Sustainable Grenadines Inc (SusGren), with funding from the Inter-American Foundation (IAF) is implementing a project entitled “Ashton Lagoon Restoration and Income Generation on Union Island, St. Vincent and the Grenadines”.

And a recent call for project applicats has netted over 100 which has resulted the payout out of EC$130,000, the organisation said in a release.

The small grants component of the project is to support start-ups, establish small businesses, community groups and educational institutions.

Some of the initiatives being funded through the project fall within the categories: arts and crafts, agriculture, food catering, auto mechanic and repairs, small shops, access to water, improvement to important community sites and training in sports and culture.

The call for small grants applications attracted 127 submissions; SusGren approved 51, of which seven are groups and institutions, and 44 small businesses.

Thus far, the project has paid out more than EC$130,000.00 to successful applicants, the release said. SusGren aims to ensure these small grants improve the overall economic lives of people, their family and the community in which they operate both direct and indirectly.

Other components of the project will include the construction of a plant nursery and water cistern to further increase the capacity of water on the island.

SusGren is a transboundary non-governmental organization working between the states of Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines and is committed to the conservation of coastal and marine environment and sustainable livelihoods for the people of the Grenadines.