ROSE HALL, St James – DIRECTOR of the London-based Prince of Wales School of Traditional Arts, Dr Khaled Azzam believes that Jamaican carvers should not restrict themselves to the tourism market but should also explore the Asian market.

“I think the market that we would love to go for is not just the tourism market. That is a very limited market. I think that there is a demand in parts of the world such as China at the moment, or in India,” Dr Azzam told the Observer West.

“People are interested in finding products that come from a certain (area) or have the integrity of coming from there. So people will be interested in a Jamaican bowl, they will be interested in a Jamaican piece of carving,” Azzam said.

Claiming that Jamaican carvers are amongst the world’s best, Azzam was disappointed that most confine their work to the demands of the tourism market.

“The Jamaican carvers are amongst the best in the world. I have heard that for a long time and this has proven to be true. The skill they have is amazing. I think what happens to the carvers in Jamaica, they have been exposed to the tourism market which is not very demanding. And therefore, the tourists will buy the standard things so the carvers become a bit lazy and produce the same thing over and over again,” he said.

He revealed that currently instructors from the Prince of Wales School of Traditional Arts are honing the craft of carvers from Rose Town in Kingston and Rose Hall, St James.

Dr Azzam was speaking at the weekend launch of the Rose Hall Craft Programme at the Rose Hall Great House.

The programme is an outgrowth of the Prince of Wales Rose Town Project which is geared towards the regeneration of the Rose Town community with infrastructure such as a community centre and a library, as well as income-generating opportunities, among other features.

The Rose Town Project — established in 2009 — is a collaboration between Michele Rollins of Rose Hall Development and the Prince of Wales’ School of Traditional Art. The project assists carvers from the Rose Hall and Rose Town communities in creating carvings under the guidance of instructors from the Prince of Wales team.

According to Rollins, who was upbeat about the collaboration, carvings done by 10 Rose Hall residents are displayed and sold at the Rose Hall Great House. She disclosed that 25 per cent of the sales go towards the Prince of Wales Foundation, while the remainder goes to the carvers.

“It has always been a dream of mine that we develop our craft. Our people are so creative. It has been a wonderful collaboration and we are grateful for it,” Rollins told the Observer West.