WEEK 5/DAY 2 – MOA INTERNS FIELD TRIP part 1 by Keairra Smith and Carol-Faye Bynoe-George

The Ministry of Agriculture Interns visited Diamonds Estate and was guided by Miss Nicole Brown, the office manager.  Miss Brown is also a certified agro-processor, beekeeper and farmer.  Simply putting it she’s a bonified agriculturist.

Presently grown at the station are corn, lettuce, watermelons, pumpkin and casava which are sold to vegetable vendors for further sale to housewives and other consumers.

Miss Browne shared with the interns how her beekeeping career started during that time she was afraid of the pollinators but overcame that fear and now she is at the point where she has a deep appreciation and respect that led her to expanding her business by becoming an agro-processor of Bee by-products such as soaps, wax and shampoos.

Additionally, she revealed that being a beekeeper afforded her the opportunities to participate in the honey competition in St. Lucia in December 2003 and 2004, and on both occasions placed in the top three in the categories she vied in.

“It is not a man’s world” is the testimony she lives by. The interns got an opportunity to take a tour around the complex; they visited two hives and were treated with watermelon before their departure.