Talk:Debe

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Debe is a linear town, strung out along the SS Erin Road about midway from the 'second city' of San Fernando to Siparia, and located in the island of Trinidad (West Indies). It is rapidly developing, and despite being primarily known for agricultural production, has now developed a reputation as a vibrant and expanding commercial area. Property values have risen in past years and many new businesses have opened along the main road {SS Erin Road} including insurance companies, fast food outlets, entertainment centres etc.

Debe has been traditionally an 'Indian' area where descendents of Indian immigrants settled, but with the introduction of low cost housing schemes by the Government, there has been a small explosion in the population size in recent years. Labour is not confined to agricultural production, Debe has given Trinidad fine young professionals in nearly every field of work, including engineering, medicine etc.

The reputation of Debe is firmly cemented in it's famous 'doubles', a delicious curry made from chick peas and served sandwiched between two small round and soft flour chappatis. These are sold in roadside stalls in the central hub, an area known to locals as 'Bara Plaza'. The round chappatis in the 'doubles' are known as 'bara'. Also famous for 'aloo pies' and other delicious delicacies, people drive from all over the island of Trinidad to Debe to purchase these popular and savoury items. It is not unusual to find Trinidadians taking along their foreign visitors to sample the unique cuisine.

The area is administered to by the Penal/Debe Corporation, a branch of the Local Government Ministry.


There are two issue - verifiability from reliable secondary sources, and neutrality. I know Debe well (albeit not as well as someone who lives there), I have seen it change over the last 25 years. There's useful information in what you added, but there is also a lot of information that expresses an opinion or that I can't support from secondary sources. If you can find a source, like a Planning document, go ahead. Is it still justified to call Debe a linear settlement? I don't know - I'm not a geographer. While it expanded along the main road, it also grew into the back streets. While property values have risen, for it to be worth including in an encyclopaedia entry you should be able to say that they have risen out of proportion with the rest of what can increasingly be seen as "Greater San Fernando".
There's also a problem with tone. A lot of what you say is chatty in tone, like something you would write for a travel brochure. We need hard facts. Saying "Labour is not confined to agricultural production, Debe has given Trinidad fine young professionals in nearly every field of work, including engineering, medicine etc." isn't really good writing for an encyclopaedia. How has labour changed? Why is it worth commenting on professionals coming out of that area - I know, you know, but that isn't good enough for an encyclopaedia. In addition, calling them "fine young professionals" isn't neutral language - there's far too much of a value judgement in there. Guettarda 01:35, 5 July 2006 (UTC)