
Stepping into Dick’s shoes is a scary prospect, and having to represent The Vetiver Network in front of an audience of disaster management and mitigation professionals was a daunting proposition. This conference was directed at emergency management personnel, researchers, private sector property management (hotels, large businesses, etc.), media personnel, educators, political leaders, economic sector officials (tourism, agriculture, housing, etc.), and other persons working with managing impacts of hurricanes, earthquakes, volcanoes, flooding and other hazards.
Flying to Jamaica to talk about grass is as improbable as driving to the North Pole to teach snowball making - you try telling that story to an immigration official at the Jamaica airport! Still, armed with Dick’s excellent presentation material (with a few tweaks of my own) I stepped on the podium on Monday for my 11:30 a.m. presentation – at 12:15 p.m. My little Vetiver hedge being the only barrier between this group of hazard veterans and their lunch had all the makings of another Caribbean disaster.
The barrage of questions at the end of my talk was evidence that grass had taken a new meaning in the Caribbean. Many hallway, lunch, and Jamaica Delight cocktail meetings later, I had promises of pilot projects in Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, and others. Organizing key players into a Caribbean Vetiver Network is now a real possibility that I will start working on.
The conference was very successful in bringing together government agencies, academic

A Vetiver Caribbean Network is now being organized to provide a central site for the information exchange and networking among persons interested in Vetiver grass technology in the Caribbean. Visit the Google discussion group site and join if you are part of that group.
Vetiver has an important role to play in that context, and Puerto Rico is a strong contender for hosting next year’s event – something I really look forward to . . . stay tuned.
2 comments:
Alberto - great start. lets hope that the Islanders follow up with their promises. A Caribbean Vetiver Network would be very useful. you are going to be busy - but its worth it!
Dick
Alberto, thanks for that great presentation and your frank exchange of information on Vetiver at the CaribbeanAllHazards conference. I see some potential for it being developed in Jamaica but definitely need to find the right leverage for promotion. Slope stability is an issue but the application of Vetiver as a polishing medium for pre treated sewage effluent in my opinion could have a great chance of implementation. On my trip from MoBay back to Kingston I found some Vetiver (also known as Cous Cous grass) stands which I will dig out and start a small nursery on my own. I am looking forward to further exchange information with anyone willing to listen. Andreas Haiduk - Chief Hydrologist - Water Resources Authority, Jamaica
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