Carriacou and Petite Martinique

Carriacou and Petite Martinique (population 10,000) is Grenada's sister isle dependency—the Southern Grenadines where traditional boat building earned UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage status in 2023. Master shipwrights pass down centuries-old techniques through oral instruction: hand-selecting trees during specific moon phases, blessing hulls with rum and water rituals, building vessels without plans or blueprints. Carriacou (13 sq mi, 5,000 residents) hosts the Caribbean's longest-running regatta since 1965, while Petite Martinique (586 acres, 900 residents) derives most income from boat building and fishing. Then came July 1, 2024: Hurricane Beryl struck as a high-end Category 4, destroying or damaging 95% of residences on Petite Martinique and 80% of housing on Carriacou. Damages exceeded 16% of Grenada's GDP, concentrated on these small islands that took the eye wall directly. The dependency now faces a dual challenge: physical reconstruction while preserving the cultural practices that define its identity—the same boat-building traditions that made it UNESCO-recognized now confronting a climate reality of intensifying Atlantic hurricanes.