6 Months Climate Activism in the Caribbean

I am not yet finished with my RVA climate activist program but I have grown a lot. I'm now in the period make SVG Climate Compliant and the past 4 weeks have been fun. ive become a different person from when I started becoming a more sharp thinker and I have way more knowledge and experience in permaculture. however I think a lot of the students that comes from rich countries come with the ideology of being served instead of doing hands on work like cooking or cleaning. the life of RVA was explained numerous times to me during my enrollment period so I knew exactly what was gonna happen and how. ive read a review from a past person on the climate activist program and it wasn't only negative but also fiction. the program is 1 in a million as it leaves you with experience, knowledge and opportunites to make the step further in keeping the planet alive I wish more people would take this opportunity and be apart of a bigger picture

I was a past participant at the RVA. My stint there was transformative..to say the least. The time spent there had a definitive direction and influence on the choice of my current life's vocation.

RVA has created a mini melting pot of cultural diversity for peaceful, productive, and respected coexistence... maybe unintentional, but the experiment showed that though different, we all can get along no matter the language, race and geography from which one hails. RVA has been successful in creating the utopia which still remains an ideal in the minds of forward thinkers, but they have made it a practical reality.

Not only was it a privilege but a memorable one as well to have worked, lived and shared living-tasks in a community with people of diverse background, ethnicity, culture and language. The take aways: the friendship bonds, the impartation of knowledge on the core curriculum on climate compliance....an everything with the green movement; culture share and the experience of the love, comradery and cooperation..were well worth the time spent there; an experience which will be cherished for the rest of my life.

Hello everyone,
I participated in the six-month climate activist program, but only stayed there for two months. The decision to leave the program was very difficult for me, because it costs a lot of money and you only get a small part of it back if you leave within the first two months. Apart from the financial aspect, I met a lot of great people there who I now consider my friends. It was hard to leave them.
But the reasons for leaving were much more compelling. The following refers only to the volunteer program and not to the country SVG, because the country and the culture are fantastic.
It is important to note that the focus is on the "living in a community" aspect and not on the "doing something about climate change" aspect. This means that we keep the school running around the clock. We clean, cook, wash up, cut trees, dig ditches, build flower beds, ...
It's also good to know that the academy often runs out of water and sometimes electricity too. It's actually nice that 100% of the electricity comes from our own solar pellets. However, it becomes difficult when machines such as the fridge don't run for two days. So it's not surprising that the food goes bad. In general, hygiene in the kitchen was not the best. I know that hygiene standards are different all over the world, but I think everyone can agree that it's not nice to have lots of insects in the kitchen and in the flour bin or that we have to clean our dishes with bleach, because we run out of dishwashing liquid.
It wouldn't be a problem if the daily life in RVA and the fact that the focus is on the "living in a community" aspect would have been communicated BEFORE the project started. Every volunteer came with the hope of making a difference and having a positive impact. Unfortunately, this was not the case. That's also the main reason why I left. I felt like I was wasting my time there doing work that only helped RVA.
Another problem was the teachers. Almost none of them had much knowledge or professional background in climate change. Sometimes they used presentations they had copied from the internet without even understanding them properly. When we asked questions that went beyond the surface, they didn't know the answer or gave scientifically incorrect answers. In those two months, I learned more from the locals in my team than from all the teachers there. Also, most of the teachers are in a group called "Tvind" or "Teachers Group". Google says it's a cult known for making money with greenwashing or moneywashing projects ;). Some teachers are very problematic themselves in my opinion. Things were said like "If women drink alcohol, they shouldn't be surprised if they get raped". In addition, one of the teachers forced me to feed and pet a dog after this very dog had attacked me. I had never been afraid of dogs before, but after this attack I was terrified, and my teacher's statement "You have to get over your fear" was not helpful at all at that moment.
When we expressed criticism, they didn't take it seriously... They pretended to take it seriously, but none of the structures ever changed. It often felt more like a power play between teachers and students than a constructive discussion.
In general, the teachers there are very unprofessional and not trustworthy at all.
I applied for this program a year before it started. At the time, I was told to hurry as there were only a few places available. I found out from my teammates that almost everyone had only applied a few months before the program started. So they deliberately put pressure on me to accept quickly.
My work as a volunteer was taken for granted and not appreciated at all. It is a poor and chaotic organization that I would not recommend participating in.
If you are still considering participating in this program, I recommend you ask your contact person a lot of questions and think critically.

It was a great experience with lots of ups and downs. Definetly a good choice, if you want to learn more about yourself and the world! The passionate team leaders will encourage you to step out of your comfort zone and to try many new things. Participants need to be open-minded and able to work in a team, since the main focus is working together to reach goals. The location is beautiful and inspiring. You get to be part of a community that you never thought would grow on you so much. It was definetly worth it and enriching in many aspects.

My Journey started on November 1st 2022 in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. I was a student at the Richmond Vale Academy. We were 22 People in my Team from different coutries. The first 4 weeks was a lot of theoretical stuff and learning about climate change, mangroves and more. Every Wednesday was Common Action (Helping in the garden or in the fruit forest for example). And once a month is Building Weekend. We had so much fun during the practical work. The second period of the program was more practical work. I helped building benches in the fruit forest. During the Christmas time we went to a different Island called Bequia. You should definitely visit this Island. Beautiful Beaches and a nice landscape. after the Christmas holiday we came back to the Richmond Vale Academy. We had still work to do, and prepared our trip to Union Island for getting mangroves seeds we wanted to plant in St. Vincent. We also had to prepare our next Period: Going out to the Communities/Villages. From February to April we lived and worked with the locals in the Villages. We did Beach Clean-Ups, builded some benches and helded lessons for Children at the School in Peto (The Village where i lived two months). The last period was called bring it to the public. We came all together for the last month of our program and worked on our Final Product (For example a article or video).
It was an unforgettable experience!
If you are interested in fighting against climate change, learning life skills and working with a team from different cultures you should definitely join this program.
A 6-Month-Journey you´ll remember forever.

The school offers an environment that I would definitely recommend, both in terms of the education system and the administrative staff. Furthermore, it conducts its educational activities in the most special location with the stunning view of St. Vincent. It is possible to eat healthily with the vegetables and fruits it produces entirely on its own. Additionally, offering social activities during the education period makes the time spent there much more special. Even though four years have passed, I have not lost contact with both my teachers and my friends there. I want to visit the school at the first opportunity, just like how former students often used to visit when I was there.

RVA is a great place to meet people who are interested in learning and finding solutions to big problems like climate change and inequality. It is not only theoretical knowledge but you are also working with communities. I highly recommend this program to anyone who is interested in expanding their awareness and wants to live in a better world while also making new friends from all over the world. St. Vincent is an amazing place, really safe and beautiful. Thanks to this program I was able to get closer to my purpose. It was a great decision to join.

Hello, my name is Mónica, I am from Portugal and join Richmond Vale Academy (RVA) as part of a 2-year program that started in Denmark. In RVA you will meet people from all over the world, who, most of the time come from a very different context than you. During my time in RVA, I had the chance to share my life with people from Colombia, France, Germany, Austria, Costa Rica, Belgium, New Caledonia, Japan, North Korea, Norway, Hungary, Honduras, Italy, Denmark, Brazil, and Saint Vincent. The common life and the friendships one develops are the best and the most challenging part at the same time. Sharing home, meals, cooking, and cleaning duties with close to 50 people can be challenging but it is also through this you learn about different cultures, learn more about your own country, learn to be more emphatic, and make friendships that will follow you when you leave.
The Climate Activist program has both theoretical and practical components. You will have courses about Climate Change, Coral Reefs, Caribbean History, Organic farming, and also some specific topics - in the case of my team was about mangroves. There is also a practical period both in RVA and in the communities. My team was responsible to improve the tree nursery and create 2 pathways that connect the school to the beach, through a fruit forest. During this period we had the real chance to team building, develop our leadership skills, and witness the power and the things you can accomplish when you work together.
Later on, we moved from RVA to nearby communities to develop the Mangrove project - for me, this was the most exciting period. When we live in the school we don't get the real feeling of Vincy culture, costumes, and its people. But when you move out everything changes! Everyone I met in SVG is super friendly and happy to share their stories with the students. Life happens more locally and there is a big sense of community.
It also comes with some difficulties, but nothing that one can not overcome with the support of its teammates. You'll learn so much about yourself and enhance your beliefs toward a more sustainable and conscious life.
RVA is located quite far away from everything on the island, so, if you want to move around to visit and explore the beautiful nature and landscapes be ready to spend some money since public transportation is very low on weekends and without actually schedules. Always remember to enjoy your time here!