Academic textbooks describe what is referred to as “grassroots” development as one that starts from the bottom i.e. the people and communities themselves initiate the needed change. This type of development is considered by some to be one that can easily be made sustainable and that can effect real positive social transformation. One of the main reasons for the “success” (success is a very ambiguous word in the world of development) of grassroots projects is that it is not imposed from the top through a particular framework or project template thought to be consistent with an international or local government policy. Grassroots initiatives work simply because they are the will of the people translated by agents who know how to express the desire of the community in development terminology. At least that’s what I find..
I am happy to think that I have the opportunity to be such an agent, one that goes directly to a community to understand its problems through consultations and story sharing. Working for Manifesto Jamaica, Life Yard in downtown Kingston, and Nanook in the capacity of a consultant, fundraising officer and researcher has definitely brought me closer to the communities I want to learn about.
One such community is South Side in downtown. It’s a place known for its violent past and present, and for the many issues residents are faces with every day. The community is situated in Parade Gardens and neighbors the district known as Tel Aviv or Dela Vega, as the “boss” of dancehall, Kartel, calls it (check out my post about music if you are wondering what this music genre is).
The two sides of Parade Gardens are in constant rivalry over political disagreements persisting ever since the 60s. This sort of antagonism has now grown to be entangled with the relationships between local drug “dons”, gangsters and hustlers who are not afraid to use guns to solve their disagreements. Walking from Tel Aviv to South Side or vice versa is pretty much impossible if you come from the adversary side. Sometimes those who cross the borders become victims of the hatred between the two communities. Today I walked from downtown through Tel Aviv to reach South Side with Cecilia on my way to Life Yard and, as I was going deeper into the war zone, I started to feel the tension that lingers in the atmosphere. I met a street vendor in Tel Aviv who asked me where I was going. I told him “I’m going to South Side”. His face, scarred across the left cheek, and the tone of his reply made me understand that I am not in the safest area. He told me “We don’t go dem places…we are rivals, we don’t like each other”. I was in a real garrison, the true ghetto where people get shot weekly because of drugs, money, personal grudges or simply because they are in the wrong place at the wrong time…
Loop Jamaica
But somehow I felt very safe because of the smiles on people’s faces when they said “Good morning!” to us as we passed the little shops, run-down houses and zinc fences.. At the top of Fleet Street, where LifeYard is located, were parked four big police and military vans with officers standing around them holding automatic rifles. This place is “full of gunmen” and for many Kingstonians its a place of violence. I’ve heard many heartbreaking stories and seen many faces of young people that are no longer here as a result of this unjustifiable violence. Personally, all of my experiences in South Side have been very positive and uplifting.
As we approached we started seeing familiar faces of friends we’ve made through our many visits to South Side – sisters, brothers, cousins, aunts and uncles of our friends and co-workers. Ones people understood the reason for our presence they let us in their worlds a little bit more every time. I don’t think all of them trust us immediately as there are many stereotypes about “white people” in Jamaica and it takes time for people to test you and to see what kind of person you are.. “Fair enough…” I would say, “I am the one who is coming into your community and you need to make sure I am worth trusting”. It must be hard to give your trust to someone if so many have disappointed you before – politicians, employers, police, gangsters pointing guns at their neighbour’s son.
And it is in this place where true development is taking place. Among the crude reality of South Side, a group of young Rastafarian men, all born and raised here, decided to start their own grassroots project as they felt that change must come from the inside instead of waiting for help from the outside.
“I’ve lived here for 30 years and for these years I saw 30 friends dying. I thought that our community needs to be enlightened from within so my peers and I started LifeYard – to help the residents of South Side and to build a safe environment for our families.”
Shane Morgan, Chairman of LifeYard
LifeYard is not very easy to describe as it involves so many aspects and layers. In the first place, it is an eco village where the crew plant crops to make their vegetarian restaurant a self-reliant enterprise and to educate the children in the community of South Side about the importance of growing your own food (after all, we live in a world food security crisis and self-reliance is a powerful tool to combat this global issue).
On the other hand, LifeYard’s team does a lot of community work related to building unity among residents through children activities related to arts, crafts and Jamaican national heritage, fundraising events, film screenings, ecotourism, permaculture (sustainable agriculture) and more. LifeYard has also become a safe haven for children who need a space to write their homework, to play and mingle with their elders in an environment different from the household or the school.
So far, LifeYard has achieved what I think is a spectacular change in the community. When you walk down Fleet Street coming down from Laws Street, a colourful play of shapes, silhouettes and symbols that cover all walls on your left and right is revealed…
Paint Jamaica, the project through which these murals were created, is a beautification project accomplished by a team of local and international artists. It was one of first larger projects that was implemented with the participation and guidance of LifeYard. The team have also conducted a number of initiatives directed towards community development such as arts and crafts workshops, drumming workshops, farming workshops and other community events such as live performances and fundraisers.
The LifeYard crew is also involved in other types of community development such as awareness building campaigns, entrepreneurship, advisory roles for the Jamaican government and whatever else comes their way.
Although the crew is not financially stable at the moment and many challenges stay in their way of grassroots development, the impact that the initiative has had on SouthSide is quite remarkable. Violence in the community has been significantly reduced. Although gang-related violence still exists and remains prevalent, the community doesn’t have to witness gunmen walking openly on the streets. Children feel safer on the streets and often come to Life Yard to do their homework, drum and paint. LifeYard also brings an international presence in the community thus changing the perception and reducing the stigma surrounding it. With that come new investments, new initiatives and new opportunities for the community of South Side. More importantly, people have a more positive view of their home and a bright prospect for the growth and development of their children.
Our role in Life Yard is to assist with aspects of fundraising, online marketing, event coordination and delivery of projects and programmes. Our current focus is the initiation of a pilot after-school programme, called the Art of Life, to be conducted on Life Yards premises at 44 and 41 Fleet Street with children from the local Holy Family Primary School (conveniently located next door to Life Yard). We would need to apply for small grants from foundations willing to invest in grassroots development on the community level. This will be a long journey but we are ready to start now!
For more info on LifeYard check out their Facebook page. We will be starting an crowdfunding campaign to help us gather all resources necessary for the initiation of the Art of Life project so keep an eye on future posts if you’d like to contribute to this grassroots initiative. Give thanks!
downthebumpyroad 
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