Belles is located in the parish of St Joseph in the interior of the island and is currently the largest producer of the root tuber-dasheen in Dominica. The small village of Belles (locally known as the interior) is located in the parish of St Paul. This community is currently the largest producer of the root tuber crop- dasheen in Dominica. With high rainfall concentrations throughout the year, dasheen can be planted and harvested all year round. This starchy root crop is the largest source of income for the farmers in the community. Over the years, farmers have experienced slow sales with minimal economic benefit. They face challenges of limited opportunity for large-scale sales as the market for these quantities is limited to village-level household consumption or few regional sales through huskers.
The Belles Farmers’ Cooperative Society Limited is previously known as the Belles Framers Group, was formed in 2010. With the development of large dasheen farms, farmers within the region felt it was necessary to come together to form an enterprise to become a catalyst capable of selling their product nationally and regionally. In June 2016, the group registered as a Cooperative and now has a membership of fifty-three (53). The cooperative developed a small pilot program in conjunction with the GEF Small Grant by constructing a small agro-processing plant that will add value and further commercialize the crop.
Mission
Contributing to food security – Creating sustainable jobs and healthy living