Island of Innovation

SERIOUS ABOUT SUSTAINABILITY

With the help of two Barbados-based Bentley alumni — Clinton Gittens MBA ’03 and Nanda Neng ’04 — Noga and Brown organized on-site visits with nearly a dozen local businesses. In addition to established financial institutions like the Barbados Stock Exchange, CIBC First Caribbean and the Central Bank of Barbados, students met with smaller businesses whose sustainability strategies are already making a difference on the island.

Among them is Williams Industries, Inc., a conglomerate with diversified holdings throughout the Caribbean, including waste recycling, water desalination, and solar and wind energy ventures. Founded by Ralph “Bizzy” Williams — an eco-conscious entrepreneur who invented a solar-powered catamaran and helped the Barbados Transport Board convert their entire bus fleet from diesel to electric power — the company “is one of the reasons why Barbados is leading the way,” in regional sustainability efforts, Noga says.

Students also met with the owners of Coco Hill Forest, Walkers Reserve and PEG Farm and Nature Reserve, three different ecotourism enterprises that share a common goal of developing and maintaining the island’s biodiversity. Ash Molly Connors MBA ’22 explains, British colonization took a huge toll on Bajan agriculture. “Monocropping from the sugar cane industry badly degraded the soil, to the extent that Barbados is now forced to import roughly 85% of its food.”

All three organizations are working to restore the island’s ecological health and eliminate food insecurity. Agroforestry efforts at Coco Hill, for example, have reintroduced or preserved more than 80 varieties of fruit trees, spice plants and medicinal herbs, while the 277-acre farmlands of Walkers Reserve support a variety of organic food crops, including bananas, pineapples, and cashews. These efforts are funded via the nature walks, guided hikes and other ecotourism activities offered at each site.