Documentary on prisoner, ex-offender rehabilitation in SVG screened at the EU-CELAC Summit.
On July 16, 2023, the documentary film ‘Grassmen II’ by Hand2Earth about a prisoner and ex-offender rehabilitation initiative in St. Vincent’s jails was shown to Heads of State and Government of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and the EU in Brussels. The following meeting was co-chaired by the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, and Dr. The Hon. Ralph E. Gonsalves, Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, as pro-tempore President of CELAC.
Aiko Roudette’s Grassmen II was one of three short films chosen for screening and discussion, the others coming from Brazil and Mexico. The SVG Environment Fund supported the video, which depicts prisoner rehabilitation with a focus on land conservation using vetiver grass.
The EU-CELAC Summit was a critical political milestone in reinvigorating and strengthening the two regions’ bi-regional partnership. Prime Minister Gonsalves co-chaired the first summit in eight years, stating in a news release, “This is a reaffirmation of the friendship and relationship between Europe, Latin America, and the Caribbean.” We must walk to our bodies’ edges amidst the limitless elements of the real world of existence, living, and producing on the basis of this proclamation.”
Hand2Earth, a local non-profit focused on soil and land protection for sustainable lifestyles, noted that the rehabilitation project featured in Grassmen II has resonated with international leaders addressing developmental concerns. The film’s prequel, ‘The Grassmen,’ has been played at numerous international and regional film festivals and will be screened in October 2023 at the Native Spirit Festival in Notting Hill, London, UK.
Hand2Earth is a locally recognized non-profit organization dedicated to increasing chances for sustainable lives via productive engagement with renewable resources, as well as our islands’ flora and fauna and cultural legacy. Since 2015, H2E has been implementing Vetiver Systems Projects in St Vincent and Dominica for land conservation, soil regeneration, prisoner rehabilitation, and vetiver handcraft production.
