Hand2Earth

Roots can repair your wealth!
With an opener like that, you might be have some questions for us.

The wealth we're talking about is the rich agri-heritage and biological diversity of our communities. It intricately tied to the land.

However, it is going down the drain, quite literally washing away in many communities across St. Vincent and the Grenadines because of soil erosion. In the area around Wharf Road and Little Bay Beach in Troumaca, that wealth is getting diminished because of severe gully erosion. The source of this problem lies in poor water management from a housing development and playing field above the affected areas.

BUT all is not lost!
The Little Bay coastal protection project is well on the way to reverse damage.

One of the three methods the Hand2Earth team is using to address this gully erosion is live staking. We're taking cuttings from indigenous shrubs and trees and planting them directly in the ground.

So, why are we using the live staking method?

🌱 To establish healthy root systems that keep the soil in place

💧 To improve water absorption into the ground

🏝️To revegetate the riparian zone—the buffer that protects the coastal habitat

🐞 To improve the biodiversity of the area which in turn supports local wildlife and pollinators

Live staking is a fast and cheap way to get new plants to root and grow quickly.

But what does any this have to do with wealth though?

Live staking gets living roots back into the ground.

💰 It grows wealth = Actively safeguards the land for local farmers to sustain their livelihoods

💸 It saves wealth = Gives residents peace of mind by protecting their homes from structural damage from landslides and slippage

In the spirit of International Day for Biological Diversity, each of us can help to improve the biodiversity within our communities. Whether we're out on the land planting more local trees, buying directly from community farmers or making sure that we're properly routing water away from our homes…

Every action makes an impact.

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Our 2025-2026 Environmental Recovery and Historic Preservation of Little Bay Beach through Erosion Mitigation and Sustainable Livelihood Creation project is funded by SVG Conservation Fund.

Allow us to formally introduce….our Little Bay Coastal Protection project. In case you didn't know, here are a few facts about what we're doing at Wharf Road and Little Bay in Troumaca, North Leeward, SVG.

📌What is it?
A Hand2Earth conservation project to reduce the degradation of soil and ocean ecosystems in the vicinity of Little Bay. This 2025–2026 project is funded by SVG Conservation Fund.


⛰️What's the problem?
Severe soil erosion along Wharf Road resulting in extreme land loss and deep gully formations. From our observations, the erosion is the result of improper water run-off management from a residential area and poorly graded playing field higher up in the watershed.

🌊Why it matters?
The severe erosion is causing heavy sedimentation build-up in the low-lying area near the coast.
That is damaging the semi-aquatic habitats found within this buffer (the riparian zone).
As a result, excess sediment, nutrients and pollutants are released into the bay, smothering marine habitats.

🪏What's H2E doing?
Using Vetiver Systems Technology to stabilize the banks and gullies. Vetiver planted along the land's contours will grow into hedgerows and eventually develop risers (terraces).

Installing 21 check dams to slow down the water flow, letting the water soak into the earth and trapping sediment behind the dams.

Living staking local plants to create living root systems to hold the soil together while improving the area's biodiversity.

🤝As is the norm with all of our projects, the community is at the heart of the work we're doing around Little Bay.

We're developing a hiking trail that connects the Vetiver Heritage Site to Little Bay. The participating North Leeward farmers are being trained as tour guides so that they can facilitate agri-heritage tours once everything is up and running!

Stay tuned. The vetiver journey continues…

Last October, forestry expert Fitzgerald Providence delivered two presentations to the team of farmers participating in our ongoing Little Bay coastal protection project. Farmers learned about health and safety in the field, various erosion control measures and forest management. The educational sessions reinforced the practical experiences the farmers had while observing the gully erosion and installing check dams at the Wharf Road site in September 2025.

Mr. Providence's presentations shared keen insights about volcanic landscapes, biodiversity and soil fertility specifically as it relates to the North Leeward area where our coastal protection project is underway. During the post-session discussion, Sylvia Young, Jah-I Pierre and Percy Jocelyn shared some of the insights gained from the presentation and the guided nature hike of the surrounding area.

One such insight was about the various animal species found in the North Leeward area and the roles they play on farms and in the wider ecosystem of the area. The common black hawk (Buteogallus anthracinus) and St. Vincent wren (Troglodytes musicus) were among those heard/observed during the hike.

Many thanks to Pastor Haywood for providing a space for these sessions to take place.

These educational presentations were delivered on October 11th and 18th, 2025 by Fitzgerald Providence, former Director of Forestry, as part of the Environmental Recovery and Historic Preservation of Little Bay Beach through Erosion Mitigation and Sustainable Livelihood Creation project which is funded by SVG Conservation Fund.

Last November, yet another cohort of North Leeward farmers successfully completed training in Vetiver Systems Technology!

The group received their certificates of completion at the graduation event held on November 20, 2025 at the Hand2Earth Vetiver Heritage Centre in Troumaca. A total of 17 farmers were trained between September to November 2025 during two separate training workshops in Rose Hall. Among the graduands were 14 farmers who received intermediate or advanced level certification, and three who received introductory level certification.

During the graduation event, participating farmers commended the on-going Hand2Earth project for re-introducing the traditional knowledge of using vetiver grass as an erosion control measure for farmlands on the steep mountainous terrain of mainland St. Vincent.

As part of the training, the farmers were given an overview of the history of vetiver in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. They heard directly from members of the Vetiver Heritage Family farmers' group about the various benefits of integrating vetiver grass on their farms, and saw those benefits in practice on the Vetiver Agri-Heritage Site and several farm sites across the North Leeward area with Vetiver Systems installations.

On behalf of Hand2Earth and the Vetiver Heritage Family, we extend a great many thanks to all of our project participants, Janeel Miller-Findlay and Brenton Quammie of the Sustainable Development Unit, our community partners, and of course the Inclusive GEF Assembly Challenge Program Fund for their support in making it possible to deliver this much needed training to the farming community in the volcanic hazard zones of St. Vincent's North Leeward area.

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The Hand2Earth Vetiver Systems Technology training was delivered from Sep–Nov 2025 as part of the Inclusive GEF Assembly Challenge Program project titled Upscaling Vetiver Systems for Sustainable Farmland Recovery which is funded by Global Environment Facility and UNIDO - United Nations Industrial Development Organization.

Since 2022, Hand2Earth has been working with North Leeward farmers to restore severely eroded farm lands while repairing and preserving a system of historic vetiver hedgerows/terraces that are nearly 100 years old.

Jah-I is a to***co farmer from Troumaca who received advanced level certification in Vetiver Systems Technology last November. Since being invited by Felicia Wickham, he has become an active member of the Vetiver Heritage Family!

Jah-I is a part of our inclusive team of Field Champions that installs Vetiver Systems for erosion control, sustainable farm systems, coastal protection and trail development.

Hand2Earth's Vetiver Systems Technology training was delivered from Sep–Nov 2025 as part of the Inclusive GEF Assembly Challenge Program project titled Upscaling Vetiver Systems for Sustainable Farmland Recovery which is funded by Global Environment Facility and UNIDO - United Nations Industrial Development Organization.

Clarence is a big supporter of conservation efforts. He has been involved with the Vetiver Heritage Family for some time now, often providing his taxi services for our various community outings. Last November, he was among the latest cohort of farmers who completed training in Vetiver Systems Technology!

This Hand2Earth Vetiver Systems Technology training was delivered from Sep–Nov 2025 as part of the Inclusive GEF Assembly Challenge Program project titled Upscaling Vetiver Systems for Sustainable Farmland Recovery which is funded by Global Environment Facility and UNIDO - United Nations Industrial Development Organization.

A huge component of our Vetiver Systems training sessions are the connections made during in-the-field activities. Participating farmers get to actively install vetiver contours on various community sites and witness how vetiver grass improves the land.

A casual exchange between Ann John and Thomas Cain reveals the short timeframe, about 10 years or so, within which severe gully erosion and deforestation occurred at one of our current project sites along Wharf Road in Troumaca.

Personal observations like this one reveal a local history that is very much tied to the land and sheds light on the changes that shape it over time.

📍Wharf Road, Troumaca

This Hand2Earth Vetiver Systems Technology (VST) training was delivered from Sep–Nov 2025 as part of the Inclusive GEF Assembly Challenge Program project titled Upscaling Vetiver Systems for Sustainable Farmland Recovery which is funded by Global Environment Facility and UNIDO - United Nations Industrial Development Organization.

During this component of the VST training, participating farmers learned from and worked alongside our Field Champions who are installing vetiver contours for erosion mitigation along Wharf Road as part of our Environmental Recovery and Historic Preservation of Little Bay Beach through Erosion Mitigation and Sustainable Livelihood Creation project which is funded by St. Vincent and the Grenadines Conservation Fund.