From the Caribbean to Rwanda: Adowa Koren’s green revolution and the growing Afro-Caribbean connection

In recent years, Rwanda has registered an upsurge of people from Caribbean countries visiting or even deciding to stay, a phenomenon no one would have imagined just 10 years ago or so, given the distance between the two worlds. For decades, people from different Caribbean Island nations such as Barbados, Jamaica, Haiti, Cuba and others often tried to trace their roots in Africa, journeys which would often lead them to different West African countries like Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, Gabon and others. Not so often did Rwanda appear among the names of countries where these self-discovery missions led to but over the past couple of years, natives of the Caribbean nations are increasingly finding their way to Rwanda- many choosing to stay to start a new life ‘at home’. Admittedly, many of those who come to Rwanda say they initially knew nothing about the country but the more they learned about it and the more they looked at the similarities their own countries share with Rwanda, the more they felt the need to come. Over the past couple of years or so, President Paul Kagame embarked on an effort to strengthen bilateral ties with the Caribbean region, given the common history and size similarities Rwanda shares with the countries perched between North and South American continents. His vision to foster Afro-Caribbean relations was met by like minded leaders of Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and Cuba, among others, some of whom have visited Rwanda while he has also visited countries including Barbados, Bahamas, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago. It is this effort that has led to many people of African descent, from those countries, including those who previously moved to other continents like Europe or North America, choosing to come to Rwanda, out of curiosity, to see for themselves. Many of the people come because when they read Rwanda’s history, in a way it relates to their own history – countries that went through difficult times during slave trade, small in size and the people share a similar spirit of resilience, and hard work towards creating economic and political prosperity. A good example is Adowa Dejean Koren -Lynch, who moved to Rwanda in 2022 not only to trace and connect with her African roots, but also to do something that would contribute to making the world a better place. Koren is the founder of Green Staples Collective Ltd, a multifaceted Urban innovation farming company, which is focusing on developing decentralised farming solutions in microgreens and superfoods nutrition across Africa. Koren, an African British Caribbean, who was born in London but originates from the Caribbean nation of Barbados, is now a member of the fast-growing Caribbean community in Rwanda. “I've embraced all three of my Heritages. I was born in London and I've been in Rwanda for two and a half years now. Initially, I didn't know about Rwanda. I was prompted spiritually to come here,” says Koren. “Like most pan-Africans like myself, we are looking to come to the continent as part of our healing journey and as our restoration in life,” For Koren, being from the Caribbeans and also a UK citizen and later moving to Rwanda is an experience that has actually been very rewarding and it has been very much of a learning journey. Regardless of the diverse cultures and language differences, Koren says the majority of the people welcomed them as their own, much as there are areas that need Improvement. “I feel that there are areas where we need more help in settling. We need to understand a lot of the laws more clearly and information needs to be widely available so we can make certain judgements and what we need to do,” says Koren. “Rwanda being small is very well developed in a lot of areas, but I feel as a business person, we can even make that stronger. “I would say to my Caribbean brothers and sisters come and see for yourself, most important, have an open mind, understand, it's not the same as being the Caribbeans, from hospitality, from how we treated in customer care and therefore, instead of seeing it as a negative, we need to help improve that,” she says. Swapping the ocean for the mountains Koren says that for many of those who choose to move, it is a decision to swap the sea and ocean for the mountains, even as many people would pay to go to the Caribbeans for holiday. While the beach life is necessarily what you are looking for in Rwanda, Koren says there is a lot more to look up to in Rwanda. “There are other things that make here really great,” she says, adding that those looking to come have to do their due diligence, connecting with fellow Caribbean nationals who are already in Rwanda, to help them have an understanding “It makes it a lot easier. Also, I feel that they need to see the potential that is here, but make sure they have the experience or the ability to gain the experience they need to be successful here,” Before coming to Rwanda, Koren had visited another African country and her perception of what the continent looks like was shaped by that but coming to Rwanda her expectations was that there would be a mutual understanding and professionalism, but along the way she realised that a lot of the things were work in progress. On her part and on the side of nationals, there is a lot that can be worked on to improve and have a good understanding of how things need to be done as well as more work to break the barriers that make people different. “I still feel that Rwanda is quite young in that and therefore it does need us to spend more time here training and getting that understanding across,” She says that one area that she feels can be improved is communication, where people like her who are new in the country, can communicate their needs more effectively and the Rwandans also be able to communicate and share their culture and traditions more effectively with visitors. Koren says that if that gap can be bridged, it can create ‘a good marriage’ between Rwandans and the people of the Caribbeans. Currently, Koren is pursuing her initiative which seeks to promote sustainable food production, beginning with educating young children to know the value of crops and why they should be part of efforts to conserve and preserve them. Through Green Staples Collective Ltd, Koren launched her first urban farming education project in 2022, teaching urban farming to children through microgreens. Koren says that through her multifaceted company, her mission is to contribute to four main areas of concern across the African continent, which is education, agriculture, healthcare, and tourism. She started with microgreens Microgreens, a term used for the emerging food product that is developed from various commercial food crops, such as vegetables, grains, and herbs, consisting of developed cotyledons along with partially expanded true leaves. “These are small plants which grow to about seven inches high or smaller. They are the babies if you like your full-grown crop, for instance things like your broccoli and lentils,” she says of the young plants which are harvested between 7 to 21 days. Koren seeks to show the importance of eating some plants when they are still young, fresh and even more nutritious. “Microgreens contain over 40 percent of nutritional value,” she says, citing some examples such as broccoli and cauliflower, which have more nutritional value when they are young than when they are adults. Microgreens are superfoods which can be grown in and outdoors. When she came to Rwanda, her mission was to promote that kind of food Innovation. Venturing into honey In line with that, she also founded BEEyond Honey, premium quality honey products with healthy benefits, which she produces in collaboration with skilled Rwandan beekeepers. Bees as pollinators play a key role in producing great crops for food and Koren ventured into beekeeping, not just because there was a market to explore but also more into the diversity of honey. “We know what honey is. Most of us have tasted honey. However, for me, it was more about bringing honey to the higher level, to the premium brand level,” “So, I created and developed the range BEEyond honey. BEEyond honey is about blending of spices and herbs to bring the honey to a higher medicinal standard,” she explains. Koren says when you blend certain spices and herbs into honey, it boosts the immune system, helps with stomach problems and can even help deal with certain cancers. It is something she has researched about. “We wanted to know what herbs on this continent will give us medicinal value,” she says, adding that 50 percent of the proceeds will go towards the Breast Cancer Initiative East Africa (BCIEA), as part of efforts to support cancer awareness during the month of October, which globally is the cancer awareness month. It’s been a year since she piloted the honey project and today a lot of people are understanding the value of infused honey. Beyond Rwanda, she wants to collect herbs from different parts of the continent, to have the best products. “We're glad it's made in Rwanda but from a company's perspective; to get the best herbs and spices, we have to collect that from across Africa. We find that is very important for our sustainability and our supply chain,” “We have the kind of vision of being able to grow with the people. We should be able to be more involved with the community, but also the whole chain from teaching young children about the value of food. ALSO READ: Rwandans eye business opportunities in Barbados Koren says it is important that children know where their food comes from and the importance of growing and preserving crops. At a time when the honey producing industry is littered with fake adulterated products, Koren hopes to make a difference by producing high quality honey that meets global standards The idea is to produce medicinal standard honey that can be used for other purposes, other than sweetening things. However, she still faces some challenges, particularly in regard to getting the right packaging and other raw materials, which means they have to import, as well as language barrier, due to the fact that beekeepers are mostly not educated. The said challenges affect their production and increase the cost of products but for Koren, that is an opportunity for more manufacturing. “I would like to see more manufacturing happening and support for that because there are companies out there who would like to come here and set up manufacturing but there is a lot of misunderstanding in how that needs to happen,” she said of some people who contemplate coming to Rwanda but hesitate. She said starting up in Rwanda is easy and there are people working day and night to make things easy for those looking to invest or create in Rwanda. With Rwanda inking up trade agreements and bilateral cooperation agreements with Caribbean countries, Koren says there are immense opportunities that have opened up for people looking to come to Rwanda. Since 2022, Rwanda has been looking to increase collaboration with different Caribbean countries in the areas of tourism, sports development, air connectivity and logistics, digital and financial services, green investments among others. Koren says there are many opportunities and incentives which her countrymates can take advantage of. Through Barbados, Rwanda is strategically eyeing friends in the Caribbean region to boost exports from the agriculture and mining sectors, among others. With both countries having in place a Double Tax Agreement that reduces cost of operations and increases attractiveness of opportunities, more people from the Caribbean countries are finding opportunities in Rwanda. The treaty covers Barbados income tax and corporation tax, and covers Rwandan personal income tax, corporate income tax, and the tax on rent of immovable property. Rwanda and Barbados connect Rwanda’s connections in the Caribbeans are mainly anchored in Barbados, a small island in the Caribbean fighting for the sustainable development priorities of the region, which shares a similar vision with Rwanda. Both countries have emerged from unique challenges, and their individual leaders have indeed committed to ambitious development, economic, social and business objectives designed to further elevate the quality of life of their citizens, while also boosting South-South trade. Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley was received by President Kagame in April 2022 in Barbados as both nations recovered from the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic. In April 2022 President Kagame visited Barbados, and just seven months later in November, Prime Minister Mottley landed in Kigali for a reciprocal visit that would further cement relations between the countries. Though Barbados and Rwanda established diplomatic ties in July 2015, and then signed a Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement, things began moving at a rapid pace in 2022 after those initial high-level visits, according to Emery Rubagenga, Honorary Consul of Barbados to Rwanda. The businessman, who was among the first to discover opportunities there, was appointed by PM Mottley in July 2022. Rubagenga says that Barbados, which is the world’s seventh largest captive insurance domicile and is one of the largest services trade partners of countries like Canada and offers many opportunities for Rwandans. “Barbados’ rich history in cricket, world class golf courses and luxury properties, highly sought-after tourism and hospitality services also add to the attractiveness of the destination for Rwandans,” “There are immense challenges for residents of both countries seeking to visit each other due to an absence of direct air connectivity,” Rubagenga said, adding that it is one of the main reasons RwandAir is eyeing ways of connecting Africa and the Caribbean. While the plans are at the early stage, and no promise of any dates have been given Rubagenga says the leadership of the two countries have shown commitment to make it work. “A direct flight would eliminate about 15 hours from the current route through London or other European hubs,” he says, adding that the agreements signed between the two nations are paving way for greater cooperation. Among other things, Rwanda and Barbados have agreed to work together to promote tourism flows by encouraging citizens of both countries to travel to either destination, even as plans to establish a cheaper and faster connection continue. “Through the first high level business visit last year, we have created a vibe and an energy among people who want to connect. We are creating curiosity, and from curiosity to appetite, to excitement, to people coming to visit each other's beautiful country,” Rubagenga says. He further observes that many Rwandans appreciate Prime Minister Mottley and of course the youngsters enjoy the music and talent from global entertainer and businesswoman Robyn Rihanna Fenty. “People have done their homework and perceived this beautiful island with US$17,000 GDP per capita income, a lot of things that can be done together. The island has investment and bilateral treaties with countries around the globe, more than sixty billion dollars transiting through it from Canada. “We actually have just scratched the surface of what could be achieved through this cooperation by Barbados and Rwanda, Africa continent and the Caribbean region, Rubagenga notes.

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From the Caribbean to Rwanda: Adowa Koren’s green revolution and the growing Afro-Caribbean connection