On September 27, the community of Fond St. Jacques, Soufrière, hosted the second annual Dasheen Festival as part of ongoing Creole Heritage Month festivities.
Many Saint Lucians from neigbouring communities attended the event which was put on by the Taiwan Technical Mission and the Fond St. Jacques Development Committee, an area known to be the producer of the vast majority of the island’s food crops including dasheen.
Here, one attendee, known only as Angus, explained, “Se’ Fond St. Jacques ki ni plis bon dasheen.” Loosely translated, Angus was making no idle boast that the community produced the best dasheen.
The event is meant to celebrate one member of the family of root crops or “ground provisions” in all its splendour.
Recent interventions by the government and Export Saint Lucia have seen an increase in dasheen production and export of the crop to satisfy growing international demands.
A 2020 Forbes magazine article headlined “Dasheen plant could be the root of Caribbean development,” stated “…with the advent of more conscious eating patterns, the trendiness of farm-to-fork dining and an upsurge in demand for authentic culinary experiences and indigenous foods, the tuber has been experiencing a global resurgence.”
The Dasheen Festival underscored these sentiments, highlighting the many ways the crop could be prepared. The event also featured a number of dasheen by-products including a dasheen body scrub, dasheen punch, dasheen popsicles, dasheen flour, dasheen wine, and more.
The festival was held at the Fond St. Jacques R.C. Church Grounds where Chief of the Taiwan Technical Mission Daniel Lee spoke.
According to Lee, the festival forms part of the Taiwan Mission’s community business revitalisation project.
“This project is a joint collaboration between the Taiwan Technical Mission in Saint Lucia and the Ministry of Commerce and was launched in August 2023,” Lee explained.
Through the festival he noted that many vendors from the community were able to showcase their culinary and other talents while earning an income from sales.
“As you know by now Fond St. Jacques is known as the dasheen capital of Saint Lucia and by joining the community’s rich agriculture and tourism potential, we hope that Fond St. Jacques continues to evolve as a leading destination for community tourism in Saint Lucia.”
Parliamentary Representative for Soufriere and Minister for Commerce Emma Hippolyte took the opportunity at the festival to thank Lee, the Technical Mission, and the government and people of Taiwan for their tremendous support.
“What is important about what we are doing is that in addition to our social and economic development, we are bonding as people, and that is what is most important in all that we do — building relationships, strengthening our cultures, and exchanging what is the best of all of us,” she said.
Hippolyte went on to reveal the recent successes in dasheen production and exports, quoting information provided by Export Saint Lucia.
“Between January and August 2025 Saint Lucia’s dasheen export surged by 239 per cent year on year, rising from $45 978 dollars in 2024 to $155 887 in 2025, and that is, up to August, an absolute increase of $109 909,” she stated.
“Importantly, every month in 2025, outperformed its 2024 counterpart, showing a consistent upward trend. This indicates that the growth was systemic rather than seasonal, highlighting dasheen as one of the country’s fastest rising agricultural exports with strong market momentum.”
According to Minister for Agriculture Alfred Prospere, the festival was a very important one for the community. He reminded farmers that there are overseas markets ready to accept dasheen from Fond St. Jacques which is said to be among the best.
“We will work with you to ensure that we maintain these markets and our farmers will continue to produce dasheen in large quantities, so that we can continue to provide dasheen to Canada, the USA, etc.,” Alfred said.
Attendees sampled some of the food, drinks and eats prepared, with some also purchasing produce from the farmers.
The day included a competition for the largest dasheen, won by George Isidore in the local dasheen category, while Stephanie Moses won the Taiwanese category. A dasheen pounding contest saw Lance Prospere emerging victorious.
Another major highlight was a cook-off between Jade Mountain and Sugar Beach Resort.
The dishes prepared by the Sugar Beach team included steamed vegetables, blackened Mahi Mahi, and dasheen salad. On Jade Mountain’s menu was derache taro, seared Mahi Mahi, espuma and dasheen croquette, which gave them the win.
The festival also featured free health screening and performances by Prado, KC Aimable, and TK Da Boss.
Many patrons expressed their surprise at the extensive use of dasheen, vowing to try their hands at some of the dasheen specialties in the future.
Dasheen, also known as taro, is said to have arrived in the Caribbean from Africa. With it came several recipes and uses, including the use of the leaves for callaloo.
With growing interest in the crop, it stands to reason that soon dasheen will no longer be referred to as “country food” as it now commands the interest of international chefs and culinary experts.
