BY KIMBERLEY HIBBERT

Observer Writer

editorial@jamaicaobserver.com

THE Port Morant Community Development Commission (CDC) last Monday hosted their first ever banana festival to showcase the fruit’s versatility and to allow community members to show off their creative side.

The different booths showcased displays from the Jamaica Cocoa Farmers Association, Greater Port Morant Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS) Group, Port Morant Primary and The Port Morant CDC.

Miriam Brown, a representative from the Jamaica Cocoa Farmers Association booth, demonstrated the correct way to open a cocoa pod and explained how the different parts of the fruit could be utilised.

“You can suck the beans as it has a very nice taste. The placenta can be used to make jams and the pod itself can be used as manure and animal feed,” Brown said.

Other booths like the one represented by the Port Morant Primary and Junior High School displayed a variety of products made from banana. The items included a banana chocolate fudge, banana cheese cake, banana wines and a banana punch, just to name a few.

Tanisha Matthews-Anderson, home economics teacher at the school said her students look forward to creating new recipes each year

“The students who are in grade nine are very receptive to practical and they will even let you know that they are saving up their money to be able to participate in events like these. When they are able to use one thing to create other things it pulls their interest into something worthwhile,” Matthews-Anderson said.

A member of the Sunny Hill, St Thomas CDC, Joan Aldridge, displayed items like banana peanut bread, cake and a banana custard. This, she said was made by a finely grated green banana combined with milk, eggs and nutmeg.

Members of the Greater Port Morant JAS Group copped the top trophy for the many products which they made from both green and ripe bananas as well as the trunk of the plant.

Apart from the booths, there were various attractions, like the bounce-about for children. Apart from banana recipes things like popcorn and snow cones were sold.

Eunice Beckford, Public Relations Officer of the Port Morant CDC said the purpose of the festival was to get the community to be more tightly knit to the CDC.

“We don’t want the community to distance itself from the CDC. We want everyone to come around and be a part of the CDC and operate as one unit,” Beckford said.

Beckford added that one of the wishes of the CDC is to see the community of Port Morant restored to its former glory.

“The CDC wants to see Port Morant get back to what it was back in the days,” she said.

But Beckford said the CDC should be more proactive.

” As a family we should not sit and wait on round table-talk to get things done; if we intend to reach more people we just have to get up and do things,” Beckford said.

The festival ended with a

concert that showcased cultural performances from a few residents and secular song selections throughout the night.

The day’s event got off to a slow start but the crowd slowly grew as the sounds of popular dancehall artistes alongside showcase booths and appearances by sport personalities Jermaine Hue and Juliet Cuthbert, who are from St Thomas, caught the residents attention.