VELP – A lot of food is imported on the BES Islands, while potentially a lot of vegetables and fruits can be grown on the islands themselves. That’s why several universities of applied sciences in the Netherlands have joined forces and started the ‘Food Resilient Futures’ project. In this project, Caribbean students in the Netherlands are trained to give workshops on healthy and local food supply to the island residents.

The emphasis is on engaging the youth on the islands. They do not view agriculture as an attractive sector to work in. Instead, the youth prefer to leave the islands. There will also be special attention for the position of small farmers. They are expected to play a central role in the collaboration, setup, and implementation within the project.

The project will consist of a living lab, a collaboration between the government, businesses, knowledge institutions, and civil society. Here, innovations can be tested and new knowledge can be acquired and disseminated. On June 28th, the online kick-off of the project took place along with the partners, marking a celebratory start to the project.