The community of Grand Fond on Saturday celebrated a historic moment when, for the first time, a local market was officially opened.
The market gives residents of the community the opportunity to sell fresh produce every Saturday.
The idea of the market came about through the initiative of the Village Council when residents started gathering weekly from September 1, 2012 to sell their fresh produce. The number of vendors grew quickly and has grown to an average of 15.
It is said that Grand Fond has an abundance of fertile soil and it is the hope of the villagers to sell healthy, locally grown produce to customers.
The official opening of the market was attended by officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, Ivor Stephenson member of Parliament, Julius Carbon from DEXIA, Parish Priest Fr. Michel Favalier, members of the village council and villagers.
this is not a political affair i admire the fact in Gf we lead and others follow why cry when in white city we represent ourselves .Big up to the chair to the very vendors the economy in the village is ours to build so start somewhere who win win but we declare we are destined for greatness
Hi Grew up in GF it’s neither Lynworth nor Alick in the first picture but Lynworth was at the market.
Thank you God’s child….Its been years, since i was home….where are you may i ask…Am in Atlanta Georgia….
Congratulations to the council and all other stakeholders involved in getting this idea off of the ground. I have never been more proud to be from Grand Fond. This is testimony that if we put our heads and hearts together we can move mountains and if we concentrate on key issues that can contribute to the community’s development we will definitely achieve results beyond our expectations.
So add de caco, de visoo, de calalloo soup, de sancoche, de cultural presentations ocassionally,de cannel, de bwaden, de pudding and let’s see our tourist product thrive.
good
I would lik to recommend that the security guard on d port from grand fond open her stall at the market too,promise me I’ll leave town and come up grand fond for the bananas and dasheens,plantains and the bus driver!judging by ure facial features and demenour you are perfectly suited for the role.GOod luck in your endevours.To all the vendors already operating at the grand fond market I wish u guys much success,be blessed.
What these agricultural; villages need desperately is a vibrant export market for their produce. Dominica local consumption is not sufficient to make farming viable. furthermore the vending operations have been hijacked by foreign ‘migrants’ thus the money is that is being exported instead of the produce.
Its a great long awaited start…I recall my Grandmother (janie) would go to Guadelope to sell her goods….RIP Granny,,,
Great initiative! I wish all involved continued success and hope that you can branch out to neighbouring villages.
Great start my friends. This is just the beginning to what is to come all over DA. This my friend tells me that there is hope for DA famers and bringing people and communities together. I love it and I want to be part of it althought I am thousands of miles away. I will find a way.
this is really good. I love going to market and buying fresh foods and it is so much fun when you get to know the local vendors. there are plenty of villages, private sector, etc, in the area who should visit, buy and make it a roaring succsess.
GF, Great idea, excellent move, full markst to all those who made this possible. My hope is, it last for ever and grow from leaps and bounds,This should be done across the entire Island, to give true meaning ” to grow what we eat and eat what we grow” Those mouth watering white Yams and other produce brings back memories of the good old days of cooking a good broth,with some lime juice to wash it down. Take note, the rest of Dominica. Good luck my people,coming from the Cold. OH,how i miss that.
Hey wow, oh how awesome, good well done GF village council and everyone involved!….I saw the road to go up to grandford being widen!!!! oh this is even better, better road access to you guys wonderful village will encourage others to take the drive up!!! it’s worth it. Press on guys, press on!!!
Ivor only comcentrating on Grand Fond… Dont be fooled… no place for you next elections…. Guess you have interest there
They talking bout dasheen, fig, yam(FOOD) why mess that up with policics….all you had to do was bring some fish and good to go…
Curious….Dont Hate, the villages of Mourne Journe , Riviere Cryique and GrandFond should melt and form a multi council…Ivor grew up in RC LaQuek, so he must show love in Grand Fond, you must be from RC,,,,I grew up in both i alwys had a strong love and respect for GF….
Great idea, so we can take a drive from the city to grandfound to get our fresh produce, no ore roseau market for me
The standard of living of the people of GrandFond has declined Big Time, because of the neglect of agriculture there and throughout Dominica. That is the cry of the farmers.
$27 million dollars to build a State Palace, but what are the investments in agriculture? Farmers are abandoning their farms/gardens and migrating or doing security work or any other thing to make ends meet. The cost of inputs like fertilizer, weedicide, pesticide have gone up, up, up. Labour costs have tripled. The cost of living with 15% VAT on almost everything has increased considerably.
Villagers have less money now in their pockets to buy basic food items. Markets for their products are gone. Where are the boats to transport farmers produce to Barbados and other neighbouring islands as promised by Govt.?
Farmers of GrandFond and other villages are reeling from the incompetence of this DLP Govt. Let’s look at the bigger picture and not be fooled by a half-backed activity. Presently agriculture is on the back-burner. Our food security in general is not being seriously looked at.
Why don’t look at the positive side of this initiative? The article said it’s the Village Council’s initiative. The main purpose is to stimulate the economic growth of the farmers to grow more on a larger scale. Sounds like grand Fond is doing just that. No Politics!
I am sure you consider yourself an intellect but it is so shameful and disappointing that you would mix an issue that should only be commended as a proud acheivement for Grand fond with politics. I don’t know if you are a true Grand Fondian or when was the last time you visited cause if I know better GF has improved tremendously. The community is a bit more affluent than before due to residents investment in their living conditions. Many houses are being constructed (and I am not refering to the government housing programme). The education level of the community is on the rise. We can identify diversity of professionals coming from the community today. Doctors, lawyers, physio- therapists, agronomists, accountants, veterinarians, educators to name a few. Added to that very good health practices are being encouraged. Many people have the luxury of pipe-borne water in the homes and we have seen a reduction in the use of pit latrines with the advent of home improvements and construction. So if you are interseted in the continued development of the community please leave the politics out and make your contribution to promote a positive image of this beautiful, pristene, and developing community.
I always take pride in my travels to indicate that i am a native born dominican from the village of Grand Fond….K. Anselm
great idea..but every body has their own lil gardens in this village.that miight be an issue.
This is a great idea but perhaps it would make more economic sense to open the market in Rosalie so as to take advantage of the traffic coming and going to the other villages…just a thought!
Susan.
You are absolutely correct…Its been years since i traveled back to DA…I would think where The Boxing Plant was located in rosalie would be a prime location, so all traffic coming from Roseau to LaPlaine vice versa would be obtained….However it would be a burden for Grand Fondians to come way down to Rosalie…to support this venture….
@Grew Up in Grand Fond, seems like you’ve not been around since you grew up there, because in the place of the boxing plant is one of the best hotels on island, the Rosalie Bay Resort, where the Grand Fond people get an opportunity to sell all their fresh produce. Come on man/woman, it’s time for another visit.
Maybe you should visit Dominica more often… don’t you know where the boxing plant was is a lovely reosrt? check it out…..
I totally disagree ith this idea. Cause establishing the market at Rosalie would hinder the economic growth of the community. This market doesn’t just open doors for farmers but it can give rise to many other businesses. Having the market in the village would mean greater moving of people into the community from outside, greater economic activity ( shop keepers, food vendors, artists, people providing other substitute products and services will definitely benefit economically)
Ihave an idea where your heart may be but I also wanted to add that Grand Fond is already a secluded community so the establishment of the market there creates an opportunity to further market the community as a tourist product.
Big Up GrandFond Community! They will need help in expanding beyond the village.. La Plaine is good market…
the outer communities need to do that too but great initiative man, nice work. that will certainly encourage persons to go back to the soil cuz everyone cannot work in a bank
GF city doing it again. always first on the south east. Great community spirit. We have kept it going and growing for five months so we will sustain it. Proud to be from GF.
Gods Child…Can you tell me if that is Lynworth Cuffy in the 1st picture and is that Mr Alick Anselm in the 1st picture with a Red Hat …Thank you…
No. It is not Mr. Alick Anselm with the red hat. It is James Phillip son of the late Mr. Louis Phillip.
Sorry again. It is not Lynworth Cuffy it is Newgent George. He is married to Isla “Prince” George
@ Grew up in GF: No those persons you mentioned are not the persons you described.
and what if it is???
everybody in grand fond are farmers and they sell the same produce. i doh think that will last.
So is Grand Fond people alone that will buy at the market…it never occur to you that persons will be happy enough to take a drive to the Market…stop the ignorance…
Who is going to drive to grand fond? are you providing free transportation…nonsense…from where hahahaha you dont know about these places…stupes
Au Contraire. Not every individual is a farmer in Grand Fond. It a great idea of selling what you have and buying what you don’t have.It will certainly last.
Job well Done Grand Fond. I love the idea of being able to eat healthy with fresh produce of all sorts due to the market.
@grand fond,
Have some faith ma bro..! If you have any better ideas, present them and don’t be negative. This is great exposure for the local farmers. Therefore, give them your support.
negative and ignorant comment…all shall eat. If thats what they can do to provide for their family then why not? if it dont sell they will eat and not stay hungry…hope YOU not hungry……God! just be happy for the people nuh!
its gf city pardner its up to and i to big it up dont b a fence sitter if we dont do it no bodys gonna do it for us i was ther a couple weeks ago and was glad to have a jelly at 6 in the morning and cucumbers to eat with fig codfish and oil
Always have an ignorant fool to comment. smh
very good idea more money for the community. them dashin look good!!
Wow. That is great! Everything looks so neat and nice. I am impressed!
That’s great. Keep it up.
Excellent initiative by all concerned! It’s with small steps like these that we can walk a mile as a community.