Welcome to the beautiful Kalinago Territory in Dominica. This area along the island’s east coast was established back in the 20th century after European colonization forced the Indigenous Kalinago people off their ancestral lands. A land of bush doctors, carved totems, and plant medicine, this culture has remained relatively unchanged over the centuries. Join me and let’s explore this vibrant culture on the island of Dominica!
We started at the Visitors Center, where you can buy a pass to enter the Territory for $10 USD. In the Interpretation Center room are maps of the Caribbean and drawings and info on the Kalinago people. They make lots of crafts, including weaving.
We headed over to some traditional houses, where a local woman was making crafts from calabash shells. She’d also made some mask-like wall hangings out of ferns, some woven baskets, hats, earrings, and necklaces. I wanted to get some crafts from the Kalinago Territory for my daughters. Next, she showed me how she weaves baskets. It takes a half hour to make a small basket and longer to make the larger ones.
The craftsmanship was beautiful! Then, we headed out to the grounds, where there was a picnic area. Down a set of steps is a group of small, carved totems that look similar to the moai on Easter Island! Further on, we saw a view of the ocean!
We went back to the woman, who had completed the small baskets. From there, our driver Bongo drove us up a winding road to Daniel Cassava, a small stand on the side of the road. Inside the kitchen, they were making coconut cassava bread in pans over a gas stove. They also make a type of cereal out of the mixture.
Daniel is the pioneer of cassava bread in Dominica. He was the first person to make it on the island, and now you can find other people making it in Roseau and Portsmouth. It was crispy on the outside, but gooey on the inside, with a sweet and savory flavor!
From there, we hopped back in the car with Bongo, who drove us to a gift shop along the side of the road running through the Kalinago Territory. No one was there, but they had some baskets, carved turtles, little toy boats, jewelry, and more. Since no one was there, we continued on past a church and the river, on our way to a shop where a woman was getting her hair braided.
Finally, we headed to Jacko Falls, a landmark in the Kalinago Territory near a set of wet, slippery stairs. I took off my shoes and socks and waded into the water. There were crabs, fish, and lizards there. But as it started raining, we decided to leave. We saw a big crab on our way back to Bongo’s car.
We finished at a beautiful beach near Marigot, which is where the main airport is.
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