SIPARIA DELTONES LAUNCH ‘RAILWAY PIZZA’ GARDEN
Siparia Deltones President Akinola Sennon and Digicel Foundation Head of Operations Cindyann Currency get a close look at the innovative drip to waste hydroponics system at the Deltones Panyard garden, which supplies fresh, pesticide-free ingredients for the community’s pizza enterprise.
WEDNESDAY 15 MAY 2024, PORT OF SPAIN, TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO – The Deltones Panyard on Railway Road, Siparia, is drawing visitors with the sweet sound of pan and some of the freshest pizza ingredients in the country. Dubbed the ‘Railway Pizza Garden’, the youth at the Siparia Deltones Institute recently launched an agriculture initiative to grow vegetables and herbs for freshly made pizza at the panyard’s Railway Pizza outlet, part of a community effort to reduce unemployment in the area.
With TT$100,000 in funding from The Digicel Foundation and Shell Trinidad and Tobago, the Siparia Deltones established a hydroponic greenhouse powered by solar energy to grow high-quality, pesticide-free pizza ingredients, including tomatoes, sweet peppers, hot peppers, and herbs such as parsley, chive and basil.
President of the Siparia Deltones Akinola Sennon said that the direct impact of the garden project has surpassed their original target and expectations. He shared, “So many people have benefited directly from this set up. We have an Easter Camp here at the panyard and the children were all involved, even their parents came around to put their hands in the dirt and check in on the progress.”
President of the Siparia Deltones, Akinola Sennon, leads Digicel Foundation’s Head of Operations Cindyann Currency on a tour of the Railway Pizza Garden at the Deltones Pan Yard on Railway Road Siparia in April 2024.
Digicel Foundation’s Head of Operations Cindyann Currency said, “This past year the EPIC programme has been really interesting. We had about 4 applications to install Drip-to-Waste Hydroponics, but each has been slightly different. This one stands out because of the use of pallets and tyres in the infrastructure – they are incorporating reusable materials as a medium for this farming innovation and that’s pretty exceptional.”
Cindyann Currency, Digicel Foundation’s Head of Operations, and Deltones’ President Akinola Sennon explore the innovative setup at the Deltones Pan Yard on Railway Road Siparia where upcycled wood pallets and car tyres were used to build a drip to waste hydroponics system.
Launched at the end of April 2024, the ‘Railway Pizza Garden’ is the 150th community project funded through the Digicel Foundation’s ‘Extraordinary Projects Impacting Communities’ (EPIC) programme since 2016. The total EPIC investment has been 7.2 million TT impacting over 88,000 persons.
Akinola Sennon, President of the Siparia Deltones, has been directing much more than music since the launch of the Railway Pizza Garden and outlet at the Deltones Panyard on Railway Road Siparia as part of a community effort to boost youth employment.
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About Digicel
As a Digital Operator, Digicel is in the business of delivering powerful digital experiences 1440 minutes of each day to customers – that’s every minute, all day, every day.
Through its world-class LTE and fibre networks, together with its suite of eight apps spanning sports (SportsMax), music (D’Music), news (Loop), local radio and podcasts (GoLoud), TV streaming, (PlayGo) enhanced messaging and marketplaces (BiP), cloud storage (Billo) and self-care (MyDigicel app), Digicel is the only operator in its markets that can deliver the complete digital experience.
Serving consumer and business customers in 32 markets in the Caribbean, Central America, and Pacific with investments of over US$7 billion and a commitment to communities in Haiti, Jamaica, Papua New Guinea, and Trinidad & Tobago, the Digicel Foundation has contributed to positive outcomes for over three million people to date.
With its Better Together brand, Digicel is promising “simply more” to its customers and communities as the company’s 7,000 employees worldwide work together to make this pledge a powerful reality day in, day out.
For more, visit www.digicelgroup.com
About Shell Trinidad and Tobago
Shell has been in Trinidad and Tobago for over 100 years and has played a major role in the development of its oil and gas industry. With operations in offshore and onshore blocks (both operated and non-operated) as well as a majority shareholding in Atlantic LNG, the sixth largest liquefaction facility in the world, Shell Trinidad and Tobago delivers an integrated gas operation to supply the petrochemical market and Atlantic LNG.
Shell Trinidad and Tobago aims to create measurable, positive social impact at the community and national level, and contribute to the achievement of national priorities, through increasing access to education, skills and economic opportunities and improving access to energy.
Our social investment strategy seeks to contribute to economic diversification and livelihood development through Science, Technology, Research, Engineering, Art and Mathematics (STREAM) education, community skills and enterprise development, and community development.