Straw craft has long played an integral role in our rich cultural heritage especially in rural communities like Glengoffe and Above Rocks in St Catherine, the Parrotee area of St Elizabeth and the Cockpit Country. Incredibly, this craft was once the life blood of these communities, and stories abound of children being put through school with the money from the weaving of bags and hats for both the local and tourist trade. These weaving skills were passed on through the generations by mainly mothers, aunties and older sisters. Unfortunately, these skills are now at risk of disappearing with a general lack of interest by young people in straw work and the absence of any national training programme in the craft. Indeed, most current straw weavers are older women who are also family caretakers and farmers.

Thankfully, in the last year, local social enterprise Beenybud (with the help of funded training by the Sandals Foundation, the Jamaica Business Fund and TPDCO) has been able to identify and work with some of these very talented artisans to produce and distribute modern designs of fashion items and home goods that are made with locally sourced natural fibres using traditional weaving methods.

Cheers to the Beenybud Ladies! The world post-COVID-19 will be lots different and we’re betting our reputation that your skills will be in global demand.

Beenybud

available at:

Kingston: Craft Cottage, My Jamaica, Sobelio, Strawberry Hill, Saltwater at Sovereign and Fontana at Waterloo Square.

Ashley Rousseau

E-mail: beenybudja@gmail.com

Tel #: 876-552-8051

IG: Beenybud