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.
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment