Category Archives: Articles

Middle Caicos

DISCOVER MAGAZINE 2009 

The island of Middle Caicos the least populated and the largest island in the Turks & Caicos, but it is famous as the home of TCI traditional handcrafts and culture. More than any other island, the communities on Middle Caicos keep the handcraft traditions alive, producing straw bags and fanner grass baskets of all shapes and sizes from local plants- the raw materials of the land. Only on Middle Caicos can you find woodcarvers still producing handcarved model sailboats, elders collecting bush medicine, boatbuilders shaping sloops in their backyard, and farmers tending rough fields of vegetables. The Middle Caicos Co-op was established in 1998 and continues today to promote, showcase and encourage the production of local handcrafts and the survival of traditional culture. Continue reading

VALENTINES DAY CUP MODEL SAILBOAT RACES

Press Release : Middle Caicos, Bambarra beach, February 14th 2009

2009image004Valentines Day 2009 was celebrated in grand cultural style on beautiful, Bambarra Beach, Middle Caicos. Over 150 locals, residents and visitors from near and far attended the Ninth Annual Valentines Day Cup Model Sailboat Races – an event conceived by Daniel O. Forbes and Sara Kaufman of the Middle Caicos Co-op. With Daniel as Founder, and Brodie Forbes as Co-ordinator, theMiddle Caicos Sailing Association has been keeping this traditional TCI sport alive, and encouraging model boats to be built and raced! Continue reading

Ecotourism

Published in 2008

The Middle Caicos Eco-tourism Project is an effort to help them continue to do just that. This local community based program, prompted through the National Trust, seeks to give the financial and physical support needed to promote eco-tour activities on the island. As the infrastructure is already in place, carved through the island’s illustrious history and nature’s own perfection, these attributes are easily embellished upon for the opening of an eco-tourism trade.

crossingplacebiketrail

The first major endeavor of the project, The Crossing Place Trail (CPT), combines the aspiration for preserving the past while conserving nature for the future. Continue reading

Ecotourism in Turks and Caicos Islands

Caribpro – June 2008 article

Eco-tourism is participating in ecologically sustainable activities, which ideally bring benefit to the local ecosystem. Turks and Caicos Islands has set aside over 33% of its entire land and sea regions for preservation purposes : National Parks, Natures Reserves, Sanctuaries and Protected Areas. The world’s largest biodiversity saltwater wetland reserve – the Ramsar Site – accounts for of 1/3 of East Caicos, ½ of Middle Caicos and ¼ of North Caicos and provides a breeding ground for myriad birds. By preserving these areas, the Turks and Caicos Islands have taken a stand to ensure future generations may still enjoy the natural wonders of this tiny island country.

Although it may seem odd to pair ecotourism and convenience in a sentence, the simple access to unspoiled nature in Turks & Caicos Islands is indeed convenient – both getting to the country and getting to pristine sites once here. This is a tiny country, of forty individual islands – of which only a dozen are inhabited. The archipelago formed by the islands creates a circle, nestled within which we find a wide variety of lifestyles, culture and natural habitats. Continue reading

Crossing Place : A Treasure of a Trail

by Marsha Pardee Woodring………Middle Caicos.  Cameo of the Caicos Cays.  A silhouette  of beauty, strength, grace and courage; traits so delicately carved with the passage of time.  A place where history has emblazoned a trail with a tale of life long ago… 

The Crossing Place Trail bridges the   past to the future for Middle Caicos, spanning time in nature’s splendor.   This magnificent coastal trail has shared its treasures with many through the years, providing a means of livelihood and communication to the islands in-between.   Now,  once again, it will become an avenue for commerce and contact with the worlds beyond Middle Caicos. Continue reading

Five Stars for Middle Caicos Grits

by Marsha Pardee Woodring :  Many of you have heard about the magic of Middle Caicos and some have even experienced the wonders of this magnificent place.   Its breathtaking views, nature trails, caves, Loyalist ruins and Arawak ancestors have lured the more adventurous to these lustrous shores.  But few have thought of Middle as a cornucopia of culinary delights.  Well, that may be a stretch if your taste buds froth for international fare, but if your belly’s set for good home cooking, then this is the place to pull up a chair. Continue reading

Middle Caicos Island, TCI

Walking along a deserted
Middle Caicos Turks and Caicos Islands Caribbeanbeach brings thoughts to mind
Puzzling parts that fit
Middle Caicos Turks and Caicos Islands Caribbeaninto progressive time

A piece in this tropical island
Middle Caicos Turks and Caicos Islands Caribbeanfloating in an azure sea
Why was it chosen to
Middle Caicos Turks and Caicos Islands Caribbeanbecome home for you and me.

Back in a time the Indians
Middle Caicos Turks and Caicos Islands Caribbeancame to survive
They found peace, food,
Middle Caicos Turks and Caicos Islands Caribbeana way to stay alive.

Others arrived with strength
Middle Caicos Turks and Caicos Islands Caribbeanand greed for more
In 30 years they were able
Middle Caicos Turks and Caicos Islands Caribbeanto destroy all that was before.

No more humans for these
Middle Caicos Turks and Caicos Islands Caribbeanbeautiful tropical locations
Almost 300 years passed
Middle Caicos Turks and Caicos Islands Caribbean until there were the Loyalist plantations.

Nature helped destroy these
Middle Caicos Turks and Caicos Islands Caribbeanwhen disease and wind arrived
Loyalist owners left leaving
Middle Caicos Turks and Caicos Islands Caribbeanonly the slaves who survived.

The freed slaves with the
Middle Caicos Turks and Caicos Islands Caribbeanhelp of prayer,sea, land and time
Created families, homes,
Middle Caicos Turks and Caicos Islands Caribbeanand country that is one of a kind.

The clouds dance across a bright blue sky
Middle Caicos Turks and Caicos Islands Caribbeanthe sea sings and trade winds blow
Ready for a new century and new generations
Middle Caicos Turks and Caicos Islands Caribbeanto protect the Turks and Caicos nation.

written by Dale Marie Witt 1999 : Founder, Designer and original Owner of Blue Horizon Resort  Middle Caicos, Turks & Caicos Islands