Climate Conscious: A Conversation with Christine Samwaroo of the Breadfruit Collective

Caribbean Feminist was honoured to sit down with Guyanese Intersectional Feminist and Activist, Christine Samwaroo. Founder and Managing Director of The Breafruit Collective (TBC), Samwaroo also spoke to us about the inspirations behind the work she does, her experiences collaborating with other Caribbean feminists, as well as the conference she and her team recently held.

Christine first gave us a little tid-bit of what The Breadfruit Collective strives to do.

C: [It is] an NGO that works to address the intersections of gender and environmental justice. We believe that it is necessary to use a feminist framework and to address these issues by using a whole of society approach. The issues are never just stand alone issues.

When it comes to inspiration, Christine lists a few, not least of all a traumatic introduction early in life to the realities of domestic violence and gender injustices that are all too common in Caribbean households and neighbourhoods. She also chronicles her shift to environmental justice and the unique way in which she and her organisation combine the two.

C: The work of TBC became public in July 2020, during the pandemic. However, the idea to create this space started long before, but I didn't think I had the words or was qualified enough to do this work. As a teenager, my grandmother- a domestic violence survivor got me involved with Red Thread (A Gender Justice NGO in Guyana). Given my family history and childhood, it was filled with many traumatic events including witnessing domestic violence, I was aware of gender injustice long before knowing what that meant. My background in environmental justice came through university where I was able to see a direct connection between climate justice and gender justice. I also always had a drive to do justice work in the Caribbean.

I moved away in 2008 to live with my dad in the US. Having returned to Guyana in 2018 from the United States, I would read weekly about the brutal murder of women by their intimate partner. I knew about domestic abuse, I have seen it in my family for most of my life. However, I thought that being away for 10 years, this must have changed, I thought there must have been outlets. However, I started to read that globally 1 in every 3 women experience intimate partner violence, however in Guyana that number is 1 in every 2 women will experience some violence from an intimate partner. I knew I needed to do something, anything to remember these women being killed. Gender based violence is 100% preventable. At that time, I didn't have the community to discuss how I was feeling. In an effort to highlight what was happening in Guyana, the genesis of TBC's mission and work became public.

The connection between gender and environment became very clear given my history and education. I strongly believe that we cannot have a functioning society until we form a healthy, positive relationship with its women, girls, and the environment. I believe that women and girls must be able to participate fully and live freely in society for there to be justice.

A known activist and feminist in the Caribbean, Christine has has her fair share of collaborations, including with us here at Caribbean Feminist. She was able to talk a bit about her experience with other organisations across the region.

C: I have been doing climate change work for more than a decade now, I started off in many student-led groups abroad. However, I always noted that Caribbean voices weren’t always in the space, or atleast I didnt see myself reflected in the space. With TBC, the experience has changed significantly. It has been a positive experience connecting with Caribbean environmentalists, I have had only positive responses through collaboration on events and mutual learning. TBC is committed to create partnerships and to highlight work being done, to share spaces, and I think using that mindset, persons continue to be receptive.

In the Caribbean, we may be from different countries but our climate stories are linked as our history and current realities. The regional activists are looking at these issues using intersectional lenses. We are aware of the dangers of climate change and the fact that we are the last generation to act.

Christine and her team also recently collaborated with the Climate Conscious Podcast to hold a Climate Confrence via zoom as COVID continues to rule the way we live our lives. The pandemic was unable to stop her activism however as feminists across the region joined together for the four day affair. She got the chance to tell us about the experience, the highs and lows, and hint at whether we’ll see more conferences like this in the future.

C: The conference was an idea that started with Derval Barzey from The Climate Conscious Podcast. TBC and Climate Conscious Podcast wanted to create a conference centering women and the environment. We understood that Climate impacts amplify existing inequalities at every level and that gender inequality continues to be a major concern in the Caribbean. Particularly women and girls, remain highly susceptible to gender based violence and socio-economic imbalances. Adapting to climate change is paramount for the region and it is extremely important that all adaptation measures use a gender responsive lens.

We are thankful that we achieved our goals. We wanted to create our own space where the issues surrounding climate change were being told by Caribbean people. We wanted to showcase that we have the solutions, they are people who are ready and willing to get the work done. We wanted the space to be inclusive of many voices- youths, women and indigenous people speaking with each other.

Given the positive responses, we are hoping that we can create an annual Caribbean Women for Climate Justice (CW4CJ) Conference. There is an interest, we need to continue these conversations that lead into further actions. We hope to continue to address as many issues that the Caribbean faces and continue to work to make the space more accessible to persons who may not always be in these spaces.

We couldn’t end the interview without asking Christine about Climate Justice! As someone with first hand experience, and a few years under her belt, she was able to lead us through her definition of Climate Justice and the intersectionality that must be applied when examining these issues. We were able to discuss her hopes for the Climate Justice space in the Caribbean, and some insights into ‘ancestral wisdom’ how it relates to her efforts and what we can see from her and The Breadfruit Collective in the future.

C: Climate Justice looks like deep acknowledgement for the wrongs that continue to take place as a result of capitalism and colonialism, and a commitment to righting the wrongs. It looks like funding for climate adaptation now, and not waiting for the next disaster to strike. It provides compensation for those on the front lines who have already lost so much. Climate Justice means investing in women and girls at the grassroots levels, funding and providing them with the necessary capacities. It would mean that our government is actually investing in clean and renewable energy and green jobs. Climate Justice goes back to ancestral ways of interacting and valuing nature. Climate Justice looks like liberation and respect for all people LBGTQIA+, poor, black, brown, indigenous, fat, disable, etc. It means our government is not only speaking but doing everything in their power to act and make bold changes in addressing the crisis. It looks like a bottom up approach as opposed to top down when decisions are being made that impacts people.

I hope the future of the Caribbean stands as an example of what can happen when people and nature are centred in decision making. I hope the future of the Caribbean region looks at overall healing of our shared traumas and rebuilding communities and ecosystems.

My mental health, as much as I am inspired, I do feel the burden to act to get this right and to do something. Being a climate activist makes me feel worthy, it provides a glimpse of a just future if we are able to fix the climate crisis. I am inspired by fellow young people in the space that are doing intersectional work, especially young Caribbean women.

It's at the centre, our ancestors worked the land, they understood and respected nature and the cycles. They understood living within their means, not over consuming. We see this in our

cultural practices. It's necessary for us to embrace that wisdom. To move forward, we need to acknowledge and unlearn that those “simple ways of living” were never backwards to European standards.

TBC is committed to building our network in partnering and collaborating on issues on gender, environment, education, climate change, mental health, sexual and repoductive health, healthy relationships, healing justice, etc across the region. We see the positive effects that come from sharing space. For the next half of 2022, TBC will be embarking on additional writing projects, as well as an intersectional program that aims to work with young girls in Guyana called “Dear Future Women,” we can't wait to share more.

For resources related to Climate Justice and the work that Christine and The Breadfruit Collective does, click here, here, here and here.

To keep updated on their work, you can find a link to their instagram page here.

About the Author

Morganne is a Legal Assistant at the Russell Law Firm, P.L. in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. She is a recent graduate of the University of the West Indies, Mona with dreams of pursuing a PsyD in Child Psychology. A staunch womanist and believer in intersectionality and the importance of mental health, she also heavily invested in charity work which she undertakes through her family’s foundation in Jamaica.