Ahead of hurricane weather, vetiver is stabilising this Caribbean island's crumbling hillsides
The Caribbean is bracing itself for an intense hurricane season. A fragrant plant could help limit damage from extreme weather in Trinidad.
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Vetiver grass itself is not native to the Caribbean, although there is anecdotal evidence of it growing here for at least the past 50 years. The plant is endemic to India, but the more commonly used types of vetiver have been introduced into many tropical countries, where it can thrive without becoming invasive – it requires human intervention to spread.
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Barcant's work involves rehabilitating the land that has been damaged by quarries, where vetiver can be planted to help make the soil more fertile for less hardy plants that are native to the region, unlike vetiver. Barcant's project has already seen success. The initiative is currently engaging community members from the Turure area of Sangre Grande, where quarrying has left land in need of remediation. The participants learn how to work with vetiver grass, sargassum seaweed for mulching, and reforestation with native trees to rehabilitate the landscape. The IAMovement's "Me We Green" programme has helped establish over 158,0000 vetiver plants in nine communities across the country.
Romany-Constantine is one of several residents involved in Barcant's vetiver project. She hopes to use the plant to stabilise the land around her house.
"It makes such a difference," says Romany-Constantine. "It's been helping a lot of people… It actually works like a wall – where I'm building my house, instead of building a wall I’m going to plant [vetiver]."
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