Silk Caye, A Slight Return

Silk Caye salvation, it's one of our favourite stories of the last year.

The concerted community effort was made by Placencia villagers to save the fast eroding Silk Caye. And back in July, our News team made the trip down south to see the newly resurrected Silk Caye - brought up from under the water lien using a commonsensical, community funded and organized effort.

Here's a look back at that story.

Silk Caye is back! The once eroding island looked positively solid against the waves and the sea breeze.

So solid, that it's crazy to think that South silk Caye owes its very existence to Eworth Garbutt and the group of Placencia residents who refused to let it drift off into the depths.

Eworth Garbutt, Lead rebuild team
"A lot of things have changed, islands I never see erode, they erode and so when I see Silk Caye going the way it was and it's our last hope. I think coming out here you see many islands, 99% of those islands is not owned by you and me. They are owned by foreigners and we invite and welcomed foreigners, that's a nice thing, but don't you think we have to own something? This island is more than just tourism. You know that every birthday my little girl's birthday is the 6th, so we came out. Instead of having a birthday party, this is our birthday party. This is our heritage. The next one over there my son does enjoy that when he was young. That was his birthday spot, but it is gone. So we cannot allow another spot like this. Tourism is great, but a lot of people who doesn't do it, think that things are only for tourist. Even the turtle came up and lay their eggs. That touch every part of my heart and soul."

And Eworth has managed to touch people from all walks of life with his mission for this Caye going all the way to Cabinet.

Rodwell Ferguson, Minister of Youth, Sports and Transport
"Without government assistance and so I told them that you might not have the money now to restore Silk Caye, but people already start it and all we need is your support and so cabinet agreed and ask me to arrange a meeting with the minister of the Blue Economy along with Eworth and his team. It was arranged one week after in Belize City and we all went there and the support from the Ministry of the Blue Economy and the CEO was extremely amazing."

And if you ask the crowd what's amazing is the teamwork, and the many small parts that dozens of. Placencians played to accomplish Eworth's mission. Placencia like Wendy Lemus.

Wendy Lemus, Owner, Wendy's Creole Restaurant
"The love I feel for our country our community and this island also you know benefits everyone. I work in the tourism section so this actually benefits us."

"He was only asking me to help him with some food and whatever I can to bring people and to help and the day I drop off the food by the marina, I didn't want just to drop the food off. Immediately I change my mind and I say I want to go, back rocks. He always teased me about my nails, all I care about was to finish the work and save the island."

And it wasn't just the adults that saved the island. We spoke to two young men who brought out their paddle board and built the island's new rock walls with their bare hands.

Participant, Helped rebuild Silk CAye
"It feels like a way different Island, like this was water that we were on."

Kevin Westby, Helped rebuild Silk Caye
"We brough back the island from a small sand pile into a big island and now people will get to see it."

Still no major story is without its conflict and for this small group that conflict came when the Coast Guard tried to shut them down:

Participant, Helped rebuild Silk CAye
"The coast guard was coming out here and they wanted to take Eworth to jail, but then all of us were yelling that if they took Eworth, they will have to take all of us."

Luckily, it didn't come to that. And on Saturday the minister of Home affairs who made the boat trip out to Silk Caye told us that the near arrest was just procedural.

Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs
"Any sort of reclaiming or dredging or filling of any land does require approval in advance, but like I said this was a purely people initiative, everybody coming together and say we will do this, we dont need to get our permits because we want to save Silk Caye and that's wonderful, but there is a process and I think the coast guard that came out that day was just to clarify what exactly is happening. There was no huge operation in terms of a dredge coming to dredge material and so I think they realize that what they were doing is very sustainable, the way that they are restoring Silk Caye is a very sustainable way, so ofcourse there are those initial reactions whenever reclaiming is taking place, but I think once that was done and even cabinet took a decision and said we have to support this type of people power movement."

And in the end Silk Caye is as much heritage as it is a commodity, Placencia's chairman says the island that the villagers re-built will continue to sustain the village for a long time to come.

Warren Garbutt, Chairman, Placencia
"Placencia is definitely growing as a destination, a lot more visitors and these islands do have carrying capacities. We have a lot of people out here today, but in the high season, in December, January, in April, May we get a lot of foreign visitors and we definitely need some more spaces that we can accommodate all these guests."

Eworth and the team still have their eye on restoring Middle Silk Caye but before they can do that, they'll have to determine whether the island-turned sandbar is privately owned.


Channel 7