A strong spirit of community entrepreneurship was on full display at the recently-held Laborie Farm Fest, proving that people empowerment can redound to positive economic spin-offs.
The all-day event was held at the newly-constructed Laborie Market on High Street, Laborie, on Friday, May 2, 2025, and was hosted by the Taiwan Mission (TTM), in collaboration with the Laborie/Augier Constituency Council, and Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security, and Rural Development.
Nearly 25 booths were featured at the event, offering a wide array of goods and services from the southern community and its immediate environs. Fresh seafood and vegetables, fruits, ground provisions, honey, condiments, eggs, cakes, tamarind balls, fruit juices, fruit jams and jellies, and coconut and castor oils were among the produce on sale. Other items included handicraft, clothing, fashion jewelry, decorative ornaments, and skin creams.
Among the exhibitors were the Anse Kawet Crafters and Youth Economy Agency (YEA), both of whom the Taiwan Technical Mission collaborates with on various initiatives that empower entrepreneurs. The Ministry of Health, Wellness and Elderly Affairs collaborated with the Taiwan Technical Mission to provide health checks for blood pressure and blood sugar index, while the Taiwan Technical Mission hosted a booth that showcased ICT.
In March 2024, the Laborie Farmers’ Market was hosted by the Taiwan Technical Mission (TTM), Laborie/Augier Constituency Council, and Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Rural Development, and aimed to showcase the community’s businesses. This year, the event was renamed Laborie Farm Fest, and capitalized on last month’s opening of the new Laborie Market, which was financed by the Government of the Republic of China (Taiwan).
“I’m excited to see this brand-new market serving its purpose perfectly to bring people together,” said H.E. Nicole Su, Taiwan’s Ambassador to Saint Lucia, during the official opening ceremony of Laborie Farm Fest. “Just as Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre mentioned during the opening of this market, today we’re bringing vendors and consumers together.”
Ambassador Su noted that markets are not just places to buy and sell produce, but also where people meet: where connect farmers to families, growers to chefs, and heritage to innovation.
“In every fruit, every vegetable, every handcraft here, there is a story behind it — a story of hard work, of tradition, and of pride,” she added. “I think these stories are demonstrated perfectly in the theme of this year’s Farm Fest, ‘Agricole: Nou Kay Pwofité Ansanm’, or ‘Agriculture: Together We Grow’. I’d like to commend the Constituency Council for this wonderful title. It perfectly reflects the spirit of today’s event.”
Ambassador Su thanked Hon. Alva Baptiste, Minister for External Affairs, International Trade, Civil Aviation and Diaspora Affairs, the Laborie/Augier Constituency Council, the Ministry of Agriculture, and the Taiwan Technical Mission for their contributions that redounded to the successful hosting of Laborie Farm Fest.
Hon. Alva Baptiste, Minister for External Affairs, International Trade, Civil Aviation and Diaspora Affairs, who is also the Parliamentary Representative for Laborie/Augier, also spoke at the event. During his remarks, he thanked the Government and people of the Republic of China (Taiwan) for their invaluable support to the socioeconomic development of Laborie/Augier.
Hon. Baptiste told those in attendance that the Laborie/Augier constituency’s development was based on agriculture, adding that most residents can trace their ancestral roots to people who were engaged in the fishing industry.
“In the coming period, I want us to enter into a new dispensation with the Taiwanese, whereby young farmers from across the constituency would be involved in intense training using new techniques, especially an area that has not been accentuated too much, namely the fishing industry,” Hon. Baptiste explained. “I want us to begin to train the younger fishermen in some modern techniques, where they spend more time at sea and bringing a better catch to the shore so that we are able to increase the production of not just fruits and vegetables, but also the fishing stock. I’m also looking forward to greater agro-processing.”
He added: “We must ensure that we produce sufficiently so that we are able to stand on our own in moments of scarcity. We must do so as a matter of policy and as a matter of urgency, we must ensure that we become self-sufficient.”
At the ceremony, Hon. Baptiste presented a painting of the new Laborie Market to Ambassador Su.
Meanwhile, Mr. Kemuel Jn. Baptiste, Director of Agricultural Services in the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Rural Development, said Laborie Farm Fest is a powerful reminder that community-led initiatives supported through strong partnerships can have a lasting and meaningful impact on the agricultural sector and national development. He added that the event was not just a showcase of fruits and vegetables from farmers, fishers, agro-processors, and crafters, but also highlighted Laborie’s very best.
“Farmers markets like this are critical to the health of our local economy,” Mr. Jn. Baptiste said. “They create direct links between producers and consumers, build trust and confidence in local products, and allow our farmers, processors and artisans to share their stories, skills, and innovation with the wider public. In doing so, they help keep the money circulating in our communities and reinforce food security in a tangible and meaningful way.”