Post ... COVID - 19 Caribbean Business Model. A Joseph E. Doway Concept

Community Development – Creating that Culture of Independence

Vigilance, planning and strategy is the key to success of the Caribbean Region. Our idea seeks to support the implementation of Community Based Tourism on the Caribbean Islands, specifically by working with the local communities and empowering the local talent across sectors (e.g. creative industry, young entrepreneurs’ network, students, etc.) Like the rest of the world, Caribbean Communities are exposed to television, technology and Online services, so they are able to place themselves on the world platform. I believe that ideas were put forward for community tourism, but implementation is lacking. With the proper guidance, the access to financing and the management / marketing skills, our Caribbean people are capable of manufacturing electric cars to robots, utilize the majority of the fruits and vegetables that are available, either for canned packaging to the creation of various spices oils or powders, local bush medicines , juices and dried fruits. But the problem basically stemmed from the parent to child syndrome of parents wanting to live their lives through the children, so that they implant their children with the idea that they want them to be doctors, attorneys, airline pilots and bankers. But what they fail to realize is that someone who is a Mechanic (male/female) is as important as a Medical Doctor, seamstress, farmer, tradesman/woman, fisher folk or a bricklayer. Because at the end of the day, each one of these professions are essential at some point or another to contributing/stimulating financial growth in the economy. And that is what we want community members, education leaders and government officials to grasp. We need a diverse group of persons if our community, village, country or state is to move, because everyone has that important task.

Hence the reason for the introduction of our program at the student learning level, so that we can change the mindset of the millenniums and those to come, about becoming independent. That will be done through SEMSHOPs, On the Job Training, and the provision of avenues for one to start their own business, as soon as they have completed their studies. Our educational institutions should exam the International trends and our local/regional trends and review the successes and the failures in line with our strategic plans to see what will fit into the model that we want to create. The educational system has to be based on a structural framework and organising principles that has a main goal to sort and classify students.

Human Capital plays a great role in the value of any country, and in order to succeed, countries have to be prepared to teach and train their people about new technologies, present innovative ideas, teach the students the basics of life, as to how to start a business, how to apply for a loan, how to take care of their family, how to buy a house or apply for a mortgage, how they can use their God given skills and how to make the world a better place. Because with 7 CXC subjects does not guarantee the attainment of employment in an administrative or junior management position. The majority of employers do not want to hire someone who does not have some form of practical skillset for a job. Many tell you they want persons who are hands one. The fact is that the educational institutions have to be equipped to reach both the theory and practical or make arrangements for the students to obtain some form of on the job training in their areas of interest.    So, they must be taught the importance of Entrepreneurship, creating teams, forming consortium, the importance of research and development and of course, how to be independent and flexible. That would help reduce lawless behaviour and create better economies. 

This is all part of our combination of Community Development, Sustainable Development, Community/Village Based Tourism, the development of a Community Based Tourism Academy and Culture of Independence through unity. That is the objective of Brightmind Advisers and its team. Creating avenues for Sustainability, discovering and fostering the abilities of our people, utilizing our products and produce, putting our manufacturing skills to work , providing the tourist with a very pleasant experience and a memorable product and assisting with the growth of the Gross Domestic Product.

Sustainable Development can only be achieved through Community efforts, whereby every individual is allowed to be involved in determining what is best for their Community / Village or Country. The process of achieving a Culture of Independence can be lengthy or short, dependent on the Mindset of the people to whom the ideas is introduced to. In order to become self-reliant, self-sufficient, we must all be ready to accept criticism without being extremely defiant. There has to be that need to work together, regardless to our political preference, because that brings in division and division is the opposite of UNITY. Everyone has to be ready to work for country, not for the politician of favor or liking. As such, there has to be that need to develop or prepare the best product and promote and market our products and produce with a sense of pride and stop assuming that because it comes from OVERSEAS, it is better. Just read the labels on most of the imported items. It is imperative that we always remember, bearing in mind, it takes money to make money. If your product packaging or your product is poor, it will not be acceptable. If your item is overpriced, it will not be accepted either locally, regionally or internationally.

While over the past decades, tourism has been introduced as a foreign exchange cashflow, we have not been sustainable in our practice of tourism. We have allowed tourism to use us as oppose to us using tourism to our advantage. Due to the emphasis placed on tourism and the fact that it created employment, many persons dropped their tools and found themselves as employees in the hospitality and tourism industry.

Our Governments allowed Investors to purchase prime lands to build hotels and resorts with no duty of ensuring that the development of the land contributes to the sustainability of the community and the natural environs.  We gave way to having mega cruise ships engage our seaports, bringing in thousands of visitors to our shores, brainwashing us to believe that it is the best response to the development of our countries. The financial gains from tourism are not equally distributed between the locals and the foreign investors even though In actual fact, we cannot overlook the cultural mind set of the communities , the cultural diversity across the islands of the Caribbean where some have a sense of entitlement and others have no other choice in terms of a quick/easy means of income to look after their families, especially where academic qualifications or legislation is not the deciding factor.  I remember an instance where farmers abandoned their crops to become taxi drivers. In other cases, persons described farming and fishing as demeaning jobs. They gravitated to the method of what they considered ‘earning money in an easier way’ “They forgot that through the sweat of their brow, man shall eat bread.” 

Now, I have nothing against Tourism, but I refuse to accept the fact that the Caribbean has become so dependent on Tourism. Funny thing is for years, we have been talking about diversifying, but Governments were not paying heed. Then came the Coronavirus, which change the entire world of business. The first to go was travel, which then created the domino effect. Hotels and Resorts were closing down, so persons were being laid off or made redundant. With that lack of disposal income, businesses were beginning to feel the pinch, resulting in loss of revenue. It was a lesson that took the region by surprise. But let’s go back in time. During the years of hospitality and travel success, the business owners and other consumers were turning down the locally grown produce for imported items. It is not that local foods were not available; it was more that the product was more expensive and there was never a consistency in supply. We have to understand the impact that inconsistencies can have on a business “bottom line”. In some cases, some islands had food import bills that were astronomical. In fact, the combined food import bill (FIB) for 14 Caribbean Community member states skyrocketed from US$2.o8 billion in 2000 to US$4 billion in 2008 and surpassed the US$4.25 billion mark in 2011. The frightening thing is that it is predicted that the food import bill is expected to increase to US$8-10 billion this year. Now with the COVID-19, that figure could be increased by 34%. 

Let’s be realistic and focus on what makes up the regional import basket. I am certain you will agree with me that some of items can be home grown and produced: Wheat and Maize derived products – Food Seasoning – Cereals – Soups – Chicken – Beef – Mutton – Cheese – Dry / Evaporated Milk – Rice – Beverages – Sugar – Frozen Fish Products and Animal Feed.

Simply, what we want to do is identify countries that able to produce and replace the major import items (within a process of survey to become knowledgeable of consumer taste and the production process, where by the consistency of the produce has to be sustainable especially when it comes to the price point.  

Work together with the Bureaus of Standard to identify potential competitiveness in terms of price, taste and quality, vis – a – vis imported items.

Create an investment body that will assist in sourcing required funding or providing the same at reasonable terms to allow farmers and home base garden owners to start or continue their farming. Certainly, each investment body will be also responsible for the monitoring of the operation of the businesses. That will mean monitoring the daily financial transactions.

Certainly, we will have to look at policy constrains, international requirements, profitability constrains, the infrastructures and service constrains. Those would have to be addressed in order to ensure productivity. I stressed more on the importance of Agriculture, Agro Processing and Agro-business, because food is essential to every human being. Wellness and Health are all dependent on what we consume as a people. We can start by growing what we eat. Appreciate what is brought to the table from your local farmers, butchers and producers. Food Security is import and we MUST encourage SELF SUFFICIENCY IN THE CARIBBEAN.

Why Community Development

Our aim is to bring community members together to identify and take collective action on issues which are important to them. It is a means of empowering community members and creating stronger and more connected communities. Community members are experts in their lives and communities, and they value community knowledge and wisdom. We want to work along with community members at every stage – from deciding on issues to selecting and implementing actions and evaluation. We want adults and children to be directly involved in community development initiatives that may benefit from increases in skills, knowledge, empowerment and self-efficacy. That they experience enhanced social inclusion and community connectedness. Also, that they learn more about and preserved and protect their history, the Caribbean History and the people of the Caribbean who made a difference.

Creating that Culture of Independence, Community by Community, destination by destination

Phase Start up

1. Define Community Development

2. Build the Right Team and Relationships

3. Assess and Evaluate the needs of each Community per destination

4. Use historical and modern-day data to development the Community Development Plan

5. Look at previous Successful Community Development Efforts

The Sectors:

Education – Teaching and Learning about Caribbean History Health and Nutrition – Awareness – (This is essential to preserving our Caribbean people and should be a subsector of education)

Energy - Solar Systems – Wind Energy Harvesting

Agriculture – Agro Processing – Agri-Business

Water Harvesting - Creating Safe Water Collection Dams – (A subsector of Agriculture)

Cultural Development – Arts – Craft – Music and Dance

Wildlife Protection

Blue Economy – Fishing – Water Transportation – Boat Building

The right Team – Inform – Empower – Consult and Participate.

The right team has to be ready to assist in the Decision – making within our group, those having various expertise regarding Sustainable Development – Business Management Training – Health and Wellness Management – Community Based Tourism Management – Basic Education – Historians and Caribbean Lecturers.

Team members will be leaders who are interested in the empowerment of people, regardless to race, creed or culture. 

The final results must be centered around Changing the Mindset of the people in the Communities and preparing them to grasp a Culture of Independence.

The Brightmind Team of Advisers will be the Community Development Practitioners, with the resources to make things happen.

Caribbean History really matters and unfortunately, many of the textbooks used in the Caribbean Schools, Colleges and Universities do not really give a clear and concise description of our Caribbean History, as if it does not matter. Many of our islands are not certain how the Caribbean was formed, which is where there is division among islanders. With that said, our people have to learn of the legacies of slavery, but also of the success stories of past and modern-day pioneers who were born or raised in the Caribbean. This would be a continuation of the work compiled and / or presented by Caribbean Historian. We must recognize the time and labor, the sacrifice of workers in the Caribbean who grew and cut bananas for export to Europe or the person who cut and processed the cane that was used to produce sugar. History is one way of changing the mindset of those who are unaware of, say, as to how each country received its present status. So, through lecturers, videos, tours, reenactments and written notes, we have to allow our people to know their history. Change from the Christopher Columbus era of knowledge and embrace what is ours.

In order to bring about change, we have to look at what we were taught and what is really the truth. There has to be a movement of thinking, which would allow communities / villages to think of the need for Unity, the importance of Self Value, the need for working together as Cooperatives, Credit Unions, Consortium and even merging of business entities. Our Community Leaders have to be able to pass on the message that as Caribbean people, we hold a great treasure, a wealth of knowledge and we are from a generation of strong, hardworking people who can be very resilient.  The lack of knowing our history is the reason why we have the “Divide and Rule” attitude which really does us no good as a nation.  Look around and see which other race of people hold “the Success Story”. We have to stop the cycle of teaching our children to become successful employees rather help them to become successful global Entrepreneurs that employees seek out to form strategic partnerships and/or alliances.

So, in order to move forward, we have to have a strategic plan

1. Create a body of Advisers, Consultants and Lecturers

2. Create a Network of Professionals through the world (Innovators, Inventors,

3. Implement a Community Involvement Program

4. Align with NGOs, Donors and Funding Agencies

5. Investigate the introduction of Cooperatives and a Trust to provide funding for community projects