Mr. Alton Higgs on North Caicos in 2011. Photo courtesy Times of the Islands, Siri White photographer.
By Candianne Williams
I recently visited North Caicos and Middle Caicos with Bryan Naqqi Manco, my very able guide. It was a great experience because I was able to see first-hand traditional Caicos lifestyle and visit with a number of the older residents.
I was enthralled by 94 year old Mr. Higgs. He shared some of his knowledge of bush medicine with us. He had an outdoor oven in his yard that he used up until recently, so it was great to see that.
We also visited quite a few basket weavers and fortunately two of them were actually weaving. Many belong to the older generation and they complain that they are no longer strong enough to go into the fields to collect grass themselves. Regardless of where the grass comes from, the baskets are works of art and each one an individual treasure. They are for sale in the Museum gift shop and we hope you will support our local basket weavers by buying several.
