Youth behind $13m greenhouse for Princes Town

Shaliza Hassanali
Published: 18 Jul 2010

The Realize Road Environmental Club is moving to have a $13 million state-of-the art greenhouse using solar and wind power established in Princes Town. Brain child of the project, Carlon Mohammed, president of the environmental club, said if the initiative got off the ground it would put their far-flung community on the map since they have no modern facilities to prepare and promote their children for the next millennium. The club consists of mainly children between the ages of five to 17, who are lectured to daily on how to protect and preserve the environment for the next generation. Established two years ago, the club,which has a membership of 37, has since appealed to Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar to help them realise their goal.

“This will no doubt assist students and the public with the knowledge of science derived from this concept, as well as show how the environment works,” said Mohammed. Using the alternative energy source, Mohammed said, the greenhouse, which would comprise two classrooms, a library, computer room, kitchen, office, hall and sleeping quarters, would generate its own electricity. In a letter sent to Persad-Bissessar last month, Mohammed noted that the two-storey greenhouse would satisfy the needs of the people and reduce greenhouse gases, which was emitted by the burning of coals, oil and gas as well as by landfills and other industrial processes that blanket the earth, trapping the sun’s heat close to the planet. They are, however, faced with one stumbling block as the owners of an unoccupied piece of land at Realize Road, which they have identified as the most suitable place to erect the greenhouse, have refused to entertain any deal with the club. The owners, Mohammed said, preferred to hammer out an agreement with the Government. Noting that their community was in dire need of infrastructure, Mohammed appealed to Persad-Bissessar to intervene. Last year, Mohammed said he presented the greenhouse proposal to the Ministry of Planning, Housing and the Environment and was told of their green fund, to which he subscribed. “The ministry was quite interested after hearing about the project since there was need for small countries to pursue a low carbon future.” Mohammed said he intended to reapply for the fund at the Ministry of Housing and Environment due to the change in Government. Mohammed said if the Government was not keen on the project, organisations such as United Nations Development Programme had offered an interest. If everything goes according to plan, Mohammed said, by next year the greenhouse should be up and running. Stating that the greenhouse would encourage economic growth, foreign exchange, address the issue of global warming and the use of alternative energy, Mohammed noted that T&T needed to develop renewable energy efficiency technology in order to guarantee energy security. More info: Wind power The wind energy harnesses the power of the wind to propel the blades of wind turbines. The rotation of the turbine blades is converted into electrical current by means of a generator. Wind power produces no pollution that can contaminate the environment. Solar power Solar power works by trapping the sun’s rays into solar cells, where sunlight is then converted into electricity. Source: http://guardian.co.tt/news/general/2010/07/18/youth-behind-13m-greenhouse-princes-town