FEDERAL GARDENS

Community Profile

Community Liaison Officer

Nesta Andrews Liaison Officer Email:nesta.andrews@jsif.org Telephone:929-1620

Federal Gardens is located within Trench Town. The community lies to the west of Jones Town, and on its south western boundary abuts the Spanish Town Road. The topography of Federal Gardens slopes gently from north east to south west. Federal Gardens is some 14 ha with a population of 2,391 (STATIN Population Census 2001), giving a residential density of 141 persons per ha.

Federal Gardens is one of four areas in Trench Town, a large area of inner city Kingston with a total population of 24,658. It is separated from the other Project area of Jones Town by Wilton Gardens, commonly known as Rema, while to the north of Federal Gardens and north-west of Jones Town is Arnett Gardens.

Federal Gardens is a well-defined community with a regular pattern of streets. The building form encountered is quite different to the other areas of inner city Kingston included in the Project, being predominantly four unit, two storey blocks of apartments built by the Government in the early 1950s. Over time, the wide spaces between these blocks, known as yards, have had informal single storey dwellings constructed of semi-permanent materials built on them.

The streets of Federal Gardens have practically no traffic and constitute public areas where residents can play games and socialise. Given high unemployment and little opportunity for other entertainment, there is considerable social interaction on the streets, with each street constituting a close-knit community.

Two formal CBOs covering Federal Gardens have a wider remit. They are the Trench Town Development Association whose defined area is Federal Gardens and Rema, and the Trench Town Peace and Justice Centre, which occupy the same premises within Rema but on the edge of Federal Gardens (across the road, Collie Smith Drive). The Trench Town Development Association has received support from JSIF to build its capacity, while the Peace and Justice Centre was established by the Dispute Resolution Foundation (DRF) in July 2003. The Peace and Justice Centre was first temporarily housed at the DRF’s headquarters, but has since been relocated to the Trench Town Development Association building in December 2004. It currently has one full-time employee and is involved in training mediators, having founded the Trench Town Mediators Association. A total of seventy-four mediations were conducted between July 2003 and May 2005 mainly addressing disputes between individuals. The Mediators Association also facilitates and promotes the peace process in the community. It organised the Trench Town Community Festival jointly with the Trench Town Development Association. The Mediators Association, together with DRF and other NGOs, have also held a programme of educational activities during the school summer holidays.

Other NGOs active in the community include Food for the Poor and the Peace Management Initiative (PMI). The PMI increased activity in Federal Gardens in 2004 with a decision to concentrate their efforts on a group of communities in the area including Federal Gardens and some of its neighbours: Rema, Denham Town, Hannah Town and Rose Town.

Within Federal Gardens there is a basic school and a rather inactive youth club; the Trench Town Reading Centre, an educational resource aimed at children and adults, the renovation of which has been supported by JSIF; and the Trench Town Culture Yard, which is being developed as a commemorative museum and tourist attraction with the assistance of the Tourism Product Development Company.

Federal Gardens is comprised of seven streets. The boundaries of the Federal Gardens area are Seventh St to the North, Spanish Town Road to the South, Second Street to the West and Collie Smith Drive/Central Avenue to the East.