Garifuna culture, carried forward by our community.
The Garifuna Cultural Advancement & Advocacy Programs (Gari-CAAP) are the community work Palmento Grove runs and supports — music and craft, young people’s education, health, and time on the land and water. Every gift made on this page goes to one of these projects.
Living heritage stays living when it’s passed on.
Garifuna language, dance and music are recognised by UNESCO as part of the intangible heritage of humanity. They carry on the way they always have — when young people learn them from the people who hold them, in their own community.
These projects make room for that. They are led by our family, our elders and the community partners who work alongside us, and you can back the one that speaks to you.
Four ways your gift works in our community.
Garifuna Music, Arts & Craft Retrieval Project
Revives traditional art forms before the people who hold them are gone. Elders who still carry the songs, the drum-making and the craft traditions work with young people from Hopkins in hands-on sessions on the island — drumming, dance, basket weaving and the making of the instruments themselves — so the knowledge is passed on the way it always was: by doing it together.
Drums, hides and materials for youth sessions · recording elders’ songs and stories · craft supplies and tools
Led by the Martinez family with the elders of Hopkins
Belize Eco-Cultural Summer Camp
Teaches local youth environmental stewardship alongside cultural practice. Each summer, young people from Hopkins spend their days on the island and on the water: kayaking the lagoon and learning why the mangroves matter, cooking the food their grandparents cooked, drumming, planting in the garden and learning to care for the place they come from. Culture and environment are taught together, because here they have never been separate.
A camper’s place for the week · kayaks, life vests and gear · meals cooked on the island · materials for the sessions
Led by the Martinez family with local guides and educators
Garifuna Youths Scholarship Programs
Educational opportunities for young Garifuna. The programme opens doors for students from Hopkins and the surrounding villages who have the drive to study but not the means. Support goes to school fees, books, uniforms and the small costs that decide whether a student stays in school, with priority for young people who give back to their community’s cultural life.
School fees for a term · books and uniforms · transport to school and exam costs
Led by the Martinez family with local teachers
Garifuna Communities’ Healthcare Program
Helps secure access to essential health services. The programme helps Garifuna families in Hopkins and nearby villages reach the care they need — from the practical, like getting to a clinic in Dangriga, to community health days that bring screenings and information into the village. Traditional plant knowledge and modern care sit side by side here; this programme supports both.
Transport to a clinic · a community health day in the village · medicines and supplies for families who can’t afford them
Led by the Martinez family with community health partners
Thank the team directly
A staff gratuity goes straight to the people who cook, drum, guide and keep the island running. Choose “Staff Gratuities” in the form below.
What your support has done.
Our first update will appear here once this season’s sessions with the elders begin.
Photos and a short report from the next Belize Eco-Cultural Summer Camp.
How the first supported students are getting on — shared with their families’ permission.
Tell us what you’d like to give.
Send us this note and we’ll reply within 24 hours with a secure way to complete your gift. We will never ask for card details by email or through this form.
Prefer to talk? WhatsApp +501 661-6039 or email reservations@palmentogrove.com
Every gift, of any size, helps a Garifuna family keep a culture in daily use rather than in a museum.
— The Martinez family, Palmento Grove