KINGSTON, Jamaica — Former Prime Minister Edward Seaga, was, on August 22, given a special award by the Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC) for his establishment of craft development agency Things Jamaican Limited.

Seaga established Things Jamaican in the early 1960s when he served as Minister of Culture and Development.

The institution, located on Spanish Town Road at premises which now houses the Horizon Adult Remand Centre, was set up to train artisans for the making of indigenous craft products.

In his address on Wednesday Seaga urged recognition for the youth and women who were making a living from their creativity.

“Don’t leave behind the boys who are painting pictures on a fence, they are natural painters; nobody ever taught them. Don’t leave behind the women who are doing a little crochet, or a little handwork,” he told the audience.

According to Seaga, the most pleasing segment of public life for him was to be able to “move something from the bottom up, and craft is where you do it.”

He said that culture and sport have been the two areas that have lifted many people from poverty, as well as establishing the Jamaica brand.