereafter, there would be intentional efforts to protect these crops throughout the year.
Coincidentally, at the time, in addition to the forestation work, Tacumah was part of a fire prevention group. His knowledge from that was directed to the community project which was on 150 acres of land.
Working with the seasons nature had given them; the drier months became ones for cleaning and creating awareness – the actual breadth of protecting the forest. When Tacuma passed away in 1994, Akilah was tasked to continue the work – and even though she had six mouths to feed, she wore all the hats life had handed her with strength and with patience.
Her first plan and deliverable was to structure the project such that it would function as a fully-fledged (and sustainable) business. She registered it as a social enterprise – the Fondes Amandes Community Reforestation Project (FACRP), got women to join the board, and expanded the activities within the business umbrella.
More than two decades later, Akilah is still deeply rooted in the world of trees. She’s an energetic and enthusiastic environmental champion who spends her days guiding the work of FACRP, which includes an array of community-based activities.
The Fondes Amandes Hills are slowly breathing again thanks to the gradual restoration of lost forest cover and less forest fires (and hopefully there’ll be none in the near future). At a grassroots level, in the years since Akilah set up FACRP, it has grown into a household name for those on this side of Trinidad and Tobago.
There’s new and plenty of seeds to plant throughout the year and more community members are aware of climate change, its effects, and their role in protecting their natural home.
Akilah’s tireless efforts reaffirm what we mean when we say, “SHE Changes Climate”.
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In January 2023 Akilah Jaramogi joined as a SHE Changes Climate Ambassador for Trinidad and Tobago to support our 50:50 vision. We appreciate the work she does and will continue amplifying her efforts.
By Natalie Sifuma
