Create Caribbean Research Institute

By Precious Peter

A strategy that worked 20 years ago to solve a problem or deal with an issue, may not be the best way to handle similar problems in present times. Things change with time, and so some of the laws that govern our society should too. Hurricane Maria has allowed me to really think about, and question, a few things about our laws and policies with regards to sustainability. My assigned topic on our ongoing project Carisealand, has allowed me to do further research into the topic of Environmental Law.

“God bless perseverance because it’s not easy” ~ Junot Diaz.

Looking back to when I first became an intern at Create Caribbean, I realized that I’ve come a long way. We all have. I have learnt so much just from being a member of this esteemed institution. I also learnt things that could be applied to life and my approach to certain situations.

This semester at Create Caribbean has honestly been pretty tough, but all worth it beyond measure. The process of working towards our goal has been tedious but exciting and fruitful. On this project, I am partnered with a lovely individual named Rhea Xavier; however everyone’s task is linked in some way or another, which is one of the most beautiful things about this project. Rhea is so strong willed and hard-working and it’s been such a pleasure working with her. She, along with the other members of our Create family, continue to inspire me and amaze me by achieving all that we do: both in and out of Create Caribbean. Carisealand is a major project that we are undertaking and it is coming along very well and is definitely something to look out for.

The various responsibilities associated with my involvement in this project includes:

• conducting interviews with persons knowledgeable within the areas of our topic, which is Environmental law,  and a subtopic: Building Codes.
• Conducting research and acquiring information found within the Dominica Documentation Center, and The Archives.
• the formulation of scripts for the continuation of our insightful Carisealand series.

One of the persons whom we conducted an interview with was Mr. Kelvin Rolle, the chief physical planner of Dominica. He appeared to be well versed on the topic of Building Codes, and so most of the information he supplied us with was quite helpful. He also stated that the Dominica Building Code is currently being revised.

With regards to the law, the internet was not a very reliable source of information, however, The Dominica Documentation Center provided some legislature and policies which were deemed useful.

Apart from Mr.Rolle, we intend to meet and converse with other persons who may influence the research and shed positive and applicable information regarding the topic.

As I have mentioned before, working with the rest of the Create family has been easy-going for the most part. The new members fit in quite easily and I am personally happy to have them on board with us along with their skills/talents.

On another note,Create Caribbean has also done creative seminars with the third and fourth formers of The Convent High School and that was indeed a success. I was elated to be a part of such an activity and I know the students had a great time as well.

Being a member of Create can be quite time consuming, especially paired with school work. However, nothing good comes easy and that’s one of the reasons why I am still here.

“Success can allow you to try for greatness, can give you an opportunity to take a chance on
something. I’m very blessed to have the success that I’ve had, and that’s given me so many opportunities to work on being great” .

– Orlando Bloom

Before joining this research institute, I only encountered the feelings of skepticism, hesitation, and doubt. I did not understand what was the main objective of this team of students. After this, one may ask, why am I involved in this group when my initial reaction to joining it was pure negativity. The answer is two words; Peer pressure. The initial thoughts of many on hearing the term “peer pressure” may be “ a negative outcome.” However, I am proud to say that I am one of the few who has an experienced a positive result from peer pressure.

Some of my family members who attended Dominica State College (DSC) were part of Create Caribbean and pressured me to join the institute. When I finally began going to DSC, I decided to give it a chance and hoped I would not regret. A few months later, here
I am, an intern at Create Caribbean and I can definitely say that I have no regrets!

I see Create Caribbean as a road leading to many opportunities. A place were exposure to research, technology and community will result in the enhancement of an individual’s life. As research is the main duty of all the interns, knowledge about many topics are gained, reading skills are improved, time management is practiced and the habit of wasting time is controlled. Therefore, I am confident that some areas of my life which need improvement will
be enhanced. I realized that Create is not a place where only work if strictly practiced, to my surprise having fun while working is enforced. I love, love, love the environment of Create Caribbean as I am surrounded by people with uplifting spirits and a high level of
determination which goes well with who I am. I felt like an official Create intern when I was asked to aid in the current research project, Carisealand. Under Carisealand, I am engaged in the topic, ‘Environmental Law and Justice’.

Again, initially, I was skeptical, uninterested and lost. However, as time went by, I realized how important this topic is and the level of knowledge I have gained thus far is remarkable.

The Caribbean is a place prone to natural disasters, taking the necessary precaution to ensure that individuals are safe is important. With that being said, Environmental Law pertains to the ways in which the environment can be as preserved as much possible and to allow minimal damage to occur in the case of a disaster. Under this topic, the research information gained expanded my knowledge on the right ways to preserve the environment and allowed me to be aware of the many ways people have been wrong.

Thus, I see how important it is to research using technology to communicate within a community . After this project is done, I can only imagine how many individuals will benefit
from it and gain a vast level of knowledge to make the environment better. If someone does not take the stand to inform the public, who will? Therefore, I am extremely proud to be apart
of this institute where a difference is made.

By Mikayah Antonio

Here at Create Caribbean we undertake many different projects,  each having their own unique requirements. Currently, I am working extensively on the Carisealand project. Apart from my mapping duties, I have been given the task to research and present on the topic Marine Life.

Mapping, is the general term I use to describe my contribution to the project, however my work isn’t limited to the definition of this term. Thus far, I have successfully added all available items to Omeka. Furthermore, I have also mapped them onto Neatline. These items consist of various companies, sites, shops
and lands marks of interest in different Caribbean countries pertaining to environmental sustainability. Though tedious at times, I found little difficulty in doing such. Eventually, I was aided by a few of my fellow interns, thus hastening the process.

My research on my topic, however, follows a different path. Though research has proven to be quite interesting and somewhat easy to acquire, finding persons who can speak on on sub topics like coral bleaching, for example, from a professional point of view has been problematic.

Despite this challenge, with aid from my superiors, I was able to structure my content in ways that accommodate the sources I am able to utilize. So far, I have accumulated vast amounts of raw
information on the different subtopics, some of which I have made sense of and used to transition between these subtopics. As a side project under my research, I have created a story map showing
entities in charge of legislature or policy in respect to marine life of each island, and their respective marine reserves and dive sites. Though both my projects and research are far from completion, I am moving at a steady pace and don’t see completion as something far ahead.

By Breidy Santiago

The second semester after Hurricane Maria has been quite exasperating. Trying to get work done in this condition has been challenging. Amazingly, the interns have been able to get passed their trials and move to the finish point.

I have been working on the economics of climate. This topic is very interesting because there are so many things to look at. It has also given me the opportunity to grow and learn many new things.

One aspect of this project is poverty. I was able to get a deeper understanding of poverty and how individuals who live in poverty do not actually believe that they are poor. One of the task which has to be done for this topic is film video with various persons. I earnestly looked for individuals to interview to get a grasp of their point of view on the topic poverty. However, many have declined. It seemed like I wouldn’t get someone, but, after many attempts someone finally accepted. Filming for that video was really great. I was really happy that I was getting some work done.

Being at Create Caribbean has awakened a new interest in me: Information Technology. Another project which I have had my eye on was finally assigned to me. I always wanted to get involved in mapping on the Carisealand page. I was able to that and it has been really awesome. Getting an understanding of software and different things that I can do with my computer has delighted me.

By Alina Esprit

The process of obtaining information, be it from the internet, books or humans, requires both discipline and patience. This was one of the first things that I learned while collecting data for this project. My partner and I conducted a series of interviews to help us to gather information relating to our topic. While putting together the interview questions, we tried our best to ask relevant questions without getting too personal. Collecting information from humans can be very tricky because we are emotional beings and we do not appreciate when strangers pry in our business. My partner and I also thought that it was also really important to not only interview highly influential persons and well established farmers but also agriculture majors at our own institution because they too have an opinion about the topic and ideas on how we can resolve the issues that seem to be recurring.
My partner and I also took several trips to the Statistics Center and the Ministry of Agriculture. Each time looking for more information on things we found out about the last time. Spending time reading, dissecting and interpreting information from books usually take a while and requires a lot of patience. When one question gets answered there are immediately a series of follow up questions that need to be answered as well. However, getting these answers are usually more difficult than the initial question.
Filming the videos for our projects are a lot more exciting. Recording them can sometimes be nerve wrecking for Gael and I as well as the interviewees but it works out really well in the end. Writing the scripts and recording the voice overs are both interesting and challenging. It’s a lot more difficult after the passing of Hurricane Maria because of the lack of a space, utilities and equipment. However, my partner and I find a way to utilize any 5 minutes of quiet that we get during the day to write and record. Seeing the end product warms my heart and helps me understand how serious what we’re doing here at Create Caribbean really is.
We learned that on average, people don’t usually sit and think about where their food comes from and whether or not their food is secure. I have not given it too much thought either and I’m pretty sure that my parents have not. A rather unfortunate fact is that world is changing every second and, with the effects of global warming this change is not necessarily for the better. We need to start thinking about ways in which we can ensure our food and water security, not only for us and our future children but for our children’s children and those after them. We can all help to heal the world or at least make it better.
These projects are a lot bigger than us and making sure that it goes in the direction that it is supposed to is a huge responsibility. I am humbled and honoured to be a part of such an important group.

By Rhea Xavier

Two years ago, if you asked me to think about a creator, I would think of sculptors or writers but through Digital Humanities, my concept of this has, in essence, shifted. It is especially emphasized through my work in Carisealand.

Currently, I am working on the topic, Environmental Law, and I’ve never realized or come to the appreciation of something so seemingly mundane. Alongside my colleague, Precious Peter, I’ve began understanding these things that people typically would take for granted and dissected them so I can thoroughly understand the way in which things are currently. Doing this allows me to understand what is currently done and how can we improve on this to create a more sustainable Caribbean.

Within the topic of Environmental Law, Precious and I began to concentrate first on one of the subtopics, Building Codes. Initially, we thought it would encompass sizes of things like purlins and grades of galvanize but we later discovered that was only the tip of the iceberg. By interviewing a few experts shortly after we began our research, we noticed that the architecture of some buildings varied from others and are currently in the process of essentially finding out what it means and how it could aid in the building of structures within our island home in the future.

This goes as a reminder that although I am not a sculptor or writer, I design and imagine with the ability of reproducing my ideas into something greater than myself, something that will transcend a lifetime and can aid in ways I have not yet comprehended. I am a Creator, not by being an intern at Create Caribbean Inc. But by using the topic I have (Environmental Law) and using it in a way that has not yet been seen, a process in which I am very excited to learn about.

By Alisha Alexander

As the good old saying goes, “In order to know where you are going, you need to know where you came from.” With that in mind, allow me to take you on a road trip, when I first learnt about Create Caribbean and how my experience so far has been as an intern. Caution: we might experience some turbulence but do sit back and enjoy the ride.

September, 2015.

I was a freshman at college and on my way to my first Digital Humanities Class. Keep in mind, I do not know what this class is about, where it is and I have exactly ten minutes to get to class. How great… Luckily, I met a student who was on her way to class as well. Exhales.

The next hour passed by so quickly. The class was better than I initially expected  and it was in that time I was introduced to Dr. Esprit and in that time, I learnt about Create Caribbean.

Pitstop; learning about Create Caribbean and the interns.

The initial idea was to get my dear friend, Josh,  to join Create. The guy is a computer genius! When I say he is good, I mean he’s good. So being the observer that I was,  I knew that Josh would be the kind of intern that Dr. Esprit needed… kind of. I mean, the guy knows his stuff and is good at it. But the catch was, if he signed up, I had to as well. I really wasn’t sure if I would fit in and wasn’t even sure what I would offer to Create. With nothing to lose, I signed up with Josh. I did the interview and was a nervous wreck but I guess you can figure out what happened next; won’t have been your tour guide if I hadn’t gotten in.

Even before joining, I thought that all the interns at Create Caribbean were nerds. And they were. But chill nerds. I remember my classes with Jerrad; most times he looked sleep deprived because he stayed up late to meet deadlines and I sympathized with him and knew it was for a good reason. This along with many other reasons, ultimately lead up to my September 2017 decision.

Ladies and Gentlemen, now to the final stop of our journey. The place I call “My Home, Away from Home”. I’m very much aware that our physical home was destroyed, but home isn’t just a building. It’s the appreciation that you feel when you are around the people you have come to cherish and work with.  Thus far I have been embraced by the support of the Create Interns. It has truly been fun working with these energetic and focused young people. And to add to this, I am enjoying working on the Carisealand project. Social issues are topics that I hold dear to my heart and being able to explore “Environmental Justice, Poverty & Human Impact” has been a joy. Not to sound biased, but my favorite part to my topic has been Poverty. It has been interesting to see the issues that affect the poor especially after a natural disaster. It’s remarkable hearing the stories of those who have faced poverty and those who indirectly respond to those issues.

TURBULENCE!

As a new intern, one of my biggest challenges so far has been “thinking it through.” I am learning to be cautious and thorough with everything. Just not the way I act, but the way I speak and rationalized things. At Create, I am being groomed to think the situation to the bone of it before I make any drastic decisions. Therefore, my new motto in life is “think it all the way through!”

I know it’s just the beginning but I’m certain that my experience at Create Caribbean is going to be a memorable one.

With this being said, ladies and gentlemen, we have come to the end of our tour. I do hope you’ve enjoyed your journey on the “Alisha’s New Intern Experience Express”. Tips are welcomed!

By Aldon Gage

When I first heard of Create Caribbean, I didn’t have any real clue as to what it was about. All I knew was it consisted of a small group interns doing research together However, once I got to know what it was all about, my perspective towards it changed. I joined Create Caribbean for a chance to apply and share my knowledge and techniques in Information Technology to aid in the research projects being done. I also recognized that this internship could help me improve my research skills and teach me new things. One thing I didn’t take into consideration is the amount of time and work I would have to put in. Unlike the other interns who began their internship at the time that they had started college, I was already in my second year, and would only have a semester and a half to contribute to the team. This made me feel behind time and that I’d have to push much more work to feel accomplished. In addition to that I was an I.T major, which adds significant value to my role.

Now being fully integrated as an intern, I think of how to handle work differently. Thinking it all the way through is definitely key. Being able to properly prioritize whatever needs to be done and in a timely fashion makes all the difference in the world of work. With that being said I am still dealing with procrastination like many of my peers are.

In terms of skills, my social skills showed the most improvement as I am impressed with the number of friends I have made through the internship. As a student, I have learnt a method of keeping my assignments more organized and complete tasks at the earliest given chance because there is always a lot more to be done. Time management is something I am also still working on.

At the moment, I am working on minor changes for the main Carisealand website and adding more content to the map. My first impression of the mapping was that it looked quite difficult and I was concerned I would make a big mistake, though I was clearly overthinking it. Certain places on the map, although given direct addresses, were still quite difficult finding as well. Mikayah gave me the proper guidance I needed and ensured everything was double-checked and accurate to make sure I was on the right track. I have successfully mapped all content needed thus far and is now working on a new objective which is learning how to use the Git command-line interface and its commands. I sometimes wish that the idea of developing new ideas and bringing them into fruition using my I.T skills were as easy as the research that I see my colleagues do.

All in all I am so far loving my Create experience and so it’s going to be sad when the semester comes to a close. My only wish is that I had joined sooner.

By Josh Bazil

I never would have thought that I would be a part of something as unique as Create Caribbean. I initially enrolled in college with the hopes of getting a job somewhere in the I.T. sector after pursuing a degree in Computer Science. And for the first year I stuck to that plan, giving it my all in each of my classes, especially programming, and then eventually enrolling in the Center of Excellence program when it debuted. Somehow along the way, Create became a part of my college journey and later developed into an experience of its own.

The story of how I became an intern at Create is an interesting one, to me at least. My fellow Create intern and high-school upperclassman Alisha suggested that I should apply for the task of working on the school website. I was hesitant at first, however after a quick boost to my ego and a reminder of all the projects I’ve worked on before, she lead me to the office of the Registrar. This would be my first interaction with Dr. Esprit. We seemed to hit it off after I suggested a solution for a minor error on her website. The interview was more of a haphazard conversation, with rapid exchanging of ideas and technical terms. I tried to market myself as a valuable asset, listing every programming language that I knew and every technical skill that I possessed. Dr. Esprit then asked me if I would like to join Create, to which I replied “I have a proposition for you”, not understanding that I was being asked to become one of her interns. The feeling was akin to a small startup being acquired by a huge conglomerate, similar to when Android was acquired by Google, except on a way smaller scale and millions of dollars were not on the table. I was then told to report to the next Create Caribbean meeting the following Thursday.

Although my time at Create Caribbean has been short, I’ve enjoyed every moment of it. I started off only doing small tasks like logos and a WordPress website. Gradually I was given greater tasks to do such as learning new programming languages to discuss with Dr. Esprit and being assigned to weekend sessions that we hold for prospective Create Caribbean interns. I was also very reserved when around the other interns and used to be lost during meetings, however I’m growing to be more interactive with them and getting more in tune with our goals. Our supervisor Dr. Esprit is a lady that I hold in high regards and I’m thankful to her for allowing me to join her group. Under her guidance I’ve been able to learn many new things, interact with the other interns whom I maybe would not have met otherwise and exchange ideas and knowledge. I’ve also somewhat been given a label of the guy who breaks things, although that is yet to be proven. I believe it stems from my curious nature when it comes to computers. An example of my most recent action which may have contributed to this includes when I dual booted some computers in the lab with Windows and various distributions of Linux for fun and out of curiosity for the platform. I was soon found out.

The project that I’ve currently been assigned is to create a dynamic map system as an alternative to the current system of Neatline and Omeka as a part of the Carisealand Project. Its progressing well thus far as I have a small prototype that runs on PHP and JavaScript and utilizes the Google Maps API. My idea is to use PHP and MySQL to create a database of markers, areas and custom location based data that will be reflected on the map visually. The database will be made editable through an administrator dashboard that is accessible to the other interns and also has a PHP backend. The style is based off of Google Material Design principles and the layout supposed to be responsive on both desktop and mobile platforms. The web application builds upon the Google Maps API by adding animation, custom navigation tools and support for relevant data inserted by the other interns. It’s far from done and a suitable name is yet to be determined.

I plan to make the most of my time as a Create Caribbean intern and to continue learning from my peers and supervisor. I’ve acknowledged that I still have a long way to go and much to learn, and that Create is the place to aid in that growth. In the words of the late Stephen Hawking; “However difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at.” I hope that my contributions as a Create Caribbean intern, despite how small, will help make difference and further our cause.

By Raïssa Henderson

We all know, you never miss a good thing until it is gone.

Hurricane Maria destroyed most of our forests, one of the most significant and immensely resourceful ecosystems. But, do we really miss the goodness of the forest biodiversity that was lost, or the shade and coolness it provided us?

Did we really appreciate the intrinsic value of the forest and its wildlife as much as we appreciated its instrumental value? These are just a few questions that come to mind as I go through this project.

The Forest and Wildlife Biodiversity topic of the Carisealand project focuses on the conservation and preservation of the forests and the humanistic impact of climate change. Biodiversity is the numerous plants, animals and microbes that inhabit the biosphere.

This project has provided me with a new and great perspective of nature so far only through descriptive research. Getting to the best part, the humanistic correlation has been apprehensive since my aim is to be thorough and stay on topic.

I am excited to the see the results and the work of my fellows interns come together as the masterpiece that is Carisealand. I hope the message we try to project is well received and that we can actually make a change as digital humanists.