Bahamas Cultural Village

PROPOSED PLANS

                                                           Big Pond & Surrounding Areas

1. MUSEUM & LOGO SHOP

The museum will focus on life of the people over the hill since the Emancipation of Slavery in 1834. Qualified and experience people will be hired to put together a detailed and complete presentation. There will be a separate area to focus on the Coconut Grove Festival and Jumbay Village. The presentation will include photos, videos and displays. There will also be an Achieve area open to the public to do research.

The exit will be through the Logo Shop. The shop will sell everything that you can put a logo on. This include hats, shirts, bags, key chain, water bottles etc. 

2. CULTURE ICON PARK

This area will be dedicated to culture warriors who passed away in all genres of culture. This include singers, dancers, actors, poets, story tellers and business people. Each icon will have a huge plaque with an engrave facial image and a description of their bio and contribution.

An attempt will be made to remove the two statutes from the National Insurance Building and put in this location. The statues are the only remaining pieces from the original Jumbey Village which also had a culture park.

3. MULTI-MEDIA THEATER

This will be the heart of the property. It will be the main draw for tourist to the property. Tickets will be sold on the cruise ships and tour buses will bring tourist directly to the property.

The first 30 minutes will show a documentary on the entire history of The Bahamas from the Arawaks to Independence. The next 30 minutes will be a live show that will mimic the night club era. It will be done in a Broadway setting with lights, sound and special effects. There will be singing, dancing, drama, fire dancing and limbo. There will be audience participation at different stages of the production.

It will end with an extended display of Junkanoo that will spill out into the audience. The parade will then circle the property with the audience following and participating.

4. SOUVENIR and GIFT SHOPS

There will be a number of small shops that sell various items that cater to tourist and locals. These will include swim wear, toiletries, sun glasses etc.

5. ARTS & CRAFT MARKET

This area will be reserved for people who make things with their hands. This include wood carvers, painter etc.

6. FISH FRY & FOOD COURT

​This will be the largest area of the property with food stalls.  There will be a large open food court area with tables and benches.

7. FARMERS MARKET

​This area will be for professional and back yard farmers. There will also be spots for the traditional fruit and vegetable vendors.

8. FISH MARKET

This area will be for locals to purchase fresh fish.

9. FLEA MARKET

​Every Saturday, temporary tents will be set up similar to R. M. Bailey park. This area will be for weekend warriors who produce things as a hobby.

10. STRAW MARKET

This area will be reserved for traditional straw vendors. Only original products will be sold.

11. FOUNTAIN WATER SHOW

Every hour on the hour, there will be a water dancing show on the pond for five minutes. There will be a medely of up beat Bahamian songs played in the background.

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12. RECREATION AREA

​This area will be close to the lake and will be designed for persons to enjoy the view. It will also connect with the food court.

13. SECURITY & SURVEILLANCE

​There will be 24 hour surveillance of the entire property. There will also be security on foot, bicycles, segways and golf carts. There will also be emergency phones placed in strategic positions throughout the property for vendors and employees to call security. If permitted we will also purchase a mobile containerized police station.

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14. PARKING

​Ample parking will be on Baillou Hill Road and the Sports Center.

15. STAGE & GREEN AREA

There will be a large outdoor stage with dressing rooms for drama and concerts. There will be a large grass area that can hold around 1,000 people. A customized tent with proper ventilation will be designed to cover the entire area for indoor events. 

16. ADMINISTRATION

​There will be qualified and competent management of the entire property to ensure a clean, safe and professional environment.

17. AMMENITIES

​There will be adequate restrooms, walkways, lighting, ATM machines and other facilities. At the entrance will be a life size bronze statute of Mr. Edmund Moxey.

For more information go to: www.bahamasorange.com

SISAL

SISAL

For a while it seemed that sisal might lead the Bahamas into prosperity. Sisal is a plant containing a long, strong fibre which is used for rope-making. The plant was introduced into the Bahamas in 1845, but was not produced in large quantities until the 1880s. It grew very rapidly in thin soil and seemed therefore ideal for growth in the Bahamas. The government realized that a great deal of uncultivated land could be used and offered Crown Lands to enterprising farmers at a cheap price. Many investors also came to the Bahamas from other countries. One such person was Neville Chamberlain who later became Prime Minister of Great Britain. He took charge of the Andros Fibre Company.
When the Bahamian government added a tax on incoming sisal fibres, the industry received a further boost. Then when the Philippines could not export their sisal crops due to war between Spain and the U.S.A. (1898-1902), the price of sisal rose. The Bahamas was able to increase her sisal exports to America.

In the early years of the 20th century came the collapse (1920s). After the war, America took over control of the Philippines and invested money in the islands for the cheap production of sisal. Again the poor Bahamian soil proved inadequate, even for the undemanding sisal plants. Bahamian sisal was not of as good a quality as the other types. Methods of manufacture needed modernizing. World prices of sisal became so low it became uneconomical to manufacture. All this meant disaster for the sisal industry and the manufacturing mills began to close down.

Ms. Rodgers' History BGCSE students.

https://www.facebook.com/HistorybgcseStudents/posts/164501107043964

POWER OF THE COCONUT

The Coconut Tree and Fruit

Sample of six difference coconuts

Coconut trees are found in abundance in the regions along the highlighted lines. 

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Sample of a wide variety of products made for the coconut tree and fruits. Everything on the coconut tree can be used in production, including the roots.

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CERAMICS

Ceramic products are a multi-million dollar industry that appeal to the largest industry in the world, Tourism.

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ROPE MAKING

The trunk and roots could be used to make ropes.

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COSMETIC JEWELRY 

Very affordable and attractive jewelry can be made from the coconut shell.

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 PERSONAL CARE

Coconut oil based products promotes healthy hair and skin.

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BEVERAGES 

Coconut water has the same make up as blood plasma. In World War 2 they used it water as a substitute.

Everything that milk or cream is used for could be substituted with coconut milk. I love the added flavor it adds to peas and rice.

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COOKING OIL

Benefits:

• Promoting your heart health.
• Promoting weight loss.
• Supporting your immune system health.
• Supporting a healthy metabolism.
• Providing you with an immediate energy source.
• Helping to keep your skin healthy and youthful looking.
• Supporting the proper functioning of your thyroid gland.

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Commentary:
In The Bahamas we have an abundance of coconut trees that are found everywhere. Using modern technology we can make numerous products from the coconut tree and fruit. This would reduce our imports and can lead to exports.

CHICKEN FARMING

Indoor broilers

Meat chickens, commonly called broilers, are floor-raised on litter such as wood shavings or rice hulls, indoors in climate-controlled housing. Under modern farming methods, meat chickens reared indoors reach slaughter weight at 5 to 6 weeks of age.

Broilers are not raised in cages. They are raised in large, open structures known as growout houses. These houses are equipped with mechanical systems to deliver feed and water to the birds. They have ventilation systems and heaters that function as needed. The floor of the house is covered with bedding material consisting of wood chips, rice hulls, or peanut shells. Because dry bedding helps maintain flock health, most growout houses have enclosed watering systems (“nipple drinkers”) which reduce spillage.

Keeping birds inside a house protects them from predators such as hawks and foxes. Some houses are equipped with curtain walls, which can be rolled up in good weather to admit natural light and fresh air. Most growout houses built in recent years feature “tunnel ventilation,” in which a bank of fans draws fresh air through the house.

Traditionally, a flock of broilers consist of about 20,000 birds in a growout house that measures 400 feet long and 40 feet wide, thus providing about eight-tenths of a square foot per bird. The Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST) states that the minimum space is one-half square foot per bird. More modern houses are often larger and contain more birds, but the floor space allotment still meets the needs of the birds.

Because broilers are relatively young and have not reached sexual maturity, they exhibit very little aggressive conduct.

Chicken feed consists primarily of corn and soybean meal with the addition of essential vitamins and minerals. No hormones or steroids are allowed in raising chickens.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poultry_farming

COMMENTARY:

There is no reason why The Bahamas can not be self sufficient in chicken meat and chicken eggs. It is said that Bahamians consume more chicken per capita than any other place in the world. In the past many chicken farms have closed because we have not used modern scientific and business practices.

RENEWABLE ENERGY

Renewable Energy Sources

Renewable energy is the process of using natural resources to create energy that can be turned into electricity.

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First Generation Biofuels

These consisted of mainly of food crops like corn, soybean  wheat, sugar cane etc. They were used to create ethanol to be use in motor vehicles. The negative effect of this is that the cost of food went up as a result of using too many food crops. Also the amount of economic resources required did not produce a net reduction of imported fossil fuels. The US government now discourages the use of food crops to produce ethanol. Brazil is one of the few countries that still use food crops.

Second Generation Biofuels

This is mainly the use of non-food crops to produce all types of fuels.  The most popular one used now is switchgrass. This process is very complicated because this crops do not produce enough sugar which is necessary to produce fuels.

Harvesting Switchgrass

Third Generation of Biofuels

ALGAE (See blog on The Future of Algae)

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In United State hydro dams are responsible for 10% of total electricity and 61.12% in Canada.

The perfect place for this is Eleuthera. Water from the sea can come in from the rough side and go out through the calm side and in between produce energy for electricity. This would significantly reduce the cost of electricity throughout Eleuthera.

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WIND ENERGY

Wind farms are not recommended by me because they are very expensive, unreliable and produce small amounts of electricity. 

However, there is a company that is willing to invest its own money to create a wind farm on New Providence if BEC would buy the energy from them. They are doing it successfully in California and the Dominican Republic currently.

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SOLAR ENERGY

Commercial:

Residential:

Water heating accounts for about 30% of the average home electricity bill.

Solar Thermal

This is the fastest growing renewable energy throughout the world. Germany is the world leader in converting solar energy into electricity. In The Bahamas we have 265 solar days therefore this method is highly feasible. In Germany, the electricity that is produced by solar panels are feed into the national grid and is sold to the electricity company. The building is wired with a meter that records both the amount of electricity produced and consumed. The electricity company sends the consumer either a credit or a reduced bill at the end of the month. That is called net metering. The net amount is mainly an accounting procedure. In The Bahamas we should be moving towards this method with great haste.

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Commentary:

The Bahamas is well positioned to be the world leader in renewable energy. We have the ability to be the leader and not the follower in this field. In order for this to happen we must create a national development plan and take politics out of the mix. 

One of the biggest questions over the next few years is going to be, what to do with BEC. As it stands now BEC is the regulator, the creator and distributor of electricity in The Bahamas. Here are some points to consider:

1. Electricity and Water in The Bahamas must be placed under URCA. URCA will provide an independent review of prices and processes.

2. Even though the consultants suggest that BEC not be privatized. WTO and other international organizations will insist that the government get out of the business of utilities.

3. The government need to pass The Clean Air Act. This would force everyone to burn clean fuels or seek renewable energies. This would also reduce our carbon emissions and give us high marks in international ratings.

4. BEC must outsource the supply of clean fuels and renewable energy.

5. The government must privatize the city dump and allow the garbage to be converted into fuel. 

6. Net Metering laws should be passed by end of the year and custom duties should be lowered on solar panels.

7. The building code need to be updated to include provisions for renewable energy.

MODERN AGRICULTURE

HYDROPONIC AGRICULTURE

Hydroponic agriculture is the process of growing crop in water filled with nutrients without soil.

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AEROPONIC AGRICULTURE

Aeroponic agriculture does not use water or soil but uses a mist filled with nutrients to feed the roots.

Click on the image for demonstration

 ADVANTAGES:

1. Higher crop yield. 

2. Better quality crops - The crops are bigger and more nutritious.

3. Faster crop yield - Crops maturity is quicker.

4. Greater profitability - Overhead cost is low with high output.

5. Reduction in food import bill - The Bahamas import $400 million in food product every year.

6. Could be built to withstand a Category 5 hurricane. 

Hurricane damaged banana farm

DISADVANTAGES:

1. Costly to set up.

COMMENTARY

After the last food crisis, everyone should now realize that 

FOOD SECURITY = NATIONAL SECURITY.

Every year The Bahamas is under the threat of hurricane. Therefore our agriculture industry is always under threat. We can overcome this if the government was to encourage all farmer to use modern techniques. With careful planning the agriculture industry could become a major pillar of national development. This requires access to capital, retraining, marketing and proper distribution. 

The next step in the process is the creation of food products through processing, canning and distribution.We must now push hard to become self sufficient in certain food products.

FISH FARMING

The Bahamas should become the fish farming capital of the world.

October 23, 2012.