We are getting so close to the release countdown of our Sea Grape Inspired Graphic-T Collection! Keep an eye out over the 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐟𝐞𝐰 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬! . On one final skim for interesting sea grape facts, we were surprised to discover another Caribbean-based appreciator/endorser of the sea grape plant! @uncommoncarib , hailing from Saint Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, who wrote an article 9 years ago about the same plant & its edibility. We think an excerpt from their article will perfectly complement this next set of photographs from our sea grape project. . “It all starts around late Spring. Around this time, you’ll begin to see clusters of white, aromatic flowers begin to appear on long stalks. These can be around a foot long. Sea grape trees are what they call ‘dioecious’, meaning that there are separate male and female plants. So, the only way for them to get pollinated is from a different sea grape tree. Of course, our Caribbean bees are more than up to the task. Before you know it (around in mid-Summer), those clusters of white flowers have turned into little bunches of green grape-like clusters” (Sea Grapes: Feel Free to Savor This Taste of the Caribbean, Steve Bennett, 2012).

Stay tuned for some exciting new designs/art stemming from conversations with @44milesjewellery - an artisanal Jamaican business with a story tied closely to this project's location of focus. We place a spotlight on the sea grape & invite you to learn more about it in the coming weeks when we release our work!! . We embarked on a long journey into what is familiarly known as Jamaica's 'bread basket' parish - St. Elizabeth! "[The parish] currently produces 22 per cent of the national domestic food needs, through fruits and vegetables, poultry, beef and tubers" (@jamaicaobserver, June 18, 2014). enDemic pondered the topic of food accessibility, security, and origin, and came to meditate on the idea of unconventional/unexplored sources of sustenance in the Caribbean setting. . "St. Elizabeth is one of Jamaica's largest parishes ... much of the land in the parish is dry grassland called savannahs, wetlands, forests and scrub woodlands. The land is used mainly for agriculture for growing sugar cane and for pasture" ('What is St Elizabeth Jamaica known for?', Askinglot, January 2020). Through the thoughtful use of graphics and photography we would like to draw attention to another one of the parish's, Jamaica's, & the Caribbean's resources - overlooked plant life.

To purchase this art print, visit the link to the RedBubble Store in our Instagram bio 💛✨@endemicja … 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗼𝘂𝘀 (𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘂𝗻𝗻𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗶𝗱) 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗳𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝘀 𝘄𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼? . Derived from a popular Jamaican creole folk song titled 'Mango Time' which starts "Mi nuh drink coffee tea - mango time/ Care how nice it may be - mango time/ In the heat of the mango crop/ When di fruit dem a ripe an' drop/ Wash yu pot, tun dem dung - mango time", this work of art is a nod to mango season on the island of Jamaica - like other countries in the Caribbean - when the featured fruit is sooo bountiful that it can appear to spill onto streets & into kitchens everywhere. . Published this year by the United Nations Environment Programme @unep is a synthesis report titled '𝑴𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑷𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑵𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆: 𝑨 𝒔𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒄 𝒃𝒍𝒖𝒆𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒍𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒆, 𝒃𝒊𝒐𝒅𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒔', "[communicating] how climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution can be tackled jointly within the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals. The report serves to translate the current state of scientific knowledge into crisp, clear and digestible facts-based messages that the world can relate to and follow up on". If swifter action is not taken, "our children and their children [are at even greater risk of inheriting] a world of extreme weather events, sea level rise, a drastic loss of plants and animals, food and water insecurity and increasing likelihood of future pandemics" (Sir Robert Watson in article by Seth Borenstein, 'UN: Huge changes in society needed to keep nature, Earth OK', Feb.18, 2021).