A taste of local DIY

Union island is only 40 minutes from Canouan by ferry, however it is considerably more developed, with the tiny bustling fishing village of Clifton at its centre. It lacks the perimeter of golden sandy beaches offered by Canouan, but makes up for it with civilisation in the form of small hotels and bars, and a variety of modest grocery stores and gift shops. One crucial element that I appreciate more than I can say is the freely available running water. Canouan has no natural water available on the island, so all water must be delivered in large vats at some expense and piped into houses through mostly medieval plumbing systems. Most of the inhabitants do not even have this ‘luxury,’ and use outdoor plastic bowls for all mundane water-related tasks such as washing, bathing and cleaning.

It is with relief then, that I sip my glass of iced tap water straight from one of Union’s underground fresh water wells and consider a cool shower in a moment to refresh myself before bed.

Today I watched three generations of a family, all female, building a house from foundation up with basic shovels and bare hands. The grandmother helped mix the cement with sand and quarry stones, the mother was doing the brunt of the foundation laying and a five year old girl splashed water into the cement mix at intervals. I stood uselessly in the shade of a brick wall, sheltering my sensitive skin from the merciless midday equator sun, and watching in awe as this family built their future with blood, sweat and sheer determination. The husband, and loving father of three (plus three more 'adopted' children) is necessarily absent, working on another island for minimum wages of no more than £330 a month, which must cover the needs of the family, including every precious bag of sand, stone, and brick used on their home building project.

Did you think that a visit to Home Base or Do-It-All for a self-assembly shelf was DIY? Sorry guys, but THIS is the real shit!

These people have almost nothing, however, everything they do have they share with each other, and the neighbours, and the neighbours' kids, and the neighbours' kids' dog, not to mention myself, a stranger in paradise, but accepted nonetheless as family and treated with humbling kindness and warmth.