I was saddened to read the letter in The Observer of Friday March 26th from W.J. Koss.

As an ex-patriot currently residing on Nevis I am absolutely besotted with the beauty of the island and the really friendly, welcoming people - so it is a shame to read of a visitor having a bad experience.

Nevertheless, having visited Nevis for the first time 16 years ago and living here for nearly 2 years I do have some observations and ideas on four key areas from the perspective of a prospective tourist that may be of use:

1. TOURISM

With British Airways operating 2 flights a week from the UK to St Kitts - Nevis is now the ONLY small island in the Caribbean that is easily and frequently accessible, with a long haul flight followed by a romantic boat trip across the beautiful Caribbean channel bringing you to this little paradise, both intimate and authentic, by cocktail hour.

This could be considered as Nevis' now unique selling point and I hope the Tourism Authority has taken this on board.

Furthermore, in the wake of the global economic crisis the tourist is looking for value for money, as evidenced by the villa owners here, who do not charge crazy prices and who have been very successful with rentals this past year, versus those who do and have not - though lower prices need not equate to poor quality, or the kind of vulgarity seen elsewhere in the Caribbean.

Instead, affordable luxury should be the theme - which, as a designer, I must say comes down to effective design - as well as government investment in

a.) food security,
b.) education,
c.) waste management,

A. FOOD SECURITY
It is shocking that a pineapple, grown on Nevis, can cost $16 EC - that is approximately £4. In the UK a pineapple can cost as little as 64 pence - or 16% of the price it is here, and has had to travel a very long way to get there!

Likewise shopping in Nevis' supermarkets can be eye-wateringly expensive and the quality of food poor compared to the prices charged, where food is often highly processed and/or rotting not to mention over-packaged. This has a significant impact on the physical health of the people on the island, the physical health of the island itself and the financial health of the island too.

If Nevis was able to be one of the most effective sugar-producing islands in the Caribbean 200 years ago then why can't Nevis produce all of its own food now, plus a surplus to sell? In so doing Nevis, at one fell swoop, would be

a.) creating jobs
b.) producing cheaper, better
quality food and
c.) become largely self-sustaining.

Instead of the government asking for international investment in IT - government should first be investing heavily in agriculture. The permanent secretary Dr Kelvin Daly is an energetic and inspiring man who, along with some very professional farmers here should be given the resources to make Nevis as independent as it possibly can be in terms of food production. Political independence is nothing if it is not founded on genuine efforts to be "resource independent".

First, however, the monkeys must be controlled. They are an intolerable excuse for lethargy, they are not indigenous and they are a serious threat to Nevis, now and in the future.

B. EDUCATION

I am not well acquainted with education here, so I can but say little, other than it is evident that literacy is not what the government claims it to be. This is a fundamental disservice to the people of Nevis and will compromise her development.

C. WASTE MANAGEMENT

While Nevis is pristine compared to other Caribbean islands the amount of litter to be seen at the side of some roads, and even around people's homes (not to mention the race track!), is astonishing for a visitor, a visitor who will have made the undoubtedly long trip to enjoy Nevis' nature.

They say a sick bird fouls its nest so it is very sad to see that some people are content to live surrounded by trash. Why not clean up? If you can throw trash out of your car window, or into the bush, why not just go to the toilet in the same place? It's the same difference.

A couple of ways to reduce/manage littering would be to:

1) ban plastic bags and make plastic bottles and can returnable via deposits

2) organise groups through the numerous churches on Nevis to clean up, based on designated territories and rotas. If cleanliness is next to Godliness why are there so many churches and still so much trash?

3) actively fine people who litter by sending out Police on litter patrols (who can also keep an eye on speeding and other activities - why is it so many people are in a hurry but are rarely on time?) - the fine being a day's commitment to cleaning up - parts of Charlestown, especially around Hamilton House and Best Buy, would be a good start.

4) continue with the kind of "wreck amnesty" this present Administration implemented when it first came to power. Walking up to Nelson's Lookout, for example, it is pathetic to see that a pile of old tyres, an old car and various other appliances are still dumped there and rusting, this at one of Nevis' "Heritage Sites" too.

Litter is unacceptable, avoidable and it's time to "Keep the Queen Pristine". If you love Nevis, take pride.

D. ENERGY

Nearly every day is sunny on Nevis. Again, instead of IT Government should be seeking investment to make Nevis resource independent in terms of energy. The Geothermal project is encouraging - but what about electricity-generating solar photo-voltaics, which would also obviate offensively noisy generators? Or ground source heat pumps to cool buildings down instead of unhealthy air conditioning units? Could it be that the countries who hand out monies to an island like Nevis actually want Nevis to be dependent on oil, possibly sold by those same countries?

E. DEVELOPMENT

As an architectural and interior designer, writer and television broadcaster who has written widely and made many television programmes on architecture and design it is very depressing to see a number of the new buildings that are erected on Nevis are of such poor design quality. Nelson's Springs 1 & 2, for example, is an abomination.

Nevis does not seem to realise just what its potential is sometimes. There are many truly talented and celebrated architects around the world whom I know (having run an agency representing such for many years) would love to design buildings for Nevis, probably free of charge, and in ways that collaborate with schools in order to encourage the next generation of home-grown talent.

Indeed Nevis could run architectural competitions which would secondarily attract tremendous publicity to the island, publicity that would define the island as not only beautiful now but an island wanting to protect its beauty for the future.

The idea of destroying an old stone building in Charlestown and replacing it with a trashy Port Zante-style mall is stupidity in the extreme. Having spoken to many people, Nevisians, ex-pats and tourists, I have met no-one who wants this. Again this is a matter of resources. A building exists, in typical Nevis stone - that both the people of Nevis and tourists love - that need only be refurbished to achieve the same, and far more successful result.

There is also the question of protecting the other fine buildings Nevis possesses. Any visit to Bath House is to gasp at how badly decorated, organised and maintained it is. And the various kinds of trash surrounding this and Government House is bewildering.

Nevis is so much more than The Four Seasons and I for one have, am and will be doing everything I can possibly do to spread the good news of beautiful Nevis - while desperately hoping that those in power will cherish this true "Queen of the Caribbees".

Yours sincerely

Naomi Cleaver

P.S. I wholeheartedly support Nicolai Williams astute letter of 26th March also. This is surely just common sense?!