CEPEP pursues Business Partnerships

The CEPEP Company Limited, at its core, has always been about environmental protection and beautification.

CEPEP receives subventions from the government to deliver on its mandate but the organization has been looking to the private sector for inspiration. It is angling for revenue through new business partnerships.

Creating revenue streams for the company

Although state-funded, CEPEP is determined to earn its keep. The organisation has reshaped its structure to better serve communities. A major part of this drive includes business partnerships. Deploying skills which have always benefitted our towns and villages, CEPEP is now marketing that expertise in several niche areas.

Contributing to culture

When the music and mirth of the Carnival season have faded, revellers are perhaps scarcely aware that following fast on their heels is another section, dressed in green. In Carnival venues nationwide, whether it’s stick fighting at Skinner Park or the National Junior Panorama Finals at the Queen’s Park Savannah, the detritus of this annual festival doesn’t linger for very long.

The CEPEP Company Limited partners with the National Carnival Commission each year, securing contracts to keep venues ready for the deluge of people. This is just one way CEPEP’s new business-minded approach supports T&T’s diverse tourism offerings.

CEPEP crews keep cultural venues ever-ready for spectators

Beautifying a natural wonder

The La Brea Pitch Lake in South West Trinidad is one of the most significant natural wonders found on these islands. This remarkable geological feature attracts thousands of visitors each year.

In order to keep the site in pristine condition for tourists, The CEPEP Company Limited shook hands on a deal with Lake Asphalt to maintain the periphery of the Pitch Lake. Now, there’s no waist-high grass or snarled bramble on the footpath to the lake, only manicured surroundings punctuated by fruit trees. 

On the job at the world famous La Brea Pitch Lake

Making our highways safe and beautiful

CEPEP’s services are also reflected in areas we all travel every day but perhaps take for granted.

Unruly overgrowth along our highway medians and shoulders is not only unsightly, but affects visibility, particularly during the fiery dry season. Thanks to a partnership between the Ministry of Works and CEPEP, resilient grasses are regularly trimmed by CEPEP crews. The company’s Highway Beautification Programme makes our highways more appealing and reduces the hazards of roadside bush fires. 

CEPEP's highway crews keeping our roads safe and beautiful

Contributing to health care

In keeping with the organisation’s mantra, “CEPEP Does More”, the company jumped on the opportunity to provide improvement works at health centres and hospitals in the North West and North Central regions.

CEPEP crews worked on 46 health centres, the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, the Port of Spain General Hospital and the Caura Hospital. At these facilities, CEPEP upgraded walkways to improve wheelchair accessibility, expanded car parks, painted buildings and spruced up patient waiting rooms, bathrooms and kitchenettes.

These improvements, among many others, have created a more user-friendly and comfortable atmosphere for patients, contributing to the overall enhancement of health care delivery. 

The CEPEP touch adds to the delivery of health care

Battling beverage containers in the environment

Given CEPEP’s commitment to environmental protection and enhancement, a project to rid the environment of long-lived beverage containers was a natural fit.

CEPEP collaborated with several institutions, including the Environmental Management Authority, the Solid Waste Management Company and the Institute of Marine Affairs on this important initiative. The CEPEP Company Limited provided the labour, gathering vast amounts of beverage containers cluttering our environment. These waste materials were transported to designated sites for sorting. The company is particularly pleased to have had its business aspirations dovetail with its guiding principles of environmental conservation. 

Working to combat the scourge of beverage containers in the environment

A forward looking organisation

While The CEPEP Company Limited remains reliant on the state for funding, it continues to look ahead with a heavy emphasis on reducing its dependency on the taxpayer. Heavy equipment rental, as well as home and commercial landscaping services have also been added to the growing list of initiatives which bring revenue into the company. The company’s business outlook demonstrates the versatility of the CEPEP product.

Our fleet of heavy equipment available for commercial use

CEPEP continues to develop a model of self-sufficiency. This entrepreneurial spirit represents a first for social programmes in Trinidad and Tobago.

Ever mindful of its commitment to communities, The CEPEP Company Limited stays true to its goal of becoming the number one environmental services company in the country. Now running parallel to that goal is the promotion of business partnerships that make for a more viable, robust organisation.

CEPEP partners with Lake Asphalt

Thousands of visitors are drawn to the mystery of the Pitch Lake

Heat rising from the black surface of the Pitch Lake distorts the image of tourists shuffling over the spongy asphalt. A modest-sized group shields themselves from the fierce sun above with parasols which offer no protection against the hot air radiated from below.

This natural phenomenon has always attracted visitors from far and wide. It is a source of pride in our citizens to boast of an incredible geological feature right here in Trinidad.

Treasuring a local, natural wonder

It’s a pride shared by The CEPEP Company Limited. Now in partnership with Lake Asphalt of Trinidad and Tobago to regularly maintain the periphery of the La Brea Pitch Lake, CEPEP crews keep the site in pristine condition for visitors flocking to this natural wonder of the world.

An estimated 20,000 people make the pilgrimage to the Pitch Lake each year to learn the fascinating history of this dynamic, ever changing environment.

A group of locals embarks on a guided tour of the Pitch Lake

CEPEP crews work their way along the perimeter, taming bush that sprouts up along the paths walked by visitors.

When groups of tourists break for lunch at the Pitch Lake Visitors’ Centre, it now overlooks a beautifully manicured site, thanks to hard working CEPEP teams.

The mystery of the lake

This expanse of heaving and belching natural asphalt has captivated man for centuries.

It was known to the Amerindians long before its ‘discovery’ by English explorer Sir Walter Raleigh in the late 1500s.

Estimated to be 250 feet deep at the centre of the 100 acre lake, this cauldron of geologic forces is believed to hold 10 million tonnes of pitch. The versatile resource is used as road surfacing material and even as protective coatings for vehicles. 

CEPEP workers keep the surroundings of the Pitch Lake clean

CEPEP pitches in to make La Brea world class

With growing global demand for cultural tourism, the La Brea Pitch Lake is one of many cultural assets that make T&T a diverse destination for any traveller.

CEPEP crews ensure that visitors to the site see only the Pitch Lake and not unruly overgrowth encroaching the area.

The CEPEP Company Limited, like the Pitch Lake, is always on the move, continuing its evolution, delivering more to the people of this country.

CEPEP and Social Responsibility

Given the community-oriented remit of The CEPEP Company Limited, it’s only natural that the organisation reaches out to those who could use a helping hand.

CEPEP does more than its fair share, pitching in to improve the lives of fellow citizens, communities and religious or non-profit organisations. It’s all part being a good corporate citizen.

Our stand-out CSR initiative is the annual CEPEP Santa programme. In the spirit of yuletide cheer, The CEPEP Company Limited, along with contractors, rolls out several projects, renovating homes, staging Christmas parties for children, gifting food hampers and carrying out community beautification projects; all of this is done in the spirit of goodwill.

The company remains committed to environmental protection and enhancement, but we are so much more. In addition to CEPEP Marine’s excellent work in cleaning up our marine habitats, the company is also a big supporter of wildlife protection and conservation.

A second chance for injured wildlife, hope for the environment
Zoi, a charming but wildly precocious red howler monkey is one of several residents at the El Socorro Centre for Wildlife Conservation in Freeport, Central Trinidad. She’s been appointed an animal ambassador for her species, teaching children about the importance of conservation and respect for wildlife.

It’s this educational component that caught the attention of The CEPEP Company Limited. A group, which included Chairman of the board, Adesh Deonarine, visited the facility in Freeport and were impressed by what they saw. Given CEPEP’s goal of becoming the premier environmental protection company fostering national pride, it isn’t surprising that the organisation developed an affinity for the El Socorro Centre.

The CEPEP team gets a tour of the El Socorro Centre for Wildlife Conservation

During their visit, CEPEP’s management team saw first-hand the tremendous amount of work poured into this refuge for injured and orphaned wild animals.

The centre, founded in 2009, gives many native species a second chance. Wounded birds, mammals, reptiles; they’ve all found respite here. Once nursed back to health, many will be released. Some, however, have suffered injuries so severe they can’t survive in the wild. Such animals will live out their days, well cared for by the centre.

While rehab and release are a big part of what the centre does, education is the principle objective. Groups of children regularly visit the facility and are taught the importance of wildlife.

The El Socorro Centre for Wildlife Conservation is undertaking a "Give 'Em A Place" chair drive to provide seating for visitors, enhancing the learning experience.

This ideology resonated with CEPEP Chairman Adesh Deonarine. Recognizing the value of this work, The CEPEP Company Limited donated chairs to the El Socorro Centre to cater for children brought there to learn about local wildlife.

CEPEP Chairman Adesh Deonarine donates much needed chairs to The El Socorro Centre For Wildlife Conservation for its education drive

Partners in environmental education 
CEPEP understands the importance of environmental education. Whether it’s CEPEP Marine teams collecting refuse in the Caroni Swamp or a CEPEP crew retrieving rubbish in the Caura River; the organisation has a day-to-day appreciation of how a lack of awareness affects our most treasured wildlife habitats.

This is where CEPEP and the El Socorro Centre mesh. Educating the youth about our wildlife and the environment is an indispensable building block in the development of well-rounded individuals.

CEPEP’s support for the centre demonstrates that this NGO, committed to wildlife conservation, reflects the same values cherished by the company; environmental preservation for future generations.

CEPEP goes even further, practicing its commitment to environmental protection in its own back yard.

CEPEP pursues conservation at home
In the spirit of ‘practicing what you preach’, The CEPEP Company Limited applies the principles of conservation to a pond located at the back of the company’s head office in St. Madeleine.

The pond, once associated with the decommissioned St. Madeleine sugar factory, is regularly maintained by the CEPEP Marine unit. This work is particularly beneficial to the aquatic environment there and the numerous wildlife species it supports. In March this year, Red Nile tilapia were released into the pond. This watery sanctuary has also provided a new home for a former resident of the El Socorro Centre for Wildlife Conservation!

An old sugar factory pond is now a thriving eco-habitat

The NGO recently released a rehabilitated caiman into the pond at CEPEP headquarters where it can live undisturbed by human activity.

Once again, the relationship between The CEPEP Company Limited and the El Socorro Centre for Wildlife Conservation has produced a happy result for wildlife.

CEPEP is proud, not only to stand behind the El Socorro Centre, but of its own efforts to contribute to environmental conservation across this country.

The CEPEP Cricket Cup

Building Camaraderie, Encouraging Positive Development, 

Promoting Local Sport

Saturday morning sunlight creeps across a parched Edinburgh 500 recreation ground in central Trinidad. 

CEPEP workers pour out of buses, descending on the playing field. They aren’t here in their usual work capacity but have swapped their weedwackers and rakes for bat and ball. This is the annual CEPEP Cricket Cup.

Teams assemble from all over Trinidad to lay down their challenge for medals, trophies and bragging rights. North West, North East, North Central, Central, South East, South West, Marine and Head Office; each region is represented by two teams, one comprised of men and the other, women.

The idea behind the tournament is simple enough, gather CEPEP workers, friends and family in a convivial atmosphere of friendly rivalry. That doesn’t mean that players get to slack off though!

That is CEPEP team spirit!

Pace like fire!

As the MC barks out announcements over the PA system, players shimmy into their uniforms, each with its own distinctive colour. Officials finger-wag their way through tournament regulations with the teams, exuding all the intensity of a Cricket World Cup Final.

Supporters of respective teams have already snapped up the best seating under the tents. Braver souls fill in the bleachers around the field.

Sno-cone men clang their tiny bells and circle the venue, hoping to catch the eye of children whose parents can’t say no. This is a perfect day for some good cricket!

Whether they be supporters in the stands or cricketers on the pitch, they are all players in CEPEP’s mission of reinforcing community bonds and cultivating unity in the organisation.

Such form and grace.

Fostering unity, strengthening community spirit 

The CEPEP Cricket Cup is, in many ways, all about community values. Community...home; that’s the soul of The CEPEP Company Limited.

Yes, environmental protection and enhancement are central to CEPEP’s mandate, but supporting communities is an equally important company ideology. The work done by CEPEP crews, clearing clogged drains or pest-harbouring bush, is an investment in the communities they call home.

The CEPEP Company Limited is about people; bringing opportunities to towns, villages and citizens who don’t benefit from the influence of the national economy. The organisation is, ostensibly, a family of communities. What better way to bring the family together than in a friendly cricket tournament. On the field, Board, Management, Contractors and Workers compete, boosting morale and enhancing relations in the organisation.

Friendly rivalry in the CEPEP family

At the Edinburgh 500 recreation ground, workers representing our towns and villages compete, laugh and unite under the umbrella of the CEPEP family.

At the peak of play, as many as three thousand spectators have come out to trumpet their loyalties, chant slogans or bellow completely unsolicited, amateur umpiring advice!

This year’s CEPEP Cricket Cup will be held in May and will no doubt see challengers trying to wrest the title from last year’s winners as The CEPEP Company Limited once again celebrates the unifying force of spirited competition.

Infusion of Accountability

With a multitude of work teams spread across Trinidad, ensuring that the CEPEP programme is above board in every respect is the bull that the Board and Management have taken by the horns.  

Under the stewardship of Board Chairman, Adesh Deonarine, and General Manager, Carl Jagdeo, along with the CEPEP Management team, this reinvigorated and refocused company has created an environment that is zero tolerance for failing to comply with the Company accounting requirement.  

Implementing Procedures 
The attendance of CEPEP workers assigned to a specific area is recorded on a daily basis. Field officers regularly cross-check the attendance register with numbers on the ground in an effort to reduce the likelihood of truancy among the workers. Employee data sheets compile information about CEPEP workers such as current address, pertinent identification information and active bank account numbers, as a means of validating the employment of actual persons.  

Field officers monitor attendance on jobsites

The dispatch of auditors to the various CEPEP regions to scrutinize the books, provides a further seal on a fairly airtight system. Reports are submitted and stringent controls are implemented as necessary.  

The company also encourages ordinary citizens to nurture this atmosphere of accountability among workers. Hotlines and email addresses are publicized so queries or complaints about environmental services in communities or the absence of work crews can be forwarded to CEPEP Management.  

A new dawn in CEPEP governance 
These measures were introduced and enforced under the current Board of Directors. They represent the shared vision of the Board and the Management to vanquish the spectre of corruption and inspire public confidence in the programme.

Increased accountability isn’t borne solely by the workers. Contractors who employ them are required to register as a limited liability company, pay NIS and health surcharge for their workers. They must also supply proof that these payments are, in fact, made.

Proper record keeping has now become part of the culture at CEPEP

The Management at The CEPEP Company Limited meets regularly with contractors to ensure that they are on target with all of their obligations to the workers and the government.

Where there are lapses in compliance, contracts can be terminated and opportunities given to other qualified, small entrepreneurs.

The infusion of accountability at every level of The CEPEP Company Limited has dramatically improved corporate governance. The welfare of the workers, as well as taxpayers’ money, is now more conscientiously managed.

The company’s determination to undermine the culture of graft, which has historically afflicted social programmes in this country, has dramatically improved CEPEP’s delivery of services to the country.

Comprehensive change, though, does take time. Malfeasance practised for decades cannot be dismantled overnight. This, however, is the new CEPEP; checks and balances are the new culture in an organisation trying to create pathways to improved lives for all our citizens. 

If you have any complaints or queries call us at 698-CPEP (2737) or email us at info@cepep.co.tt.

The Green Economy in Trinidad

Dramatically shifting weather patterns and the increased frequency of powerful storms continue to whip up debate about climate change.

For the Caribbean, the symptoms of climate change are particularly menacing. Islands in the region face the threat of sea level rise. In Trinidad and Tobago, there are few places of human habitation that aren’t flood prone. We often find ourselves at the mercy of flash floods after only 30 minutes of rain.

Even as the conversation on climate change rages on, several countries are aggressively trying to develop a ‘green economy’. In China, where there is ever-growing demand for energy to prop up a mushrooming economy and expanding consumer appetites, this emerging superpower is investing in renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power. On the African continent, Uganda is spreading the gospel of organic farming, dramatically reducing harmful inputs like pesticides.

CEPEP takes on ‘greening’

Here in T&T, we are adopting our own brand of ‘greening’.

The CEPEP Company Limited has long been linked to environmental protection. It’s right there in the name - The Community-Based Environmental Protection and Enhancement Programme. This, however, goes far beyond a name or prevailing perceptions of what CEPEP is or does.

The concept of the green economy, as expressed through CEPEP, can be found in countless communities across Trinidad. A visit to the village of Lopinot in the northern part of the island provides a good example.

The Lopinot Valley is a good example of the green economy at work

This verdant valley is beautified further by the consistent input of CEPEP gangs trimming road verges, pushing back rebellious growth and reducing the hazards of blind corners along a very narrow road.

A battalion of green overall-ed residents descends on the river traversing this scenic community, clearing up the detritus of raucous weekend limes and riverside ‘cook ups’. On sandy river banks, countless bags of garbage are lined up, all collected by CEPEP workers for disposal.

Healthy environment, healthy revenue

Not seeing the green economy in this scenario yet? Well, Lopinot is an important tourist destination, revered not just for its riveting historical sites but the latent eco-tourism potential resident in its forests.

The sweat equity of the CEPEP worker helps to maintain the Lopinot tourism product, and, in so doing, supports the local business community.

CEPEP workers help keep the Lopinot tourism product in tip top shape

Visitors from at home and abroad, eager to sample what Lopinot has to offer, funnel critical support to small businesses in the community. They come, they frolic, buy food and drink. They may even collapse into a bed for a night or two at a guest house. It is this tourism revenue that allows residents to benefit directly from using their most precious resource, the environment, in a sustainable manner.

It is highly unlikely that visitors would find Lopinot a desirable location if they were confronted by hillocks of rubbish and rivers and streams smothered with gleefully discarded bottles.

Lopinot illustrates how CEPEP functions as an investment in development which has at its core environmental conservation. Outsiders may leave the place in a mess but CEPEP is always there to ensure that Lopinot, as an economic commodity inextricably tied to environmental preservation, will always attract fair market value.

As a small island acutely subject to increasingly capricious weather patterns attributed to global warming, we must wean ourselves off petrochemical dependency and diversify our economy. The work of The CEPEP Company Limited is an immensely important component in T&T’s march towards a green economy.   

A Lifeline for our Towns and Villages

The sun peeks over modest hills in the North Coast village of Grande Riviere. Fishermen are hauling their gear up on the beach having just returned from a long night trawling the rolling depths. It is 6:00am and their bones and backs are weary.

As morning light inches its way across the land, farmers are already out in force, tending their crops before the sun’s fierce sting beats them back into the shade. They aren’t the only ones out to work.

An intermittent mechanized buzzing rises and falls with gusting coastal breezes. This is the rowdy rhapsody of CEPEP equipment taming the undergrowth on forest-darkened country roads. CEPEP crews advance so steadily along the winding roads and plunging gullies that you might not even see them. All that lingers is the smell of fresh cut grass and the work left in their wake.

An early bird CEPEP worker

CEPEP and the multiplier effect
This far flung community was born an agricultural settlement. In the mid-to-late 1800s at the coronation of cocoa, Grande Riviere cultivated this lucrative crop, attracting those with soil in their veins from as far as Venezuela. With the decline of the cocoa industry, though, the fortunes of this rustic community shifted dramatically.

Today, subsistence farming and fishing continue on as important occupations for residents. The CEPEP programme has, however, become a significant element of life in this rugged coastal outpost.

Small, colourful ‘parlours’ punctuate the narrow road snaking its way through Grande Riviere. They appear like bamboo stands on a river bank. In no small measure, it is the purchasing power of CEPEP workers, humble folks able to earn their living neither in the sea nor soil, that sustains the pulse of family-run mini-marts and shops.

Giving hope to new generations

If you take a closer look at the CEPEP worker, it’s easy to see how profoundly the programme touches people in countryside communities. The majority of these workers are single mothers. CEPEP is a valuable social intervention which allows these women flexible working hours not readily offered in other places.

Women make up a large part of the CEPEP workforce

A mother can see her children off to school at the bus stop, pick up an early morning shift, meet her charges as they are released from classes in the afternoon and put food on the table for them; food purchased with a CEPEP wage. These children are free to focus on their studies with crucial parental guidance. Armed with an education, these children represent a break in the cycle of poverty.

Thanks to the intervention of the CEPEP programme, new generations liberated from socio-economic difficulties give rural communities real hope for the future.

CEPEP provides much needed jobs in towns and villages where public and private sector work is scarce. It affords income-earning opportunities to areas almost severed from the rest of society by virtue of distance.

The sun sets on another day in Grande Riviere. A mother whispers her children to sleep after they’ve completed their homework, homework she never had a chance to do as a child. She can rest her head knowing that, for her children, the future will be different. They won’t have to travel the road of struggle and disappointment she faced in her youth.

This is the promise that The CEPEP Company Limited gives to those struggling to find direction in life. It is a doorway to hope and a chance at a better life.