Helping communities in St Lucia - The Anse Le Raye project

Dylan Saulick is currently in his second year as an undergraduate studying Liberal Arts and Natural
Sciences. In the summer, he was one of 16 University of Birmingham students to visit the island of St. Lucia in the Caribbean to work together to help solve social issues and create innovative solutions for local communities based there. 

We caught up with Dylan to find out about his experience and find out how it has helped him as he begins his second year.

Dylan: It all started in Birmingham, I initially attended an enterprise programme called the St Lucia Boot Camp which took part in the university building called The Exchange in Birmingham city centre. The Boot Camp was centred around Anse La Raye, a small fishing village on the coast of St Lucia and the issues they face as a community.

Students were split into teams and assigned a theme to study and provide a long term solution to help the village based on that theme. The ideas were then pitched to a panel who decided what teams would make it through the heats and then onto the final to have the chance of winning a funded trip to St Lucia. We were finalists and although we weren't overall winners we had secured a place to St Lucia. 

The Boot Camp itself was intense but very enjoyable at the same time. Through the duration of the Boot camp, a strong bond formed between our team and I'll cherish the memories made with them through the boot camp and also what followed in St Lucia itself.

Being in St Lucia was a completely different experience from studying the island and its culture remotely. From the beautiful rolling hills and mountains of St Lucia to the serene beaches and incredibly friendly locals, there was so much to take in. Not to mention the food on the island; dishes such a bouillon, lambi, fried jackfish and an array of tropical fruit blessed the taste buds.

Fishing with the fishermen was an eye opening experience. Approximately 20 of us helped the fishermen secure a net from their boat to the shore, trapping the fish within the given area. This needed to be done quickly and efficiently to ensure a large catch. After hoisting the nets to the shore and exhausting a lot of energy, we found out that we had only managed to catch three fish. I gained a newfound respect for fishermen. The amount of time and effort they need to put in to provide for themselves and their families is unbelievable.

On an off day, we had ventured into Soufriere, which is home to an active volcano. We had a dip in the mud baths which were scorching at first, and then became soothing to the skin. Due to the fertile volcanic land, Soufriere is covered with beautiful plants and wildlife which were beautiful to observe.

A typical day consisted of leaving our accommodation at 9am to get dropped of at Anse La Raye where the day truly began. From the morning to the afternoon, we would do various different activities such as interacting with the locals, helping a primary school run a summer camp, fishing with the local fishermen and discussing issues with the local council.

Participating in these activities were crucial to truly understand the culture of Anse La Raye as well as prepare us for our pitch to the local council on a definitive solution to help the local community. Being present in Anse La Raye and further understanding the culture, we realised that the solutions that we proposed during the boot camp were not achievable and so our ideas were altered to a more realistic solution. Our team focused on improving the transport links to Anse La Raye to get tourists and locals to see its unique culture.

In the evenings in our down time, we would usually go for a walk along the nearby beach, eat something together for dinner and play card games. My main takeaway is to be open to trying new things as you never know where they may take you.

Criminology student Michelle Anderson reflects on her experience in St Lucia

The experience has definitely gave me more confidence in travelling to countries where the culture is entirely different. It made me realise that you just have to be open to learning and the rest will sort itself out. I would love to do more placements in the Caribbean in the future and it's definitely become a year abroad destination. 

The St Lucia Boot Camp project was part of a Knowledge Exchange collaboration project between the University of Birmingham and Keele University and supported/facilitated by Caribbean Elective.

With thanks to Dylan Saulick
Added by Bob Lee