Buy Local: A Bajan Christmas Shopping List
by Karen Rollins Dec 16, 2019
If you’re looking for Christmas gift ideas, why not try one of these local products, which are all proudly ‘made in Barbados’.
Situated in the island’s capital city Bridgetown, the Agapey Chocolate Factory makes its products from scratch with cocoa beans grown and harvested in the Caribbean and South America.
Inside the factory, the beans are processed using traditional methods and machinery but with ‘added touches of modern technology’, to create various chocolate products that are delicious, tasty and smooth.
Chocolate can be purchased at the factory or from various outlets across the island. If you have someone in your life with a sweet tooth, some of the flavours you can choose from are coconut rum, salted caramel, rum raisin, almond and toasted cashew.
West Indian Sea Island Cotton (WISIC) is grown in Barbados and known for its soft feel, silky lustre and fine uniform texture.
According to the official Exclusive Cottons of the Caribbean website, the species of cotton produced on the island ‘Gossypium barbadense’, has been cultivated here for more than 300 years. The cotton was once harvested and sold commercially to spinners in Lancashire, England.
Some potential Christmas gifts made from WISIC include handkerchiefs, table napkins, tea towels, house robes and scarves.
Earthworks Pottery was founded in the 1970s by Goldie Spieler. The brand has built a strong reputation among locals and tourists for quality pieces which exude elegance while also offering function and practicality.
The Earthworks studio is located on a hillside in the parish of St Thomas. Inside, a group of potters create a range of colourful and creative products with a Barbadian twist.
Some of the pottery made on site includes cups, jugs, teapots, different sized bowls, soap dishes, vases, plant pots, and jewellery boxes – plenty of inspirational Christmas gift ideas.
No list of potential Barbadian Christmas gifts would be complete without mentioning Mount Gay Rum.
Rum is said to have been created in Barbados shortly after the island was colonised by the British in 1627 when enslaved people discovered that molasses, a byproduct of the sugar refining process, could be fermented into alcohol.
In 1703, Sir John Gay Alleyne set up the world’s first commercial rum distillery on the island and the rest, as they say, is history.
Mount Gay is now sold in 110 countries and after over 300 years of production has developed an unrivalled reputation for distinctive taste and quality. The collection includes Mount Gay Eclipse, Black Barrel, XO and 1703 Master Select.
Happy Christmas!
