The “Grow Your Own Food” project at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, created by staff members at the facility during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, is today boasting of yielding almost 19,000 crops, and fostering a sense of community at the North Central Regional Health Authority (NCRHA).
A release from the NCRHA says the underlying philosophy of the project was, “Grow your own food for a healthier you.”
The Authority notes that because of the project’s many positive results, it was incorporated into the NCRHA’s renowned Wellness Club as the ‘Agri-Wellness Initiative’ on October 15, 2023, and merged with the institution’s other schedule of activities.
Head of the Psychiatry Unit and Regional Mental Health Coordinator at the NCRHA, Professor Gerard Hutchinson, underscored the significance of projects like these in cultivating mental and social wellness.
"The importance of this initiative is to enhance in our staff, and members of the public, the relationship with nature and the natural world. It helps us to create an environment where we can acknowledge that the care and nurture we give to plants, especially those we have planted, can provide inspiration for us to take better care of ourselves and those around us," Professor Hutchinson said. “It also fosters a greater sense of community and togetherness to bind us in our commitment to give the best care to the members of the public that seek the services of the NCRHA.”
This composite image shows staff members involved over the past few years in the Grow Your Own Food project, working to plant food at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex. [Image courtesy NCRHA]
Initially activated in 2021 in midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, and officially launched in October last year, the project has yielded bountiful results, reports project change agent Sita Maharaj, an Administrative Assistant at the Veterinary Hospital.
“This project commenced in 2021 with a few plantain suckers and branched into approximately 100 plantain trees; and other fruits such as cherries, rambutan, tangelo, carambola, mangoes, guava and soursop. Other trees planted were avocados, coconut, breadfruit, limes, lemons and even dasheen leaves,” Maharaj recalls.
“Since the official launch of the Agri-Wellness Initiative in October 2023, the North Central Regional Authority has reaped 18,988 crops, inclusive of ochros, melongene, chives, pimentos, lettuce, patchoi, parsley, chadon beni, cassava, spinach, watermelon, and tomatoes,” she said.
The project change agent revealed that there are plans to expand even further.
“Within the next few months, our aim is to add sweet potatoes, corn, and additional herbs, as well as to introduce a Hydroponics Programme to further scale our capacity to produce more food crops,” Maharaj noted.
And NCRHA CEO, Davlin Thomas, believes one of the best outcomes of the project was the sense of community and togetherness it fostered.
“Mental health is a fundamental component of health and well-being that strengthens our individual and collective capabilities to make decisions, build relationships, and shape communities. With the Agri-Wellness Initiative,” Thomas said, “we have created a community where our people can foster social connections while simultaneously improving their mental well-being.”
“Not only is gardening a good form of exercise and a refuge from stress; it is an inexpensive, effective and practical activity that can encourage, nurture, and restore mental health,” he added.
This composite image shows spaces at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex allocated for the Grow Your Own Food project created by staff members. [Images courtesy NCRHA]
The NCRHA CEO observes that the project is in keeping with the Ministry of Health’s “TT Moves” initiative, established to encourage healthy lifestyle habits such as drinking water, exercise and dieting, and eating fruits and vegetables, to help reduce the high incidences of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in T&T, and empower citizens to proactively pursue health seeking behaviour.
“The Agri-Wellness project embodies our commitment to empowering people to pursue health seeking behaviour to lead happier, healthier lives; and reinforces the fact that together, we can shape a healthier tomorrow for ourselves and generations to come,” he observed.
Thomas points out that the NCRHA reaped many other positive outcomes from its Agri-Wellness Project, in addition to the 18,988 harvested crops.
“The inclusion of locally grown produce in patients’ meals which can contribute to a healthier diet, a reduction in overall expenses, and we have been the signpost to members of the public in underlining the significance and advantages of growing your own fruits, vegetables and herbs at home,” the NCRHA CEO said.
“I must commend the forward-thinking, innovative minds who spearheaded this project and those who work diligently to ensure it is a success,” he added.
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The NCRHA’s Wellness Club was launched in August 2023 and boasts a membership of over 2,000 persons and counting.
Its aim is to encourage communities to cultivate a healthier lifestyle that encompasses physical, mental, social, and emotional well-being. Members have been consistently participating in the Authority’s weekly schedule of events: Yoga, Kickboxing and Aerobics on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and Tai Chi on Wednesdays at 5:00 pm, at the Eddie Hart Savannah.
The Club has also held several other events such as hikes to Bamboo Cathedral and Maracas Waterfall. It also hosted a ‘Wellness On D’ Road’ event during the Carnival season, which saw over 200 persons walking from the Caura Hospital and engaging in an aerobics burnout session on the road.