Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1698077517575.pdf (Saint Lucia)
Saint Lucia’s Case Study on Experiences with Community Forestry With Latanyé Broom Producers By Donatian Gustave, Research Officer, Forestry Department, Saint Lucia West Indies Photos of a Latanyé Plant and Brooms I.

Introduction Latanyé (Coccothrinax barbadensis) is a palm species whose fronds have long been utilised by the people of St. Lucia to make brooms for home use and commercial sale.

The design and production of the Latanyé brooms are unique to Saint Lucia.
Whilst this cultural tradition has created livelihoods for mainly rural people, the economic activity generated resulted in overharvesting of Latanyé wild stocks and threatening of the associated livelihoods.

There is concern that this level of use may not be sustainable due to the available market for these brooms, a high demand for Latanyé leaves, “no active cultivation of the plant” and the use of the younger leaves of Latanyé plants as materials to tie parts of the broom.
Further, examination by the Forestry Department revealed that Latanyé brooms were produced for the local market and for exportation to Anguilla, Barbados, Dominica, St. Maarten, St. Vincent, the United States Virgin Islands, the United States and Venezuela between 1992 to 2009.
The sustainable management of Latanyé stocks is important to perpetuate the cultural tradition of this of broom-making that is unique to Saint Lucia, to maintain and enhance the livelihoods associated with the Latanyé broom industry, and for the conservation of the Latanyé plant.

There are sixty-five (65) Latanyé farmers island-wide with the average plantation size of half an acre containing six hundred and five (605) plants.
The advent of plantations and the associated improved quality of Latanyé leaves and brooms produced has resulted in less reliance on wild stocks.

Further, the Latanyé wild stocks cannot provide the consistent quantity and quality of Latanyé leaves as its harvesting is unregulated by government and is either done illegally and/or uncontrolled.

Generally, the cultivation, harvesting, and manufacture of brooms is a family affair, with use of wage labour uncommon.
Women are generally involved in the making of the brooms and their sale in the market.

Men are generally involved in harvesting and collection of leaves and sticks from the Latanyé plantations and forests respectively.

A degree of specialisation is emerging: a few farmers produce leaves 1 only, a few buy additional leaves to supplement their production.

Some sell their products to middlemen (male and female).
Community-based Forestry Initiative (CBF) arrangement  Location There are two groups of interests: individual Latanyé broom producers and farmers located island wide.

The Superior Broom Producers in La Pointe Micoud are the one organized and registered local group.

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 Partner organisations The partners in the arrangement are the Latanyé farmers, Latanyé broom producers, the Superior Broom Producers, one Latanyé Broom Exporter, the Ministry of Agriculture Lands Forestry and Fisheries (the Forestry Department, Marketing, Corporate Planning and Extension Service), Ministry of Social Transformation (Social Transformation officer), Ministry of Commerce, the Saint Lucia Bureau of Standards and the Inter American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA).
 Goals A Latanyé Task Force was formed in 2001 with the goals of building capacity to increase revenue for Latanyé Broom producers and planters, and of ensuring the sustainability of the Latanyé broom industry.

The task force is made of partner organizations.

The Forestry Department took the lead in forming this task force.

All the partners listed have representatives on the task force.
There is no direct funding provided to the task force, rather, financial or technical assistance is provided through annual recurrent programs from the respective organizations, or through projects organized jointly.

The terms of reference of the Latanyé Task Force considered the following actions: • Investigation of the harvesting of Latanyé on private lands.

• Making private landowners aware of the industry.

• Identify existing Crown Lands/National Trust Lands available for plantations.
• Develop or advise on a regulatory framework for protection of Latanyé.

• Establish a database of Latanyé users to get as many involved in the process.

• District meetings are to be arranged at the task force level.
The task force considered the objectives of increased revenue and sustainability through investigations of  The crop potential of Latanyé,  The constraints in the marketing, pre- production, harvesting post harvesting and production 2 (2001) Figure 1 Latanyé Task Force Meetings in 2001 and 2005 (2005) The key activities for the community based Latanyé initiative are production of Latanyé plants in nursery, distribution of plants to farmers, provision of technical assistance in the establishment maintenance and harvesting of Latanyé plants on the farmers’ holdings, sale of leaves by Latanyé farmers, production and sale of Latanyé brooms by Latanyé Broom producers to middle men or to the public.
Environmental conditions In Saint Lucia, Latanyé is found in tropical very dry forests, subtropical moist forest, and littoral woodland and scrub woodlands on limestone near the coast, from sea level to 200 metres in elevation (John, 1999).

Community context One challenge facing Latanyé broom producers and farmers is the significant increase in the population from 120,000 in the mid 1980s to approximately 160,000 in 2003 (Assessment of Poverty in Saint Lucia, 2006).
Another challenge is ownership of land by Latanyé broom producers and farmers.

This challenge is the occupation of land according to French law- the Napoleonic Code (Saint Lucia’s UNCCD report, 2000) that legalized the ownership of land by the family.

Richardson (1997) stated that this law inspired the communal tenure of land within a family.

One effect of this law was the fragmentation of lands to smaller units to facilitate individual ownership.
This fragmentation into smaller units resulted in the multiplicity of landowners.

Furthermore, for any action related to use of this land, there must be agreement and permission of all family members.

For this reason, farming has concentrated on short term crops and discourage the planting of longer term crops such as Latanyé, which takes 2 to 3 years to establish.

3 II.

Decision-making and participation The participation of stakeholders has been interactive between 2001 and to 2011.
This was evidenced by the formation of the Latanyé Task Force in 2001 with the terms of reference and objectives driven by the goal to improve the revenue and sustainability of Latanyé Broom producers and the industry.

The interactive type of interaction in the form of integral planning and development of work programs resulted in the formation of a registered association of broom producers in 2005 (Superior Broom Producers) and the formulation a conservation strategy and proposal to a.
Establish a Latanyé nursery to produce 10,000 plants annually b. Cultivate 10 acres of Latanyé in one of the "heavy utilized areas" where harvesting of wild stocks is done – in La Pointe Micoud.

The first action was approved using European funds in December 2009.

That project1 was implemented by the Inter American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) in February 2010.

The production target of 10,000 Latanyé plants was also achieved in 2011 by the Superior Broom Producers (Figure 2, 3 and 4).
Figure 2 External View of the Nursery Figure 3.

View of Germination bin with Latanyé Figure 4a.

Figure 4b.

Figure 4 c. Figure 4a., 4b.

and 4c.

Arrangement of Craft in the upper part of the Nursery (March 2011) 1 The project was entitled- Institutional Support for the Latanye and Mauby Producers in St. Lucia: Special Framework of Assistance 2005 (SFA 2005) 4 The second project to acquire 10 acres of land for the establishment of Latanyé started in 2004.
The Government of St. Lucia has agreed in principle to provide the land.

Discussions and negotiations have been ongoing with aforementioned stakeholders giving consideration to the most suitable location to establish the Latanyé plants, land use designation and the ease of access.
The acquisition of the land for the establishment of 10 acres of Latanyé would facilitate increased production and the uniformity and consistency in the quality of leaves and Latanyé brooms produced and contribute to the reduction on the harvesting of wild Latanyé stocks in the forest.
IICA also facilitated training in propagation techniques for members of the Superior Broom Producers, and, using funding from the Canadian Fund for Local Initiative (CFLI, facilitated the acquisition of a hybrid solar wind electric system to light the working area and to power the irrigation system in the Superior Broom Producers’ nursery (Figure 5) Mini wind turbine Battery to store electricity charge Figure 5a.

Figure 5b.

Figure 5c.


Figure 5a., 5b., and 5c., Showing the, Location of the Mini Wind Turbine, the Working area and Battery to Store Electricity.

These actions have contributed to building capacity of Latanyé broom producers and farmers to have greater control and independence in planning and management of the Latanyé Broom Industry.

Table 1 details the complementary roles of the various agencies that have contributed to the success in the Latanyé Broom Industry.
Table 1 Role of the Agencies in the Latanyé Task Force Farmers Stakeholder Latanyé producers Superior Broom Producers: Forestry Department and of Social Transformation Ministry Commerce, Marketing Unit, Corporate Planning: Commerce, Ministry Marketing Unit, Corporate Planning of Role Production of Latanyé brooms; establishment of Latanyé plantations Production of Latanyé in nursery Conservation of Latanyé Wild stocks in the Forests, Nursery Production of Latanyé, Research led results to guide technical assistance for nursery, field maintenance and harvesting of Latanyé in plantations Mobilization groups in community Provision of Technical assistance related to agriculture- Provision of Empirical analyses, promotion of brooms locally and regionally; preparation of special incentives for Latanyé groups 5 Bureau of Standards: Latanyé Broom Exporter: IICA Ensure that standards for quality are specified to secure longevity of Latanyé brooms Ensure availability and consistency of high quality Latanyé Brooms Providing technical support and training III.
Livelihood benefits and costs a) Human- The older Latanyé broom producers are very knowledgeable of agronomic practices to harvest Latanyé leaves and sticks for broom making.

This information was shared with the Forestry Department and the department in turn shared it with new farmers.

The department also organized visits amongst Latanyé Broom producers to facilitate exchanges of technical experiences in the design of Latanyé broom.
The Superior Broom Association received training through IICA in business skills, propagation and solar system maintenance.

b) Social- Men and women have benefited from the livelihoods associated with the Latanyé Broom Industry.

The establishment of the nursery has increased responsibilities of the members of the Superior Broom Association to manage their livelihoods.

This opportunity for management and independence is found in the production of Latanyé and agricultural crops, such as mangoes and citrus.
c) Physical- the new nursery acquired by the Superior Broom Producers is fenced; it has germination bins, a potting area, a solar powered lighting and irrigation system, water storage tanks, a working area and another for storage.

These are physical assets that have improved conditions for work and productivity in Latanyé broom industry.

A physical asset that is lacking is transport (Gustave et al, 2006).
The present transport and distribution costs, particularly for the “finished product” is high and incurred by Latanyé broom producers and middlemen in selling brooms to the public (Budhram, 2010).

to establish d) Financial- Latanyé broom making continues to be an attractive business since the quality of brooms has improved, the production and supply of Latanyé plants to farmers were subsidized by the Forestry Department and as the cost requirement increased significantly.
But from 2007 to 2011, the price of the Latanyé broom (1.5 metre long) moved from seven Eastern Caribbean (E.C.

)2 dollars (E.C.

$7.00) to a minimum of ten E.C.

dollars (E.C.

$10) to as high as fifteen dollars (E.C.

$15).


Also emerging is a diversification in the types of Latanyé brooms sold from small Latanyé brooms (eight (8) centimetres long) souvenirs, dust brooms, children’s brooms, ceiling brooms and adult-sized (one and a half the Latanyé plantations has not 2 One United States dollar (US $1) is equivalent to two dollars and seventy one cents Eastern Caribbean (E.C.

$2.71) 6 metre long (1.5 metres) Latanyé brooms (Severin, 2011).
The brooms are also sold as small souvenirs in the tourist market.

In this scenario, Latanyé Farmers and producers and the middlemen who buy and resell their products are the beneficiaries.

e) Natural – Land continues to be a major constraint for Latanyé production, given the nature of multiple owners of family land.
To facilitate access in close proximity of the Latanyé broom producers and farmers in La Pointe, a legally binding agreement was established for 10 years (June 2009 to June 2019) for the nursery to be established on the land of one of the group members.

This agreement and its terms are subject to review after that period.
f) Political: This opportunity for nursery management was also considered as a possible exit strategy for the Forestry Department to build capacity of Superior Broom Producers members, and to pass on the production supplying of Latanyé plants to the public.

The greater numbers of persons in the Latanyé group and the organization of members resulted in strengthening their lobbying position with the government.
It is an ongoing process to ensure that Latanyé broom producers and planters are independent in management of the Latanyé Industry, not dependent on external support.

The members of the task force ensure continued growth and development of the group and industry.
The Latanyé Task Force also targeted improvement in the quality of brooms and the consequent increased satisfaction of the consumer, the increase in the sale of brooms and the increase in the revenue generated to the Latanyé Farmers and producers.

In January 2004 of a survey of Latanyé Brooms on the island by the Forestry Department identified the highest variability in dimensions of the sweep of Latanyé brooms produced.
A similar survey in 2011 revealed that there was less variability in the dimensions of the sweep (See Table 2 and Figure 6).

Consequently, one of the impacts of this project is the increase in the higher quality of Latanyé leaves produced from plantations.

This has contributed to improving the viability of the industry.

Further, growing and cultivation of the plants on farmers’ holdings ensures the ownership and sustainability of the Latanyé broom industry.
7 Figure 6 Parts of broom studied in survey of Latanyé Brooms in 2004 and 2011 (Part D represents the Sweep of the broom) Table 2 Summary dimensions of the Sweep of Latanyé brooms Number Range Minimum Maximum Deviation Variance Average Standard 34 35 17 8 13 22 30 30 24 27 2.87716 8.278 2.16717 4.697 Year January 2004 June 2011  Sustainability: A number of factors have contributed to the sustainability of Latanyé production and the business.
Sustainability is assured by availability of information generated by research into the best techniques and costing for nursery management, field establishment and management of plantations.

Another factor concerns the incentive to produce the Latanyé brooms.

Latanyé plantations have a comparative advantage of uniformity and consistency in quality for broom making relative to Latanyé leaves, obtained from the wild stocks.
As such, the strategy of plantation establishment of Latanyé has contributed to the reduction in harvesting of and recuperation Latanyé wild stocks in the short term, as the best quality of Latanyé brooms are sold at the highest prices.

The increased revenue generated has also been an incentive for further expansion of Latanyé plantations to supply the high demand of the Latanyé broom.
The demand for brooms has led to extensive harvesting of poles of different sizes from the surrounding forest, including (sometimes without permission) on private land that is under threat of development.

Due in part to the organisational capacity built through their engagement with the Latanyé initiative and task force, the Superior Broom Producers have come together and identified this threat to the sustainability of their livelihood and are developing strategies to address it.

8 IV.

Lessons Learnt a.


Organized approaches with multiple stakeholders were effective.

The operation of the Latanyé Task Force contributed to the current success of the Latanyé broom industry by getting direct input of the needs and challenges of the Latanyé broom producers and farmers.

These responses and the dialogue amongst all stakeholders informed the type and nature of support necessary for the Latanyé broom producers and planters and the Latanyé industry.
Participation therefore ensured that strategies and actions were always relevant and significant to the development of the industry.

b.

Since 2005, the Superior Broom Producers were unable to get 10 acres of land.

The Government of St. Lucia has agreed in principle to provide the land, but to date, the negotiations are still ongoing.

This has been a limiting factor for production and for the Latanyé Industry.

c. Budhram3 (2010) advocates increasing productivity [through cultivation?]
to exploit and improve the business potential of Latanyé Broom Production.

He also recommended a more deliberate and comprehensive approach which addresses the culture and uniqueness of the Saint Lucian Latanyé broom for local and export markets.

d. Finance was another major factor in the success of Latanyé Broom Industry.

Project writing and submission of proposals made more technical and financial resources available to develop the Latanyé broom producers and farmers and the Latanyé broom industry.
Availability of external funding and provision of technical support through the Saint Lucia Rural Enterprise Project (SLREP)4, European Union Special Framework of Assistance, IICA and CFLI were timely to build capacity and to improve sustainability in the Latanyé broom industry.

e. Latanyé broom producers and planters understood and appreciated the plight of the industry and were willing to engage in activities to improve this livelihood.
f. The research done was useful to test traditional methods of operations used by Latanyé broom producers and farmers that were incorporated into standard agronomic practices.

Research was also relevant to address the challenges in the production cycle- such as germination and plantation type establishment.

3 Dr. Dowlat Budhram is employed by IICA 4 The St. Lucia Rural Enterprise Project (SLREP) was a project implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture Lands Forestry and Fisheries.
It provided technical and financial resources to micro enterprises and ended in 2002.

9 g. Opportunities to extend the market can be developed through strengthening of linkages amongst producers.

h. Whilst the government machinery to respond the request of the local communities has been effective, it was too slow.

i.

There is a high reliance on volunteerism to support the activities of the Latanyé Industry.

This can delay the timely implementation of activities.
j. Communication amongst stakeholders is not always adequate.

k. Although there is a level of collaboration amongst stakeholders, there is still a need for more participation to strengthen the totality of institutional support of the Superior Broom Producers, other Latanyé broom producers and farmers, and the Latanyé broom industry.
V. Recommendations for development of similar initiatives, including:  The level of participation can be achieved in other projects if there is open dialogue about the problems and interest of the persons whose livelihood can or may be affected.

In this way technical support, collaboration amongst agencies, and the development and implementation of projects will address the challenges faced by users.

Institutional support is important for the success of community-based initiative.

 Bibliography 1.
 Bibliography 1.

Budhram Dowlat, Assessment of the Latanyé Industry in Saint Lucia, February 2010 2.

Caribbean Development Bank-The Assessment of Poverty in Saint Lucia, Volume 11,The Macroeconomic and Social Analysis of St. Lucia, Kairi Consultants, August 2006.

3.

Gustave Donatian, John Lyndon, Andrew Michael, Charles Brent, Severin Margaret, Hyacinth Monica, Fevrier Lench, James Julius, James Anita, Isaac Cornelius and Rock Rebecca.
Development of the Latanyé Broom Industry in Saint Lucia West Indies, October, 2006.

4.

John Lyndon, The Latanyé (Coccothrinax barbadensis) Craft Industry in Saint Lucia, 1999.

5.

United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), Saint.

Lucia’s Country Report of April 2000.

6.

Richardson Bonham, with a Forward by David Lowenthal, “Economy and Environment in the Caribbean Barbados and the West Indies in the Late 1800’s”, 1997.

10 7.
10 7.

Severin Angela Margaret, Creative Entrepreneurship in La Tourney Vieux Fort by George Alexander in the Production of Brooms, April 2011.

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