27 Jul Purpose in Every Pour
Devon Samlalsingh | Founder, Green Bartender
Some businesses create products. Others create experiences.
For Devon Samlalsingh, every drink tells a story.
As the founder of Green Bartender, Devon has built a business that blends agriculture, hospitality, and storytelling into a single experience. Working with locally grown fruits, herbs, flowers, and botanicals, he is helping people reconnect the richness of Caribbean ingredients while fostering a deeper appreciation for the land they come from.
To Devon, a drink is never just a drink. It is an opportunity to connect people with culture, biodiversity, and the stories rooted in the places we call home.
Where Curiosity Took Root
Long before Green Bartender became a business, it began with curiosity.
In 2012, a request from a family member sparked Devon’s interest in herbs and traditional plant knowledge. What started as a personal search quickly evolved into a fascination with ethnobotany and the relationship between people and plants.
As he learned more, he realized many of the plants he was researching were already growing throughout the Caribbean, deeply connected to the region’s culture and heritage.
That curiosity soon expanded into exploring hydroponics, aquaponics, and urban agriculture before eventually returning to soil.
“The same relationships that create healthy ecosystems at a larger scale also exist within smaller spaces,” Devon reflects.
Those early discoveries continue to shape the agroecological philosophy behind Green Bartender today.
From Garden to Glass
Devon describes Green Bartender as “garden to glass in motion.”
His work follows ingredients from cultivation to creation, transforming locally grown botanicals into immersive beverage experiences that celebrate Caribbean agriculture.
“I have always been fascinated by the rituals around drinks,” he shares. “They bring people together, mark celebrations, and preserve memories of a season or place.”
As his relationship with agriculture grew, he began to see beverages as a powerful way to reconnect people with what grows around them.
Across the Caribbean, incredible ingredients are often overlooked, and the connection between farmers, producers, and consumers can easily be lost.
Green Bartender was created to bridge that gap.
A drink can be more than a drink. It can be an ecological act and a cultural act.
Growing Through Challenge
Building that vision required persistence.
When Devon first became interested in agriculture, he had more ideas than access. Although he hoped to farm family land, that opportunity never materialized. Instead, he took out a loan and transformed a small urban space into a productive farm, experimenting with hydroponics, aquaponics, and other growing systems while balancing night shifts and long days of research and cultivation.
Many of those ideas were unfamiliar locally at the time, making the journey one of constant experimentation, learning, and refinement.
“There were moments when I questioned whether the vision would ever come together,” he admits.
Rather than allowing setbacks to define him, Devon used them as a reason to look beyond his immediate environment, where he found mentors, collaborators, and communities that challenged him to think globally while remaining firmly rooted in the Caribbean.
Looking back, he sees those experiences not as failures, but as the seasons that strengthened his resolve.
Changing Perspectives, One Conversation at a Time
Some of Green Bartender’s greatest successes cannot be measured by sales.
Instead, they are measured by curiosity.
Devon recalls clients returning after events to share that they had planted a mint garnish instead of throwing it away and were now growing herbs at home.
Others are surprised to discover that the flowers and botanicals in their drinks were grown locally.
Those moments remind him that Green Bartender is doing more than crafting beverages. It is helping people see familiar ingredients with fresh eyes and reconnecting them with the value of Caribbean agriculture.
Recognition That Reinforced the Vision
Among Devon’s proudest achievements is watching cocoa trees grow from seeds he saved years ago.
Those seeds became trees. Those trees produced fruit. That fruit became the next generation of seeds.
For Devon, that cycle represents hope and the quiet rewards of patience.
Another defining milestone came when he was selected as the only Caribbean representative for Slow Food’s Bartender Educational Scholarship, attending Terra Madre, Slow Food’s biennial flagship event and one of the world’s leading gatherings dedicated to biodiversity, food culture, and sustainable agriculture.
The experience affirmed that the stories of Caribbean ingredients belong on the global stage.
Building with Community
Devon credits the Youth Business Trinidad & Tobago with helping him transform passion into a structured business.
The programme strengthened his approach to planning, communication, and building strong foundations, lessons that continue to shape Green Bartender today.
Just as valuable were the relationships formed throughout the programme.
“Entrepreneurship is not a journey that happens in isolation,” he says.
Through mentors and fellow entrepreneurs, he gained more than business knowledge. He developed a deeper appreciation for emotional intelligence, communication, and the value of building meaningful relationships.
Looking Ahead
Over the next several years, Devon envisions Green Bartender becoming a platform that bridges agriculture, hospitality, and education while showcasing the diversity and potential of Caribbean ingredients.
His vision is to create opportunities for farmers, bartenders, educators, and communities to learn, collaborate, and explore the potential of local ingredients. By sharing their stories and possibilities, he hopes to help create a future where Caribbean ingredients are valued not only when they reach international markets, but also celebrated and respected at home.
Through storytelling, beverages, and shared experiences, he hopes to give Caribbean agriculture an even stronger voice.
A Message for Future Entrepreneurs
Devon’s advice is simple.
“Find your north star and build around it.”
He encourages aspiring entrepreneurs to remain curious, embrace experimentation, and understand that every setback offers an opportunity to learn.
“You are not just creating a product,” he says. “You are building a connection between people and place.”
Leaving Something Behind That Can Grow
When asked what he hopes people remember most about his journey, Devon returns to an idea that has guided him from the very beginning.
Hope.
“When you plant a seed, you do not know exactly what it will become,” he says. “All you can do is create the best environment possible, provide care, and trust that you are giving it the opportunity to grow.”
For Devon, that philosophy extends far beyond agriculture. It speaks to businesses, communities, relationships, and people.
Through Green Bartender, he is cultivating more than exceptional beverage experiences. He is helping people rediscover the value of Caribbean agriculture, reconnect with the land that sustains them, and recognize that meaningful change often begins with something as simple as a seed or a shared drink.