Day 3: RADA, Farmer's Market and Camp Millbrooks

Today was our second full day in Jamaica, and the sunburns have already caught most of us. This morning after a delicious breakfast and a bit of sun bathing and swimming, we got the opportunity to sit down with Richard’s (the Resort owner) event planner, Joan. Her job is to make sure that any events that go on at the resort go on without a hitch; she is also tasked with making sure any requests that guests have made are successfully achieved (no matter how strange). She joked that she was basically the fairy godmother to the guests because she could make almost anything happen. We also talked about Jamaican culture and how easygoing everyone is and that’s how the resort operates. She put an emphasis on the dress code of the employees,that fact that there really isn’t one, that it’s about destressing and mental health, and that some guests would feel uncomfortable if they were waited on by people wearing formal clothing. However, for formal events the staff would dress in uniform. I personally really enjoy the staff (although I am terrible with names); they are really friendly. 

We also got to learn a lot of about the Jamaican health care system. Jamaican health care is essentially free, just not very good in terms of waiting times and the availability of diagnostic testing; for example, they don’t have a publicly available MRI machine. However, they have a lot of herbal cures for common diseases. If you have the money, we’ve learned that you can get a lot more expansive healthcare. In this discussion we discovered that teen pregnancy is a big problem and there isn’t much put in place to help, In Jamaica it used to be that if you got pregnant while in school you had to leave school and were not able to go back. We have been told that very few social programs exist in Jamaica, it is more of a "if you earn it then it’s yours". Which is why the idea of developing the mental health and wellness sector of the camp is going to be a very important aspect.  Joan was very nice and seemed super interested in how we can help especially in the marketing department.

Local Farmers' Market

Next we adventured off the resort and headed to a local farmers market. The market was really interesting mostly because I had only been introduced to many of the fruits being sold yesterday. We passed by a live radio broadcast (with 40-year Jamaican radio veteran Barry G) and got to give a shout out on national radio, which was really fun. Olivia even got to talk a little bit about our Jamaican experience so far. We also got to talk to a farmer that Richard usually gets his supplies from. I wasn’t really a part of the discussion but those who were asked her a lot of questions.

Barry G interviews Richard and Olivia

Furthermore, we had the opportunity to sit down with Mr. Taylor from RADA (Rural Agriculture Development Agency). He explained that the agency helps farmers by giving them resources and training in order to grow the agriculture industry as a whole. We talked about growing seasons and how there really isn't any because plants will always grow due to the warm climate. We also briefly discussed the idea of GMOs and if they are used, as well as mentions of exporting capabilities of exotic fruits, herbs and flowers. 

Students got to pick Mr. Taylor's brain

Finally, we got to visit the Camp Millbrooks for the first time. On our way we stopped at a neighbouring pineapple farm and got a lesson on how to grow pineapples. We got to taste them as well as Jamaican apples and freshly cut sugar cane. Soon after we got to the camp and were able to actually start to assess how feasible our proposed plans would be to implement. We also started to understand the history of the area and the historical events that have occurred. The camp was different from what any of us had expected and the view was absolutely breathtaking (literally, because we were on a mountain and the air is different). We didn’t get to spend much time at the camp due to the fact it was going to be dark soon. Everyone is excited to return to the camp tomorrow to get a proper tour of the grounds.

We got to enjoy some fresh pineapple

The view from Camp Millbrooks

Oh I almost forgot one of the coolest things that I experienced! On the way back to the resort, we stopped at a grocery store. Now, even though they had a lot of items that we would see in Canada, some of the logos were printed slightly differently and they had a wide selection of things that I never knew existed. It was neat to observe locals buying their groceries because we all were looking around like we were on another planet and to everyone else this was just another chore to do. That was in my opinion the most interesting part of the trip thus far.  

- Written by Jordon Staroba