The Historical Evolution and Heritage Significance of the Mulberry Patch date back some 5000+ years to the ancient Chinese practices of Mori- and Seri-culture that today still provide a sustainable base for the Chinese grass roots economy. Dr. Joshua Steele introduced the practice of Sericulture to Barbados 300+ years ago, exporting vegetable-silk end-products woven in Barbados in the form of vests to England. The Mulberry Patch therefore has an integral part to play in the continuing Heritage Development of Barbados.

As Permaculture activists have ably demonstrated globally, a holistic lifestyle, grounded deep in the Earth, allows human beings:

          o Daily insight into their impact on the environment;
          o To eat fresh seasonal produce;
          o To have a heightened awareness of nature;
          o To remain physically active and long-lived;
          o To bond with the Land through their needs and their leisure; and
          o To reduce waste and disharmony by integrating others into the natural world on which the very survival of the race depends.

VISION/MISSION

The unique gender-based venture of the Mulberry Patch proposes the creation of a dedicated bio-habitat for the housing and rearing of the Bombyx Mori Silkworm at Haggatt's Plantation, St. Andrew, Barbados. The Haggatt's Plantation property, which has been visited in the Barbados Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation (BADMC), has been identified by that organisation as the potential site for the establishment of Mulberry plantation and Residential Containment Laboratory Facility.

DEEPVISION OF THE MULBERRY PATCH

The Deep Vision of The Mulberry Patch will integrate the sustainable agro practices of:

    * Mori- and seri-culture;
    * Horticulture
    * Indigenous Herbi-culture and allelopathic plantings
    * Aqua-culture
    * Energy efficient systems to power plant and recycle by-products
    * Methanogizer technology to aid fertigation
    * Bio-drainage planting that will protect and water nourish an essentially semi-arid landscape
    * Slope reclamation and bio-pest controls