Select your country
WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 14, 2022: PORT OF SPAIN, TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO- Home to the Blue Basin Waterfall and D'eau Blanc pool, Beausejour Village in Diego Martin recently added an indigenous Dirt Oven Bakery to its list of attractions. The Bakery is one of only three of its kind in Trinidad, offering a unique culinary experience within the picturesque natural setting of Beausejour Village. This project was chosen by the Digicel Foundation as one of 10 community projects to receive an enhanced EPIC (Extraordinary Projects Impacting Communities) grant of TT$100,000 in commemoration of the Foundation’s 10 year anniversary.
Spearheaded by the Beausejour Village Council, The Bakery bundles the culturally significant element of a dirt oven with the prospect of a commercial venture and possibilities for culinary tourism. The Bakery offers delicious baked goods, including bread, pone, sweet bread and other local delicacies, with the money earned going back into community development projects. The Digicel Foundation’s funding allowed for the construction of two dirt ovens, as well as training and preparation rooms. Items are already on sale at the Bakery, and a second phase of the project will deal with agro-processing so the community can develop their own ingredients such as cassava flour.
“The Beausejour Community Council has shown that they are deeply committed to serving this community as they seek to find income-earning opportunities for their neighbours and ways to foster community spirit. This indigenous bakery is a strong testament to what we at the Foundation hope to see in every EPIC project – determination, solid partnerships, strong community involvement, a willingness to learn, passion and a commitment to excellence,” remarked Sacha Thompson, Digicel Foundation Board Secretary/Digicel, Chairperson at the opening of the Bakery on 03 December. Those warm feelings were returned later in the day by the Beausejour Community Council when they unveiled a surprise sculpture at the front of the bakery in honour of the Foundation’s 10th anniversary.
At the launch event, the Honourable Shamfa Cudjoe, Minister of Sports and Community Development, commended the collaborative spirit of this community development initiative. She stated, “The government is about building partnerships for progress and building projects from the ground up. Every community I go into there is a little piece of Digicel. The beautiful thing about what Digicel is doing in these projects is that they let you do the thinking – you can think as big as you want to, Digicel finds a way to work with you and to deliver. That makes me happy because we cannot do it alone.”
The Beausejour Community looks forward to welcoming visitors to their indigenous Dirt Oven Bakery. The public can place orders or learn more via phone at 377-7191.
