Nature’s Bread | Green By Erline Andrews | Issue 162 (March/April 2020) It’s delicious, nutritious, and popular across the Caribbean. Even so, breadfruit — brought to the region from the Pacific more than two centuries ago — is still underappreciated for its potential role in increasing regional food security, and helping to green our cities. Erline Andrews learns more
Be fruitful and multiply | On this day By James Ferguson | Issue 162 (March/April 2020) March brings the 180th birthday of the man who singlehandedly created the Caribbean banana industry. James Ferguson looks back at the life and times of Lorenzo Dow Baker, Yankee entrepreneur
Easter in the islands | Did you even know By Caribbean Beat | Issue 162 (March/April 2020) Our trivia column tests your knowledge of Caribbean Easter traditions. See how many of our questions you can answer correctly
All creatures great and small | Inspire By Erline Andrews | Issue 161 (January/February 2020) Last September, Hurricane Dorian devastated the lives of thousands in the Bahamas — and not just the human residents of the Abaco Islands and Grand Bahamas, but their pets as well. As Erline Andrews learns, in the aftermath of the storm, animal welfare organisations have stepped in to save hundreds of domesticated animals and reunite them with their owners
Guide and prejudice | On this day By James Ferguson | Issue 161 (January/February 2020) Few things get outdated faster than a guidebook, but one century-old guide for Caribbean travellers reveals much about old stereotypes of the region — and what has and hasn’t changed, writes James Ferguson
T&T Carnival | Did you even know By Caribbean Beat | Issue 161 (January/February 2020) Our new trivia column opens with a T&T Carnival quiz. Think you’re an expert on Carnival and calypso history? See how many of our twelve questions you can answer correctly
For the sake of a lizard | Green By Erline Andrews | Issue 160 (November/December 2019) The gem-like colours of the tiny Union Island gecko — a lizard found only on one small island in the Grenadines — are why it’s so highly coveted by the exotic pet trade. As Erline Andrews reports, hopes for the endangered gecko’s survival depend on new conservation efforts, and a push for eco-tourism
Cruising for trouble | On this day By James Ferguson | Issue 160 (November/December 2019) Some people love cruise ships, some people hate them. But, personal preferences aside, the fate of the SS Columbus — scuttled by her captain eighty years ago — suggests the dangers of tourism in a time of war. James Ferguson tells the tale
The climate change countdown | Green By Erline Andrews | Issue 159 (September/October 2019) For decades, climate scientists have warned us about the consequences of global warming — and small island states like those in the Caribbean are especially vulnerable. 2017’s Hurricane Maria was just a taste of what the coming decades will bring, reports Erline Andrews, unless significant resources get directed to efforts to protect threatened coastlines and reefs
Archaeology’s eye in the sky | Discover By Erline Andrews | Issue 158 (July/August 2019) For centuries, much of the evidence for Mayan civilisation has been covered in dense rainforest. Now new developments in LiDAR technology have made it possible for archaeologists to do sophisticated aerial surveys — revealing tens of thousands of previously unknown structures. Erline Andrews learns more
Get a kick | On this day By James Ferguson | Issue 158 (July/August 2019) Kick ’Em Jenny sounds like a comic name, but for the scientists who study this underwater volcano, first recorded eighty years ago, it’s no laughing matter. The Caribbean was shaped by its volcanoes, says James Ferguson, which created our mountainous island landscapes — but can also wreak havoc
The parrotfish dilemma | Green By Erline Andrews | Issue 157 (May/June 2019) Among the most colourful marine species, parrotfish play a key role in keeping reefs and beaches healthy. They are also delicious, making fishing bans to protect them unpopular. Without these protections, learns Erline Andrews, they may be overfished into extinction
Football holiday | On this day By James Ferguson | Issue 157 (May/June 2019) When two English football clubs toured the Caribbean fifty-five years ago, local teams in Jamaica, Trinidad, and Barbados were no competition. Haiti was a different story, writes James Ferguson
Don’t buy shoes | Classic By Kerri Gilligan | Issue 73 (May/June 2005), Issue 157 (May/June 2019) Kerri Gilligan came to Trinidad for the first time when she fell in love. Then she met her sweetheart’s Tantie . . . Originally published in our May/June 2005 issue and re-published in our May/June 2019 issue
Diva Amon: as deep as it goes | Discover By Erline Andrews | Issue 156 (March/April 2019) The portion of the sea below two hundred metres is our planet’s biggest habitat, and the least known. Erline Andrews meets Trinidadian marine biologist Diva Amon, pioneering deep-sea research in our region
A flag on the island | On this day By James Ferguson | Issue 156 (March/April 2019) When a British military force landed in Anguilla fifty years ago, it was a strangely anachronistic moment in Caribbean colonial history — but one that Anguillans welcomed with open arms, suggests James Ferguson
The plastic wars | Green By Erline Andrews | Issue 155 (January/February 2019) Plastic pollution is a growing danger to the environment, to wildlife, and to ourselves. As Jamaica implements the first major plastics ban in the Caribbean, Erline Andrews learns about its possible impact — and pitfalls
Saved by microbes | Discover By Raymond Ramcharitar | Issue 155 (January/February 2019) Trinidadian microbiologist Adesh Ramsubhag is a pioneer in researching potentially revolutionary uses of the Caribbean’s native microorganisms, writes Raymond Ramcharitar
“Papa Doc” Duvalier: When the bogeyman is real | On this day By James Ferguson | Issue 155 (January/February 2019) Sixty years ago, Haitian dictator “Papa Doc” Duvalier set up a fearsome paramilitary corps to dispatch political opposition. James Ferguson looks back at the sinister history of the Tontons Macoutes
Ayurveda: finding the balance | Be well By Cate Young | Issue 154 (November/December 2018) Practised for millennia in the Indian subcontinent, traditional ayurvedic medicine, with its focus on achieving both physical and spiritual balance, was brought to the Caribbean in the nineteenth century — and recently has been more widely adopted as a form of “alternative medicine.” Cate Young learns more, and talks to two practitioners who say ayurveda has helped them bring their lives and health into equilibrium
The secret life of sunscreen | Green By Erline Andrews | Issue 154 (November/December 2018) The blazing rays of the tropical sun can take a heavy toll on your skin — which is why most beachgoers and swimmers in the Caribbean slather on a layer of protective sunscreen before they disrobe. But the very chemicals that protect human skin can be toxic for corals — and the Caribbean’s reefs pay the price. Erline Andrews investigates
The war after the war | On this day By James Ferguson | Caribbean Resilience (1 May 2020), Issue 154 (November/December 2018) Thousands of men from the British West Indies enlisted in the armed forces during the First World War, playing a crucial but often thankless role in the Allied victory. And when the fighting was over, another struggle for respect and recognition began — feeding a new wave of self-determination in the Caribbean. James Ferguson remembers the events of a century ago that set it all in motion
