Remote, Vulnerable and Marginalized: Navigating the treacherous road to Penlyne Castle, St. Thomas

By Dr. Rose-Ann Smith

On October 30, 2021, the project "Strengthening the capacity of women coffee farmers in Jamaica through training" was launched in the community of Penlyne Castle, St. Thomas. The community is located in the Blue Mountains, which is home to one of the world’s most expensive coffees—Blue Mountain Coffee. The project is funded by the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI) and is executed by the Jamaica Women in Coffee (JAWiC), a registered charitable organisation that seeks to improve the network of women coffee farmers, recognise their contribution, and empower and support them in addressing the different constraints they face. Project management support is provided by Dr. Rose-Ann Smith, lecturer at the Department of Geography and Geology, University of the West Indies, Mona campus, as well as Dr. Anne-Teresa Birthwright, Field Survey/Research Initiative Lead at JAWiC.

Photo credit: Rose-Ann Smith

The launch was in the form of a sensitization workshop that had 34 women in attendance. We introduced ourselves, spoke a bit about the project, and then spent some time listening to the needs and expectations of the women in attendance. Having done a baseline study in several communities (see 2019 Field Survey Pilot Project Report Women in Coffee—JAWiC: Jamaican Women in Coffee), JAWiC was in tune with some of the needs mentioned by these women, and as the project manager, I was happy to see that the project was aligned with their expectations. Notwithstanding this, we conveyed to the women that the project would not be able to address all the issues, but it was our intention to build a long-term relationship with them and to provide opportunities that would help them build their capacity for more long-term growth and sustainability, especially in light of climate change.

The sensitization workshop and project launch were a success not only in terms of attendance, but we achieved several of the goals we set out to do. Nevertheless, the focus and aim of this blog post is to highlight the challenges faced as a result of a poor road network (see photos below) and present "transport" as an issue to be prioritized not only as a responsibility of the government but also a target for project grants. The aftermath of travelling to and from Penlyne Castle left me with body aches and spasms, and that night, I had a nightmare about the journey. Yes! It was a terrible experience for me, a first-time traveller to Penlyne Castle. I will continue by describing the conversation that was triggered by this journey and which is centred on the link between accessibility and agricultural development and the barriers a poor road network creates in this regard.

Photo credit: Rose-Ann Smith

It is a major challenge when communities are remote, but there is another layer to that barrier when the road network is appalling. As I travelled uphill along the winding, bumpy, unpaved, stony, dirt road, I thought to myself, here is another reason why some communities do not get any help. The road to Penlyne Castle was a dangerous experience. There were times when, as we say in our colloquial tongue, I felt my "heart was literally in my hands". The vehicle was bouncing up and down, and several times it skidded and stalled. I recall getting out of the car not only to relieve the weight in the front, but also to find some mental peace and freedom. Community members who happened to see the struggle tried to direct the driver by telling him to roll back and to speed up the hill. It was not the first time the driver had navigated this terrain, but the rented SUV we used was not the right type of vehicle for the terrain. When we got to the top and examined the rented vehicle, we saw that it was scraped. It was already a challenge to get an establishment to rent us a vehicle when they heard that we were travelling to Penlyne Castle, and while some renters increased their cost, others decided that we must leave a security deposit. Furthermore, as a testament to the danger and threat faced in traversing the steep terrain to Penlyne Castle, if it was raining, the trip would have had to be terminated, as this could have resulted in harm to the project team and increased damage to the vehicle.

Apart from the challenges in getting to the destination, which led to a late start to the workshop and a scratched vehicle, there were a number of other issues that we discussed while travelling. Among them was an interest in how day-to-day travel for community members was managed. Given the difficulty of navigating the terrain, only private vehicles and motorbike taxis journeyed to these areas (see photo 3). There is no public transportation system. While this posed general challenges for children attending schools and community members undertaking their daily tasks, as women supporting coffee farmers, we saw a plethora of other challenges. Among them are the issues surrounding getting inputs to the farm and the distribution of produce to the market. While there will be a transportation cost due to location and distance, this cost is increased because of the road network and can be exorbitant. A coffee farmer will need to hire someone who is willing to undertake this treacherous journey.

Biography: Dr. Rose-Ann Smith is a lecturer at the Department of Geography and Geology, Mona campus. She is also the Project Manager for the project “Strengthening the capacity of women coffee farmers in Jamaica through Training” executed by Jamaica Women in Coffee (JAWiC) and funded by the Canada Local Fund Initiative (CFLI).

The other area of discussion revolved around who is responsible for creating proper road infrastructure within the community. Of course, I was thinking about the government leader with responsibility for the community. We learnt from the women and others that the road was an election promise that was soon forgotten after the election. We also learnt that part of it was paved leading up to the election, but heavy rainfall, lack of maintenance and poor drainage resulted in its destruction. It was tough listening to the plight of the women and other community members over the road networks. The responses revolved around empty election promises from parties, but also what appears to be acceptance of what they cannot change on their own and a sense of being forgotten.While I accept that resources are scarce, in the absence of government support, what can be done? Which private stakeholders will be willing to support this venture, or is there a general perception that roads are to be fixed by only the government? While JAWiC's goal is to help women adapt to climate change, produce high-quality coffee, and compete in the local and international markets, transportation is a major barrier.It prevents regular contact with these women and can even become demotivating to outsiders who are willing to support them once travelling is involved. A reasonable question that we may be asked is, why not choose a more accessible community that allows for regular visits? After all, this is a reasonable decision that should be made by an organization with limited funding. Additionally, how can we convince a funder that the exorbitant transportation cost that was written into a project is justified? It takes strength, fortitude, and an innate drive to navigate the rough hills and valleys to assist these women, and I fear that the improper road networks further add to their marginalization.

Beyond coffee farming and marketing, improper road networks exacerbate the vulnerability of the community and vulnerable groups such as women, especially pregnant women, children, and the elderly, to climate change and related hazards. Any move towards addressing resilience and improving the livelihoods of coffee farmers, including our women, must prioritize the road networks within the community. Often times, we try to address issues on the surface or in a vacuum, but the situation faced by the women in Penlyne Castle is complex. While there are issues relating to pest management, soil management, and so on that may be directly tied to coffee production and quality, there is an interplay with other challenges such as the road network, which adds to increased transport costs and as a barrier to competent coffee marketing.