Towns And Roads

A few shots of buildings from villages in Dominica, a volcanic West Indian micro-nation. What I didn't manage to get a good shot of are the scores of little colored flags affixed to all manner of private property in all of the villages. The flags were colored to indicated support for various Prime Minister candidates in a surprise election to be held at the end of the week (a single small red flag is visible in the top right of the above picture). I've been told that people in other countries are actually interested in things like elections and soccer that don't hold the attention of Americans, but now I believe it--those things were everywhere!

Rum Punch

Here's a picture of a very strong rum punch I had at my favorite place in the world, Jungle Bay Resort. Incredible amounts of high-proof local rum+tons of fresh local ginger=this drink packed a punch. It is my cause of and solution to all of life's problems.

How The Rum Is Made

Kurt's garden grows up the side of a steep hill. At the top is a shed built out of galvanized metal lined with drums. In the drums Kurt brews up... rum! Above: Sugar Cane from the garden fermenting (being eaten by yeast).
When the yeast has done its job, the alcohol is distilled in this coil.
The brew is placed in the vat to the left. Kurt stokes the fire under this vat until the alcohol evaporates out the top, then cools and condenses in the coil. The rum is dispensed out the spout in the bottom right. As primitive as it looks, Kurt explained the process in technical detail and showed us pieces of equipment that must be kept strictly sterile.
Of course I don't remember which pieces those were because then I got to try the rum. Strong and smooth! The backyard distillers on the island pool their product to form a bottling co-op.

Dominica Garden

Dominican people live close to their land; in fact, is is said that the island's most heated disputes develop over property, rather than money or women. Everyone, it seems, has a garden, and grows to feed their family and supplement their income. The soil is so fertile and climate so mild that an amazing array of crop plants grow here. The people here don't have much, and jobs are hard to come by. But we witnessed a rich agricultural tradition that at least keeps people fed and gives them something to do.
We visited the home, garden, and home-grown rum distillery of a Dominican named Kurt. All of the following was growing in his garden.
Sorrel, a tart-tasting flower and greens used in soups and salads.
Tumeric.
Tumeric.
Bay Trees.
Coconut.
Coffee.
Ginger Flower.
Ginger Root.
Golden Apple.
Ginger Root and opened Coffee Bean pod.
Kurt weaves dry palm to demonstrate basket-making techniques.
Papaya.
Lemongrass and Sugar Cane (used to make rum).
We enjoy Golden Apples and rum at the end of our tour.
I leave with a bouquet of herbs: Bay Leaf, Citronella, Thyme, Cinnamon, and Lemongrass.

Arrowroot

Arrowroot is a tropical plant with attractive foliage and flowers. The root can be ground to make a cereal. The economy of Dominica is dominated by agriculture; everyone is either involved in the business of growing or at least grew up around it.

Bay Oil Distillery

The history of Caribbean economies is long and complicated by colonial ties. Native Kalinago and Taino tribes lived easily off of light agriculture, fishing, and trading handicrafts. After arrival, Europeans killed off native tribes almost completely with in a matter of decades, establishing a completely new way of life. European powers fashioned their Caribbean colonies as dependent markets, forbidding trade with other nations. Islands economies became slaves to the desires of consumers in the motherland. Fortunes were for a brief time built on sugar, until competition from other suppliers shut down the mills and left many destitute. The same could be said more recently of bananas. Islands still struggle to diversify and stabilize their economies. One such effort was the production of bay oil. Here are some pictures from a small roadside distillery we visited in Dominica.
Above, piles of bay leaves behind the distilling vat. Dominica's story is some what different from the other islands. The treacherous terrain made establishing large plantations difficult; additionally, the mountains and jungle made escape and subsistence farming easier for escaped slaves and rogue natives. The legacy of independence, subsistence, and resourcefulness is still apparent. While jobs are scarce, every seems to farm on a small scale, and home grown distilleries and factories of all sorts abound.
An old pan for curing cocoa.A well-placed glove.
Bay leaf waiting to be boiled.The juice is boiled in the vat at left and distilled in the coil at right.
Shaft for feeding the fire. Bay leaf waste composting behind the shed.