From Land to Sea: Meet Four Caribbean Women to Celebrate This International Women’s Day

Across the Caribbean, women are leading powerful change in their communities — nurturing the land, protecting the ocean, empowering other women, and creating opportunities for future generations. From sustainable farming in Grenada to coral restoration in The Bahamas, these leaders are transforming their islands through dedication, innovation, and an unwavering commitment to giving back. This International Women’s Day, we celebrate four Caribbean women whose work is strengthening both their communities and the natural environments they call home.

There’s a phenomenon going around Grenada: All the island’s goodness moving in unison, a healthy cycle between the island and the people. One woman in particular helps to keep the cycle in motion: Theresa Marryshow, owner of Miss T’s Eco Garden. Any person could live a great life in her garden, surrounded by fresh fruits, a virtual salad bar of greens, the sweetest potatoes you’ve ever tasted, and pure joy.

Theresa shares some wisdom with a garden-fresh meal: “My grandparents taught me to keep the land healthy, and it will return the favor.”

As president of GRENROP, she’s helped nearly 100 local women become financially independent through sustainable farming methods. The women can then transform their communities and reduce food insecurity around Grenada.

“I see my grandmother in these women because they’re willing to work so hard,” Theresa says, referring back to the powerful cycle. The Sandals Foundation is part of it, too, supplying necessary goods and training to make organic methods possible. Leftovers become part of a composting system, which optimizes the soil, which nourishes the plants, which restarts the cycle that’s feeding promising futures across the island.

Lindsay has seamlessly merged her work and purpose since starting a summer job at Sandals out of high school. It was supposed to be a brief stop, but it emerged into so much more.

“During my first week, I happened to tell the general manager about an orphanage I raised funds for during school. Two months later, he sent a truck filled with supplies and a bus filled with staff to refurbish the orphanage and have a picnic with the children. I knew I wanted to be a part of this company and still am forty years later.”

She’s been the recipient of three Sandals scholarships, helping her to earn associates, bachelor’s, and master’s degrees.

“The opportunities given to me make me want to give back.”

Her selflessness stands out, even on the giving island of Jamaica. For instance, on April 22, she’ll do what she does on every Earth Day: Organize a tree planting initiative and bring her Sandals and Ocho Rios community along.

“It’s important to tell people why we do these things, so they can spread knowledge to their friends and families. Often, it starts with the kids.” When they see Lindsay on April 22, they’ll run to give her a hug, and then they will follow her lead.

There must be waves of innovation and resourcefulness flowing through the mind of Vonnie Roudette.

How else could she imagine a tall reed, a simple grass on Saint Vincent called “vetiver,” as an opportunity to do the following: protect the island’s natural beauty, improve farming, provide financial freedom, and give former prisoners a bridge into a new life.

Vonnie had known of her island’s long tradition of vetiver crafts. But, as a student of the earth, she also became familiar with its rare qualities. Those benefits were the impetus behind her founding of Hand2Earth in 2007 to promote sustainable land management. Eight years later, she brought vetiver’s rehabilitating qualities to prisons on Saint Vincent, training inmates in craftmaking, sustainable farming, and eco-entrepreneurship. They use the skills to earn a living and train others.

Seeing these transformations, the Sandals Foundation partnered with Vonnie to establish and renovate two training centers. Vetiver crafts and the stories behind them are on display as vacation keepsakes at Sandals Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, where all proceeds from sales go back into Vonnie’s projects. Those projects have had remarkable results: 49 farm sites and 11 nurseries established, 150 prisoners and former prisoners trained, and 55 women emboldened to be independent. The impact on the environment is impossible to calculate. And to think, it all started with one woman and her idea for a blade of tall grass.

When her favorite subject comes up, Tarjanique Ferguson sounds like a child going for a swim: “I’m always excited to get into the ocean and blow bubbles.”

Tarjanique is talking about dive bubbles. To her, each dive is a celebration of the ocean’s wonders around her beloved Bahamas. What makes it even better is when she dives with guests at Sandals Royal Bahamian, showing off the colorful reefs and marine life as if they belong to her. In a way, they do belong to her. They belong to everyone who lives here and visits here. The sense of ownership fosters stewardship, and that’s the reason Tarjanique earned certifications as a PADI Scuba Diving Instructor and through the Perry Institute of Marine Science. She uses both at Sandals, where she leads guests on coral restoration dives.

Photo Credits: Perry Institute for Marine Science

“It brings me great joy to show guests the underworld I love so much,” Tarjanique says. “I want them to become good divers and be passionate about our ocean.”

The “underworld” is an ecosystem of 4,000 species of marine life. They need a healthy coral reef, and the coral reef needs them. Even locals on the islands need all of it to provide a way of life. These needs, as much as the beauty, inspire Tarjanique to care for delicate coral trees through coral restoration, the future of the reef system, while inspiring others to do the same.

“It’s always a thrill to see a spotted eagle ray, squid, hammerheads … actually, everything in the ocean is amazing,” she says. “The coral restoration will make it even more amazing for future generations.”