The Kalinago people use Larouma (Ischosiphon arouma) to weave various craft items. The reed is wildly collected as a non-forest timber product, particularly in the East/ North Eastern region of Dominica. It is believed that the Kalinago people transported the Larouma plant to Dominica from South America over 1000 years ago. As part of the culture of the Kalinago people, the use of the plant was passed on from past to present generations and they nurtured the skills and creativity to weave extremely beautiful valuable, and functional craft items. It is manually converted into thin, flexible strips that can be used for weaving. The strips can also be converted into different colours such as black, purple, and yellow through natural processes. However, collecting the raw material is becoming a growing challenge in terms of distance of harvest from craft production centers, species abundance and geographic distribution, species richness, and limited temporal variation of tree establishment within collection sites.
The possibilities of wild harvest certification for the sustainable use of larouma within the Kalinago community must be based on the indigenous peoples’ customary right and tenure to use and manage the resource. Ideally, collection areas shall be delineated taking into account agronomic and environmental concerns. Furthermore, the traditional use and cultural heritage of the indigenous people shall be further developed on the principles of Access Benefit Sharing to the extent necessary to protect their rights and resource.
