Young innovators win top prize for eco-lodge vision

A team of students from Daryll Jordan Secondary School has claimed the top prize in this year’s Youth Energy Entrepreneurship Challenge, impressing judges with their proposal to transform the Solar House in Queen’s Park into an eco-friendly lodging facility.

The competition, aimed at fostering innovation and sustainable business ideas among young people, culminated in a prize-giving ceremony on Wednesday.

The challenge tasked secondary and tertiary-level students with reimagining the purpose and future of the Solar House, encouraging them to design business models rooted in sustainable energy principles.

Permanent Secretary of the Energy Ministry, Kevin Hunte, emphasised the significance of the competition in shaping the future among young innovators.

“The Youth Energy Entrepreneurship Challenge was designed to inspire you, secondary and tertiary level students, to think boldly, to think creatively, even to think collaboratively,” he said. “You were challenged to develop a business plan for the Solar House, to reimagine its purpose, its services, and how it can generate value using sustainable energy principles.”

Hunte explained that the challenge had two main objectives: raising awareness of the use of renewable energy and sustainable building design in citizens’ everyday lives, and cultivating a spirit of entrepreneurship, teamwork and problem-solving among the country’s youth.

He added: “This initiative reflects our belief that you, our youth, are not just beneficiaries of a green future, not just beneficiaries of a business-friendly climate, but you’re the builders and the architects of it.”

Daryll Jordan Secondary School won the contest with their innovative project, Eco-Lodge. The concept proposes transforming the Solar House into an eco-friendly lodging facility, envisioned as a blueprint for sustainable accommodation across the island. The idea incorporates renewable energy use and sustainable farming, aligning with Barbados’ national green energy goals.

School Principal Ken Layne beamed with pride as he addressed attendees.

“It gives me tremendous pleasure, absolute pleasure to be here this morning, to be part of a very enthusiastic, a very dedicated and committed group of young people who spent hours on this presentation guided by Mr Reid and Mr Marshall. I want to say that as a principal, I’m very proud of my teachers, of my students,” he said.

Other participating schools included St Leonard’s Boys’ School, Queen’s College and the Barbados Community College, all of which presented forward-thinking solutions inspired by sustainability and entrepreneurship.

Hunte encouraged all participants to continue developing their ideas.

“I want to encourage you to take your ideas further,” he said. “Continue to push your ideas, continue to get the support . . . because we can’t do it by ourselves, we don’t expect you to do it by yourselves. So wherever the support is coming from, in terms of your family, in terms of your friends, in terms of the ministry, in terms of your school, in terms wherever it’s coming from, I want you to grasp it, seek it out and make sure that you present a product that you can be proud of.”