WESTMORELAND — Beeston Springs is the latest section of the island to catch the community tourism craze and there is now a thrust, led by head of the Parish Development Committee, Astil Gage, to formulate a plan through which the Eastern Westmoreland community can reap the maximum benefits of this initiative.

According to Gage, the plan will centre around several properties and facilities which are community landmarks. Under Gage’s plans the 100 year-old teacher’s cottage, which was built using the Georgian design, will be transformed into a museum and herbal centre. In addition, the Salem Moravian Church, which is 130 years old, will be used for historical tours, nature walks and educational visits.

A park and garden will be established on the grounds of the renowned Beeston Spring, whose water is said to have therapeutic value, and the venue will be opened up for sight-seeing tours.

Tours will also be offered at the Left Hall Property while the Wesley Park, a popular cricket ground, is earmarked for a golden age home, a guest-house and the development of a farm. And Three Lane Coffee Gully Road will be a rest stop, fruit stall and wayside garden.

However, Gage emphasised that in planning community development, the recreational aspect cannot be overlooked. It has therefore been proposed that the Dwyer Property, which is currently the community’s entertainment centre, be developed into a sporting complex.

Other areas that will be developed include Silent Lane, which will be used for farm tours and a sugar mill. The basic school, which was founded by Dennis Dwyer 50 years ago, will be the vehicle to drive the educational development of Beeston Springs’ 5,000 residents. It will be a centre for adult education classes that will be offered in the evenings, as well as for general human resource development.

Gage came up with the idea to push community tourism last year after participating in a project sensitisation seminar. The St Elizabeth Home-Coming Committee, in collaboration with the Bluefields People’s Cooperative, hosted the seminar. Prominent Mandeville hotelier and advocate of community tourism, Diana McIntyre was the main presenter.

Over the last several years, there has been a concerted effort to push community tourism as an alternative to the traditional forms offered by resorts. It has been mooted that visitors want more than the standard sun, sand and sea and want a chance to get to learn about the local culture. Community tourism offers them a first-hand view of the island’s history, its food and its people