Seed capital Islanders work to save Caribbean's tamarind artisanship

For just over 50 years, Louise Edwards has been collecting tamarind seeds that grow wild on the Caribbean island of Antigua to create earrings, mats and belts

- Sarah Johnson

Edwards grew up surrounded by women stitching the seeds, but today she is one of only five remaining master artisans on the island - all are in their 70s.

"It's a dying art," she said. "We will soon give it up when we can't see." Seed work has been practised for centuries in the twin-island nation of Antigua and Barbuda, which is home to about 100,000 people.

It began among enslaved African women forcibly brought to the islands and, post emancipation, it became a source of income.

With so few craftspeople left, this part of Caribbean culture risks being lost. Anne Jonas, secretary to the governor general of Antigua and Barbuda, with the help of Barbara Paca, the country's cultural envoy, have applied for funding to expand free workshops to teach seed art.