National park for Clarendon

MAY PEN, Clarendon — A national park is to be established in the Bull Head Mountain Range in Clarendon to continue the effort to develop Jamaica’s tourism product.

The project is to be undertaken by the Ministry of Land and the Environment.

This was noted recently by minister of tourism and sport, Portia Simpson Miller at a meeting of the May Pen Junior Chamber (Jaycees), held at the Hotel Versalles in May Pen.

Pointing out that Clarendon had “wonderful” tourism assets, the minister said that the government was embarking on an “exciting” new project to develop this national park.

Simpson Miller explained that the objective was to transform the forestry reserve into a community-based nature tourism attraction.

She noted that the preliminary designs for the park have been completed by the Tourism Product Development Company (TPDCo), which is also providing a grant to the Ministry of Land and the Environment to assist with the project.

Simpson Miller emphasised that Jamaica has to adequately equip itself to deal with globalisation through proper identification of its assets, developing those assets and maximising on the opportunities offered.

The minister also noted that another project to boost tourism in Clarendon was the construction of a hotel with a spa in Milk River.

National conference of craft traders September 26

MONTEGO BAY, St James — A national conference on craft aimed at focusing the attention of the island’s craft traders on developing their entrepreneurial and marketing skills, is to be hosted by the Tourism Product Development Company (TPDCo), the product development agency of the Ministry of Tourism and Sport.

The conference, which is to take place on September 26, 2002, at the Wyndham Rosehall in Montego Bay, is the launching pad for a comprehensive marketing plan to address some of the issues facing the island’s craft traders.

Titled ‘Craft Link 2002’, the conference is being held under the theme ‘Making Craft Shopping a Rich Experience’. It is targeting the island’s 2,600 craft traders who operate at Jamaica’s 14 craft sites. Minister of tourism and sport, Portia Simpson Miller will address the conference.

Mary Helen Reece, director of standards at the TPDCo, said that the conference was seeking to build the understanding of members of the craft trade on the ingredients needed to successfully operate a craft business.

4-H clubbites getting help to set up projects

SPANISH TOWN, St Catherine — Chairman of the Jamaica 4-H Clubs, Senator Norman Grant, has said that the organisation has allocated $1 million to clubbites to encourage them to become entrepreneurs.

Under the programme, clubbites are able to apply and qualify for loans between $15,000 and $50,000 to begin projects in agriculture and environmental promotion.

Grant pointed out that about 30 projects have been funded through the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) loan facility and that the average age of the clubbites receiving assistance was 15 years of age.

The senator was speaking on August 23 at a reception for the visiting United States Peace Corps director, Gaddi Vasquez, at the Rose Hall 4-H Training Centre in St Catherine.

Grant noted that membership in the 4-H movement has been growing from 23,000 to 42,000 over the last two years. He said that apart from school groups that have been established, the organisation was now working closely with community and church groups that are interested in forming 4-H Clubs