Sugar museum for Brechin Castle

THE EDITOR: This is in response to a suggestion from Mr James Cummings of Maraval that TT should construct a sugar museum. I am pleased to inform Mr Cummings that there is a community group from the Couva/California area who is seeking to have such a project established in the Brechin Castle area.

We are going under the name, “Interest group for the establishment of a Sugar and Energy Museum and Science Centre and Heritage Park.” We meet at the Trinidad and Tobago Institute of Technology in Esperanza and will now share with the nation what we have identified as the primary purpose of this group.
To seek:
(1) to capture the changing face of the sugar industry, recording it for future generations.
(2) Preserve a heritage of how lives and whole villages were/are affected by the sugar industry from slavery days to present day and continuing.
(3) Capturing the change from sugar to energy on a continuing basis.
(4) A place to capture the history of Trinidad and Tobago as affected by circumstances/life in central and south Trinidad in particular.
(5) A learning centre for historians, future scientists, teachers, students, the general public.
(6) A pavilion for artists.
(7) To offer recreational facilities for citizens and tourists,  a place for shows and festivals.
(8) The need to keep alive villages which fed from/off the Brechin Castle sugar factory.

SITES IDENTIFIED — Proposing to have these sites declared part of a Heritage Park
(1) Sevilla House and grounds — to be used as a museum and art gallery. Sevilla and Sevilla house is of great historical significance to the sugar industry.
(2) Building that now houses the Environmental office at Sevilla to be used for collections and research projects of the Museum and Heritage Park.
(3) Basta Hall Hill — Establishment of Science Centre and Theatre for the performing arts and Interpretive Museum (typical old sugarcane village set up for example a barrack and a couple mud huts, a potter’s house).
We have indicated our interest by letter dated June 23, 2003 to the Estate Management and Business Development Company Ltd in having the aforementioned properties set aside for this purpose. We are awaiting a response from the committee. In the meantime though, it would be interesting to hear from the citizens how important they feel such a project is to the country. Please write to newspapers and call in to the talk shows if you support such a project. We will publish an e-mail address after our next meeting.

NOREEN BRATHWAITE
Chairperson Pro Tem
Balmain Gardens, Couva