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Highland Craft Expo
30th April, 2003
By Umoja Rock
Nicole Farley, Project Officer for
the Community Tourism Foundation
(CTF),
spent the day saying
goodbye to the first initiative developed by [the] NGO at
Highland Adventure Centre, St. Thomas.
The
charitable organisation, set up in December 2000 to assist
entrepreneurs to develop strategic partnerships within the
tourist industry, through education and enterprise is well
pleased with this first venture and is in the process of
writing proposals for four more initiatives around Barbados,
including Welchman Hall, Bulkeley Factory, and Holders Hill.
The unique
selling point of the crafts is that they are made from
indigenous materials such as mahogany, clay, jewellery and
textiles, and all the work is created locally by local talent.
Both tourists and local customers and commented on the high
quality of work on display, highlighting the level of
professionalism exhibited by the vendors.
CTF is supported by many
private sector partners such as Foster and Ince Cruise
Services who operate the tour buses; Highland Adventure Centre
for providing the location as well as the taxi drivers who
know the island well and take our visitors to the many
attractions Barbados has to offer. The island tour buses stop
off at the Centre and the vendors can take advantage of this
time to sell their wares.
All vendors
have been delighted with the opportunity that has been
afforded to them and are sorry to see the end of this six
month project, which was established to capitalise [on] the
height of the cruise ship season.
The vendors
present today have been practising their craft from three
months to 20 years; the experience in marketing, finishing and
packaging of their products has been invaluable for their
businesses. Most [attributed the slow rate] of the growth of
their micro-businesses [to] a lack of government support (too
much red tape in the government initiatives), difficulty in
finding affordable shop spaces in good locations and lack of
finance. However, many have access to a studio established in
Pelican Craft [Centre] provided by the NCF and Ministry of
Education, whilst others work from home. The exposure at this
community craft market has one vendor, Michelle Jordan,
looking to develop her business within the CARICOM region.
Other
activities of the CTF
include the Community Innovations Fund, a sub-grant fund for
community organisations and the Youth Scholarship Programme,
which targets unemployed youths pursuing careers in the
hospitality sector. CTF is
based in Welches, St. Michael.
(Reproduced from The Daily Nation (Barbados) – Thursday, May
01, 2003)
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