{"id":2901,"date":"2024-08-19T04:49:53","date_gmt":"2024-08-19T08:49:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/40.117.174.162\/celebrating-international-youth-day-and-trinidad-and-tobago-agro-expo-2024-spotlight-on-two-inspiring-young-agri-entrepreneurs\/"},"modified":"2025-06-03T21:05:51","modified_gmt":"2025-06-03T21:05:51","slug":"celebrating-international-youth-day-and-trinidad-and-tobago-agro-expo-2024-spotlight-on-two-inspiring-young-agri-entrepreneurs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trust-oea.org\/en\/celebrating-international-youth-day-and-trinidad-and-tobago-agro-expo-2024-spotlight-on-two-inspiring-young-agri-entrepreneurs\/","title":{"rendered":"Celebrating International Youth Day and TT Agro Expo 2024: Spotlight on Two Inspiring Young Agri-Entrepreneurs"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In honor of International Youth Day 2024, The <a href=\"\/en\/\"https:>Caribbean Industrial Research Institute<\/a>, the local partner of the <a href=\"\/en\/\"https:>Trust for the Americas<\/a> in Trinidad and Tobago, is thrilled to spotlight two remarkable young entrepreneurs from our <a href=\"\/en\/\"https:>DIA Youth Innovation Lab<\/a>. The celebration precedes the anticipated local Agri Expo 2024, where they will highlight their outstanding contributions by showcasing their innovative approaches to agriculture, sustainable development, and community empowerment.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As part of our commitment to empowering young people from underserved communities across the Americas, we are proud to share the inspiring stories of Antonio Ramcharan, Co-Founder of H2O Grow, and Jonathan Roach, Founder of The Seasoning Source.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Meet Antonio Ramcharan<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Antonio is a young mechanical engineer who turned entrepreneur when he launched H2O Grow during the pandemic. His company focuses on sustainable agricultural practices, providing innovative solutions that promote healthy growth in Trinidad and Tobago. Antonio\u2019s journey is a testament to resilience, creativity, and the power of community engagement. At H2O Grow, education and mentorship are central, offering internships, crash courses, and technical support to high-risk youth and women.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Antonio has solid advice for fellow entrepreneurs:<em> Understand your space, prioritize your customers\u201d needs, embrace failure, stay resilient, and adapt quickly. Build a strong support network, manage finances wisely, and balance work with personal time to keep your passion alive through the ups and downs.\u2019<\/em>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Meet <a href=\"\/en\/\"https:>Jonathan Roach<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jonathan Roach, a 24-year-old from South Trinidad, established The Seasoning Source, a unique online agricultural business that leverages social media to reach customers across the nation. His enterprise has not only revolutionized the local seasoning market but has also provided employment and inspiration within his community. Through his work with the Civilian Conservation Corps, Jonathan continues to share his knowledge with the next generation of entrepreneurs, emphasizing the importance of resilience and resourcefulness.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jonathan keeps it real with his advice: \u201d<em>Prepare for stress, sleepless nights, and unexpected challenges. Develop strategies to handle problems and surround yourself with resourceful people.\u201d<\/em>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Both Antonio and Jonathan exemplify the spirit of innovation and dedication that The Trust for the Americas, with its network of local partners across the region, seeks to foster through projects such as the DIA Youth Innovation Lab in Trinidad and Tobago. The Lab, a collaboration between The Trust, the Citi Foundation, and CARIRI, promotes innovation and the creation of disruptive solutions among the youth of Trinidad and Tobago while helping them develop skills through training and access to technology.&nbsp;<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In honor of International Youth Day 2024, the Caribbean Industrial Research Institute, the local partner of Trust for the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago, is thrilled to highlight two remarkable young entrepreneurs from our DIA Youth Innovation Lab. This celebration comes ahead of the highly anticipated local Agri Expo 2024, where they will highlight their outstanding contributions by showcasing their innovative approaches to agriculture, sustainable development, and community empowerment.\u00a0 As part of our commitment to empowering young people from underserved communities across the Americas, we are proud to share the inspiring stories of Antonio Ramcharan, co-founder of H2O Grow, and Jonathan Roach, founder of The Seasoning Source.\u00a0 Meet Antonio Ramcharan  Antonio is a young mechanical engineer who became an entrepreneur when he launched H2O Grow during the pandemic. His company focuses on sustainable agricultural practices, providing innovative solutions that promote healthy growth in Trinidad and Tobago. Antonio\u2019s journey is a testament to resilience, creativity, and the power of community engagement. At H2O Grow, education and mentorship are central, offering internships, crash courses, and technical support to at-risk youth and women. Antonio has solid advice for fellow entrepreneurs: \u2019Understand your field, prioritize your customers\u201d needs, embrace failure, stay resilient, and adapt quickly. Build a strong support network, manage your finances wisely, and balance work with personal time to keep your passion alive through the ups and downs.\u2019  Meet Jonathan Roach Jonathan Roach, a 24-year-old from South Trinidad, founded The Seasoning Source, a unique online agricultural business that uses social media to reach customers across the country. His enterprise has not only revolutionized the local seasoning market but has also provided employment and inspiration within his community. Through his work with the Civilian Conservation Corps, Jonathan continues to share his knowledge with the next generation of entrepreneurs, emphasizing the importance of resilience and resourcefulness.  Jonathan keeps it real with his advice: \u201dPrepare for stress, sleepless nights, and unexpected challenges. Develop strategies to handle problems and surround yourself with resourceful people.\u201d  Both Antonio and Jonathan exemplify the spirit of innovation and dedication that The Trust for the Americas, with its network of local partners across the region, seeks to foster through projects like the DIA Youth Innovation Lab in Trinidad and Tobago. The Lab, a collaboration between The Trust, the Citi Foundation, and CARIRI, promotes innovation and the creation of disruptive solutions among the youth of Trinidad and Tobago while developing their skills through training and access to technology.&nbsp;<\/p>","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":11830,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[144,80,22,86,52],"class_list":["post-2901","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-agriculture","tag-entrepreneurship","tag-innovation","tag-trinidad-tobago","tag-youth"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/trust-oea.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2901","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/trust-oea.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/trust-oea.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trust-oea.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/32"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trust-oea.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2901"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/trust-oea.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2901\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11832,"href":"https:\/\/trust-oea.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2901\/revisions\/11832"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trust-oea.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11830"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/trust-oea.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2901"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trust-oea.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2901"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trust-oea.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2901"}],"curies":[{"name":"well played","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}