MANDEVILLE, Manchester – Twenty-five residents from the South Manchester Community Council and surrounding communities are currently participating in 10 weeks of training in greenhouse technology.

The training which is facilitated by the President of the Greenhouse Growers Association of Jamaica, Jervis Rowe, seeks to educate and expose the participants to the essentials of greenhouse production, according to a release from the initiative’s sponsor, bauxite/alumina company Jamalco.

Among the subjects being taught are greenhouse climate, greenhouse construction, breeding and propagation, logistics and water systems, the release said.

“Each week, the trainees look forward to attending the sessions and they are quite excited about learning about the new way of cultivating their crops. The farmers have indicated that some of the information learnt about greenhouse technology will be transferred to open field farming as there are farming practices that they weren’t aware of,” the release said.

Secretary of the South Manchester Community Council Stefanne Latchman reportedly thanked Jamalco and the Alcoa Foundation for reaching out to them and contributing the funds to construct the two greenhouses for the area, as well as affording them the opportunity to learn about greenhouse technology. “This will also go a far way in contributing to the economic development of the area as residents will be employed to the project and the money earned from the crops will assist in funding some of our community development programmes,” Latchman said.

As a part of the training, the team toured the Abbey Gardens Greenhouse Farm in Manchester .

Jamalco volunteers will also contribute to the project by helping to plant seedlings in the greenhouses on Thursday, October 2 as part of Month of Service activities.