Several persons in Georgetown and surrounding areas are now better able to use the skills developed in a recent training session for the production of bamboo craft as a means of self-employment.{{more}}

On June 29, 18 members of the Georgetown Craft Makers Association, a registered community group, graduated after successfully completing an intensive training course in Bamboo Craft making.

Acting Director of Forestry Fitzgerald Providence indicated that the group started in 2011 as one of the recipients of assistance from the Food and Agriculture Organization for the forest based Sustainable Livelihood Project of the Forestry Department. He stated that the project evolved from the Forests Conservation Program, which has emphasis on sustainable use of the local forests’ resources for income generation.

The workshop was used to teach the craft of bamboo weaving, bringing the old ways into connection with the new and diverse use of bamboo in St Vincent and the Grenadines. “This opens opportunities for a skill that, if nurtured positively, can develop viable livelihoods out of the use of a renewable and sustainable natural resource.”

The trainers were Percy Davis, who brought the old ways of the craft making and Neil Cato, who brought in new skills and diversity. Cato was initially trained under the Taiwanese bamboo craft initiative and now uses this skill as his livelihood.