The community of Orange Hill is possibly the smallest among the communities North of the Rabacca River.   Following the La Soufrierre volcanic eruption in 1979 that the Orange Hill Estate, the largest plantation on mainland St. Vincent (3,500 acres), once owned by the Bernard family, was sold in 1985 to Windward Properties Ltd, an incorporation of four companies whose directors were four Vincentians and four Danes. The Caribs opposed the land being sold to foreigners (John, 2006; Twinn, 2006) and collectively advocated and pursued claims to this land, arguing that it was part of their ancestral heritage. It led to the formation of the Campaign for the Development of the Carib Community [CDCC], which was formally recognized by other Carib Groups such as the Garifuna of Belize and the Caribs of Dominica Twinn, 2006). This was the first Carib organisation to claim ancestral land rights and raise social and economic community issues regarding lack of electricity,proper health facilities,and telephone networks (Twinn, 2006).After a series of legal battles, the government repurchased the Orange Hill Estate and created the state-owned Rabacca Farms, whilst seeking compensation for the Caribs(John,2006;Twinn,2006).Nevertheless,Caribs felt that nationalization of the estate did not do much for them, and their discontent focused on the government’s proposed land reform. This resulted in further political action by about 400 Caribs, who described the proposal as inequitable because it required them to lease their ancestral land at too high a price, and they felt threatened into signing a lease about which they had little detail (Twinn, 2006).

Orange Hill

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Orange Hill