Our Caribbean archipelago has always offered the world three very important words in the English vocabulary; sun, sea and sand. Most islands have survived by converting these into invaluable foreign exchange, using a ubiquitous economic vehicle commonly called tourism. However, as the global economy is liberated, we find ourselves having to fiercely compete more and more for less and less of a rapidly diminishing pie.

A question must be asked - what else can be traded that is competitive, interesting, marketable, sustainable and unique? An immediate answer is our cultural rhythms®. These include, but are not restricted to cuisine, visual/ performing arts and music. The Caribbean comprises a miniscule quantity of the world’s population. Incredibly, however, we have created some exotic, fascinating and compelling genres, including calypso, chutney, mambo, meringue, parang, reggae, rumba, salsa, shango, soca, son and zouk, to complement the Steelpan.

I have spent an eternity trying to decipher why our territories have not formed a covalent bond for mutual economic benefit. This is in spite of obvious problems that militate against, such as language and physical separation. The answer is simple; we are inhibited by insularity, greed and man’s distrust of man. Therefore, we continue to be at the mercy of so-called first-world countries.

For example, over seventy percent of the revenue collected by The Copyright Music Organisation of Trinidad and Tobago (COTT) is repatriated. Meanwhile, the British economy has quietly diversified into innovation, music and tourism. One definitely has to find one’s rightful place within the vertical hierarchy of ruthless economic domination, and do what one has to do.

Traditionally, we have been the proverbial gluttons for exploitation. For example, consider the number of Chinese restaurants that exist in the Caribbean. Clearly, there is urgent need to utilise our marketable cultural artefacts and God-given skills for commercial benefit. Ironically, the most powerful networking tool ever invented by man, the Internet, is also available to us.

The Pan in Education Business Model will enable creation of a globally competitive Caribbean Music Industry, initiated in the classroom. For this, I have scripted a number of unorthodox curriculum modules. The two most significant are appropriately entitled One Caribbean Voice and Playing the Global Music Industry. They are substantially based on an Indian representation for sustainable development, with which I became familiar while studying in that country in 1974/75.

The Seventh International Programme on Standardisation for Developing Countries was hosted by the Indian Standards Institute. I adapted their logical approach and infused my thirty-odd years of entrepreneurial experience with a modicum of original thought. It is interesting to note that India, in spite of its escalating population problems, is currently a world economic power.

Simeon L. Sandiford
Executive Producer of The Rainmakers