Programs Blog

Thursday, 5 March 2026

Prince Rupert Bay, Portsmouth, Dominica

This morning marks our second full day in Dominica. We were all up before the sun in preparation for a full day of visiting the Kalinago territory and learning all about their history and way of life. By 0730 we landed on the beach and piled into vans. The drive to our hosts was a long one, roads winding through the mountains and along the beaches of the north side of the island. We drove through the site of the new airport, expected to be completed in late 2027. After about an hour and a half, our vans stopped at our first site: the home of a basket weaver and jewelry maker in the Kalinago tradition. She demonstrated her craft and allowed us to attempt the same. Afterwards, we visited the home of a subsistence farmer (extremely common in the territory) and a cassava bread maker. My favorite portion of the excursion was participating in making the cassava bread. The root is peeled, soaked in water, grated, and mixed with cassava starch to form a very dry sort of dough. It is then baked on a stone over a fire.

The inhabitants of the territory have cultivated their land so that most common plants have at least one use, if not many. Almost everything is edible one way or another. A personal favorite is the guava trees. Every time we stopped I could smell them as soon as I left the van. I probably consumed at least five or six. It is a mistake to assume the land is unused, fallow, or wasted in any way. The mindset that agriculture requires precise rows, chemical pesticides, etc, is incorrect and overlooks the vast history and wealth of tradition of the native practices of not just Dominica but the entire Atlantic.

After the Kalinago territory we visited the home of one Dr. Lennox Honychurch, an incredibly important figure in the restoration of Fort Shirley and the archeology of the island as a whole. He spoke to us for more than an hour. He discussed Columbus’s second voyage to the Caribbean – his ships passed directly in front of where Dr. Honychurch’s home now stands.

The Cramer leaves for the southern side of the island tomorrow morning. I am looking forward to doing some more coral data collection. I really enjoy doing the photo quadrats, which is perfect because most people on my watch do not. I am excited to get back in the water.

Daphne Altstadt, Bravo Watch