The Kwanzaa began today in the U.S. Virgin Islands, the U.S. and several other Caribbean Islands.  It is a seven day celebration that began in 1966.  Each day focuses on a principle that reaffirms the African commitment to themselves, their families, their community, and their black struggle for equality.  The daily principles are;

• December 26^th – Umoja – Unity
• December 27^th – Kujichagulia – Self-Determination
• December 28^th – Ujima – Collective Work & Responsibility
• December 29^th – Ujamaa – Cooperative Economics
• December 30^th – Nia – Purpose
• December 31 – Kuumba – Creativity
• January 1^st – Imani – Faith

The seven Kwanzaa principles are referred to as the Nguzo Saba, and are intended to serve as guideposts for meditation and daily living.  The greeting each day of Kwaanzaa is Habari Gani, and the reply is Habari Gani followed by the principle of the day. Kwanzaa is celebrated by people of African descent in North America, the Caribbean and other part of the world connected to African heritage.  It was created by M. Ron Karenga in 1966.

The St. Croix Source has the schedule for this week’s Kwanza events.  The events vary from a 7K run honoring the Seven Principles of Kwanzaa, plays and songs, and much more. There will be family gatherings all over the Virgin Islands for the next seven days.  Also check out the local celebrations held in all of the Windward and Leeward islands.  Enjoy each of your Kwanzaa days. Habari Gani!

If you recall my last article about the “Rum Wars” in the Caribbean, you will then remember that the “Rum War” started over two years ago when Puerto Rico failed to negotiate a renewal of the Captain Morgan Rum production facilities with Diageo Spirits on their island Territory.  What transpired was a search by Diageo to find a new production location and started their search with Jamaica and Guatemala. When the United States Virgin Islands learned of Diageo changing production locations they jumped into the competition by having the USVI Governor John deJongh contact Diageo and propose they consider the USVI’s as their location on the island of St. Croix. The short story is Gov. deJongh and the USVI prevailed and signed an agreement two years ago to begin producing Captain Morgan Rum for the next 30 years. Read the rest of this entry »

The Port-au-Prince area of Haiti, is located about 500 miles to the west of Red Hook, St. Thomas where Caribbean Islands Realty is headquartered.  Tuesday it was hit with a devastating 7.3-magnitude earthquake that has caused much of this city of millions to collapse.  The tide of human suffering is beyond any thing we can imagine.  Gov. John deJongh Jr. said in a news release Tuesday that the prayers of the people of the Virgin Islands are with the residents of Haiti,  and that help is on the way from every Caribbean nation, plus the world.  “Eyewitness accounts of the quake indicate a catastrophic situation,” deJongh said, adding that many Virgin Islanders have both family and friends in Haiti who are tonight anxiously awaiting word about the fate of their loved ones. Read the rest of this entry »

Kwanzaa means “first fruits of the harvest” in the very traditional Africa and is now celebrated around the world.  There are seven days of celebrating family, community and equality.  Each December 26^th the Kwanzaa celebration begins and it ends on January 1^st.  Each day of the Kwanzaa celebration focuses on specific principle.

The seven principles are collectively referred to as the Nguzo Saba, and serve as guideposts for meditation and daily living.  The greeting each day of Kwaanza is Habari Gani, and the reply is Habari Gani followed by the principle of the day. Kwanzaa is celebrated by people of African descent in North America, the Caribbean and other part of the world connected to African heritage.  It was created by M. Ron Karenga in 1966. Read the rest of this entry »

Yesterday, December 1st, was a somber day of celebrations in the Caribbean for World AIDS Day.  The celebrations were focused on repealing the laws that criminalize homosexuality in all but two of the Caribbean islands.  Did you know that the Caribbean is second only to Sub-Saharan Africa in new HIV/AIDS infections?  And, still governments deny the basic human rights to sexual minorities in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities.  We are not even talking about laws that ban gay or lesbian marriages.  We are talking about laws that criminalize homosexual behavior!

For example, today a gay man in Barbados could still be sentenced to life in prison if he is found guilty of homosexual acts. In Jamaica, a man can be sentenced to ten years hard labor.  In Trinidad & Tobago a man found guilty of homosexual acts can be sentenced to twenty five years in prison.  However, there are still some Caribbean countries that don’t criminalize female-to-female sexual acts.   ALL of the Caribbean island nations except for the Bahamas and Cuba have criminalized homosexuality to in some manner.  There are just a few acts in this world that greatly anger me, and one of them is discrimination in any form.  Universal access to AIDS prevention, education and medical treatment need to happen NOW! Read the rest of this entry »

So, I have started my travels to Tortola to begin my internet reporting of the 2009 BVI Charter Yacht Society Boat Show  that will be headquartered at Village Cay Marina.  This is the annual gathering of the charter yacht community from all over the world that shows up for four days of previewing the finest charter yachts you will ever see.  Each of the crew members have worked for a months preparing their yacht for this show.  The Brokers will be inspecting the boats and their crew in order to see which ones they will have in their inventory of vacation yacht charters they will recommend to their clients back in their specific regions of the world.  It is a stressful time for the crews to make sure everything is perfect, inside and outside of their yachts, for each of the four days of the show.  They will also be preparing dishes to be sampled and some of their favorite rum drinks will be mixed  in order to intice the Brokers to stay on their yacht long enough to get a sense of what it would be like to have clients on board for a week or more of fun in the sun on a fully crewed yacht.  I am fortunate enough to be the one that is doing the internet reporting on the show each day while posting my many articles on this site for the enjoyment of all those who are unable to be here personally.  I look forward to you checking in and leaving your comments over the next week of my reports from both shows. Read the rest of this entry »

Jim Walberg will again be providing the internet reporting to the Virgin Island Charter League Fall Boat Show at Yacht Haven Grande next week.  Below is the Show’s schedule and all of the sponsors and event participants.  Check in each day for the Show’s updates.  It is always an unforgettable event.  Until next time…fair winds!!!

St Thomas Fall Yacht Show – November 10^th-12^th – Yacht Haven Grande Marina

Monday November 9^th

Check-In: Noon – 6pm Pool Side – YHG

Dress is casual and swim wear is encouraged.  After a long day of preparing your boat for the show, cool off with your fellow yacht crews and catch up on off-season exploits while enjoying cocktails and appetizers around the pool. Sponsored by Hooters of St Thomas, Wikked,  Budget Marine,  and Bellows International Read the rest of this entry »

Coastweeks is the what the locals in the USVI call International Coastal Cleanup (YouTube) week.  It starts September 19^th and the USVI’s are getting ready for a week’s of hard and dirty work – but much needed.  During that week you will find students, various organizations, business groups, and an army of people who will be heading to the beaches of the USVI to pick up and categorize the garbage they find.  Organized beach clean-ups will run through September and October.

At last year’s Coastweeks there were 1,400 volunteers on St. Thomas, St. John and St. Croix who picked up 18,600 pounds of trash from 43 miles of beaches!  St. Thomas won the prize for the most garbage, if anyone would really want that prize – 12,275 pounds of trash.  St. John was second with 3,000 pounds of trash, and St. Croix was third with 2,035 of trash.  The environment has no winners when our citizens are creating such a mess of Mother Nature’s playground.  This is in the same category of contributing to the well being of the earth as the USVI Waste Management Authority contract to create alternative energy in the USVI from trash. Read the rest of this entry »

The first week of January 2009 the Virgin Island Water & Power Authority  made a commitment to begin moving away from the use of fossil fuel as it’s only means of energy.  The long awaited agreement was signed this week with Denver-based Alpine Energy Group  to build waste-to-energy facilities on St. Thomas and St. Croix.

This project has been a long awaited event that will now use USVI waste and convert it into energy for the islands.  Virgin Islands Waste Management Authority  has also contracted Alpine Energy Group to reduce the Territory’s two landfills that are bursting at the seams.  Both of these critical contracts are for 20 years.

“The project clearly demonstrates that two government agencies can really work together and reach a turning point from which they can both move into the future as they responsibly are guardians of our natural resources.”  Gov. John deJongh Jr.  said during the press conference. Read the rest of this entry »

For the past two years the Virgin Islands Sustainable Farm Institute on St. Croix has been selected by the National Geographic Geotourism Challenge as a Top Ten Finalist out of 611 entrants from around the world.  The VISFI is located on more than 100 acres in the rain forest of St. Croix.

The mission of VISFI is: To provide a working educational farm enterprise that integrates sustainability in education, environment, and community through quality instruction in Agroecology and related fields.  The National Geographic Geotourism Challenge promotes innovations that benefit local communities and cultural landscapes in tourist destinations. The 2009 theme is “The Power of Place: Sustaining the Future of Destinations.” Read the rest of this entry »