A rural woman, first and foremost, Keithlin Caroo is an advocate and changemaker in the fields of gender equity in agriculture and rural development in St. Lucia. She is also the founder of ‘Helen’s Daughters’ a regionally recognized and award-winning nonprofit organization that focuses on rural women’s economic empowerment through advocacy, capacity development and improved market access. Structured as a selfhelp group, Helen’s Daughters, pays special attention to the training of rural communities (particularly women) in the area of sustainable agriculture, agri-business and overall self-development. The organization focuses on four strategic pillars: highlighting the role that women play in agriculture and food security, creating linkages for more women farmers to earn sustainable incomes, introducing women farmers to free or low-cost educational opportunities in the realm of sustainable agriculture, agri-tech and climate resilient farming and empowering women from rural communities to become leaders and decision-makers, in and outside of the agricultural sphere. The organization started in 2016, when it was selected as one of the winners of UN Women’s Empower Women Champions for Change Program.

While her academic background lay in the field of International Relations and Political Science, having served the last five years at the United Nations Secretariat in New York in the areas of Peacekeeping and Political Affairs, she has never forgotten her farming roots, particularly after noticing the vast inequities relating to gender roles in the agricultural sector, which is what led to the creation of Helen’s Daughters, as a means to redefine gender roles in agriculture and to create an enabling environment for women to enter and thrive in the sector. Ms. Caroo is a One Young World Ambassador, the recipient of the 2018 National Youth Award in Agriculture by the Ministry of Youth Development and Sports in St. Lucia, a Thought for Food Ambassador for the Caribbean, a Forbes Island Innovation feature, the first ever English-speaking Ashoka fellow in Latin America and the Caribbean, a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire for Humanitarian Services and an IICA Goodwill Ambassador