A major bamboo project is to be undertaken in the community of Peckham in Clarendon North Western, which is expected to provide employment for scores of residents, while creating entrepreneurial opportunities.

Just under $2 million has been committed to the project to date, which is the brainchild of Transport, Works, and Housing state minister and member of Parliament for the area, Richard Azan, in collaboration with the Peckham Community Development Committee.

The sum includes $1.4 million from the People’s Republic of China, through its Embassy in Jamaica; and $500,000 from the Caribbean Local Economic Development Project (CARILED), being administered in Jamaica by the Ministry of Local Government and Community Development.

The money will go towards several initiatives over the next 12 months, including: cultivating 40 hectares of bamboo; construction of a factory and installation of the requisite equipment and technology to produce a range of by-products; and training of residents in bamboo cultivation techniques and production methodologies.

It is anticipated that the project will provide employment for upwards of 80 people in Peckham and adjoining communities, and will be developed to the point where products, including charcoal, can be exported within three years.

State minister for Industry, Investment and Commerce, Sharon Ffolkes-Abrahams, who officially launched the project at Peckham Full Truth Church on Thursday, welcomed the initiative, which forms part of the Bamboo Products Industry Project (BPIP).

She noted that the Government is facilitating the development of the local bamboo sector to provide opportunities for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), which can translate into “meaningful development of our communities”.

“Inclusive development, with bamboo, has provided secured livelihoods for many thousands of rural producers [globally], and the same can be done in Jamaica,” she said.

“Our vast resources will produce economic advancement in job creation and poverty reduction,

and industrialisation and commercialisation of bamboo products that are globally competitive, fostering trade and development and creating opportunities for environmental sustainability,” Ffolkes-Abrahams contended.

She said that formation of a bamboo industry board is being explored, “which will [have] as part of its agenda, examining strategies and means for social inclusion to benefit marginalised groups, particularly those in rural areas”.