Our History
BEGINNINGS IN CUBA
The Vermont Caribbean Institute (VCI), a nonprofit organization based in Burlington, Vermont, initially evolved from the Executive Director’s previous work in Cuba. In 1999, when Marisha Kazeniac was at the University of Vermont’s Office of International Education, she founded the Vermont Cuba Project and for several years organized educational exchanges, in conjunction with the United States Department of Treasury’s guidelines for engagement with Cuba. Upon leaving UVM in 2004, Kazeniac founded the nonprofit organization Vermont Institute on Cuba, in order to continue her commitment to Vermont-Cuba initiatives.
EXPANSION TO THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
In 2005, Vermont Institute on Cuba extended its resources into the Caribbean Basin, specifically the Puerto Plata region of the Dominican Republic. In 2011, the organization underwent an official name-change, becoming Vermont Caribbean Institute (VCI). The northern coastal area of Puerto Plata provides tremendous resources and opportunities for spearheading educational, cultural, and community-building initiatives, in conjunction with the next strategic plan for the region.
In Puerto Plata, VCI programs include an annual baseball-cultural exchange between young Dominican baseball players and Vermont Little Leaguers, coaches and families, a school-based nutrition program (designed in partnership with the Burlington School Food Project), internships and service-learning travel for Vermont college students, and cultural and artistic exchanges in contemporary dance and the arts. In 2007, VCI began a partnership with Shelburne Farms' Sustainable Schools Program, introducing its Healthy Neighborhoods, Healthy Kids (HNHK) Program to two schools in disadvantaged neighborhoods of Puerto Plata. Through HNHK, fourth- and fifth-graders explore connections between environmental health and personal health via service-learning projects, as they develop skills in leadership and civic engagement. Since 2007, VCI has worked closely with local teachers and administrators to adapt the Vermont-based HNHK program to Puerto Plata schools.
With support of a United States Embassy grant, VCI has brought teachers from the Puerto Plata program to Vermont, to observe HNHK programming in Burlington schools, and has sent Vermont teachers to the Dominican Republic, to do training. Working with local leadership, VCI has formed a Dominican nonprofit to run HNHK and expand it to other schools in Puerto Plata. The city government has pledged financial support for the program. This is not the first time VCI has turned over a successful program to local participants. With support of a USAID grant, and in conjunction with EplerWood International, VCI developed an artists and artisan organization that helps artisans market their crafts at a nearby resort. Though VCI continues to lend support through consultation with its Executive Director, the collaborative’s members now manage the nonprofit, autonomously.
Having a strong civic-engagement component, VCI’s programs specifically address the issue of building local capacity towards sustainability. This process of converting grant-supported development programs into self-sustaining, independent programs is now the subject of research being conducted in conjunction with University of Vermont Institute for Environmental Diplomacy and Security. Through continual evaluation of its programs and through publishing, VCI aims to advance the current body of knowledge that exists on the subject of successful development strategies.
Santiago de Cuba
Traditional Cuban Dancer © David Garten
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Havana Street Scene
Dominican and Vermont youth in Mao, DR
University of Vermont Students, in AWB Program
Church in Santiago, Cuba