WHEN Fabian Rainford gets ready to mould and fire clay pots for sale he takes a short walk to a section of Rose Town in St Andrew — one of the last remaining clay fields accessible to artisans anywhere in Jamaica.

The clay is impacted, so a pickaxe is handy for breaking it into manageable chunks that are tossed into bags and buckets. On foot, he transports the raw material to his container studio for the next steps in forging a livelihood from this development mineral.

Around the corner from the studio is home, located at an area of a narrow road lined with zinc fences and behind which there are tenement yards — some with kilns and potters’ wheels. Trees are everywhere.

Rose Town is a lower-income residential community renowned for this clay field and the generations of potters who make a living from it.

The community is minutes from Trench Town, immortalised by reggae legends like Bob Marley and Peter Tosh, but also famous for its trendsetting potters and clay fields, too.

Rose Town is alive with the entrepreneurial spirit of its artisan community, nurtured by the Rose Town Foundation for the Built Environment from its base at a blue, art deco-styled building.

Seventy-four kilometres to the south-west of Kingston, on the Clarendon plains, Robert Campbell of Khadabra also has instant access to clay fields in the low-income rural community of Race Course.

Campbell’s studio, a converted home flanked by neighbouring homes, produces high-quality clay pieces for sale in both international airports and retail shops patronised by locals and tourists.

Jamaica is rich in the development mineral clay — 160 million tonnes to be exact — which is the depth and weight equivalent of 438 Empire State Buildings.

But, 70 per cent is now overbuilt or lost to construction due to poor spatial planning, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Jamaica, Bahamas, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, and Turks and Caicos Islands said.

Despite these losses, clay is still abundant in communities like Rose Town, Trench Town and Race Course, utilised by a small but increasingly productive army of clay artisans.

However, that could change if existing fields now accessible to artisans are lost to buildings, car parks, housing, and other types of development, UNDP added.

Every now and then, Rose Town hears unverified rumours that their clay field is earmarked for development, but artisans like Rainford cling to hope — hope that the authorities will catch their vision for sustained development and self-employment for the skilled crafts persons from places like Rose Town, Trench Town, Race Course, Savanna-la-Mar, Kingston, Highgate, and Falmouth.

It is true that artisans could dig clay in other locations but community fields help eliminate a chunk of production costs, which sustains the viability of their home-based enterprises while helping to reduce poverty, said UNDP.

Spotting the potential of this niche sector, the ACP-EU Development Minerals Programme — financed by the European Union and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Mines and Geology Division of the Ministry of Transport and Mining — supported the retooling and upgrading of equipment for small-scale artisans. The aim was to bolster productivity, jobs and income with small grants and training. During the COVID-19 pandemic additional grants bolstered micro, small and medium-size enterprises’ (MSME) resilience, keeping production going during the heavy losses.

Besides local markets, artisans could conceivably tap into a lucrative global pottery ceramics market, which was valued at US$262.8 billion in 2024. It is forecast to reach US$421.8 billion by 2033.

Rose Town Foundation for the Built Environment has been a steady partner through the years in cultivating the potential of talented artisans. Executive Director Letta Gayle welcomed the support from the programme and its capacity-building efforts which are providing self-employment opportunities and impacting artisan output.

Rainford and Campbell are among 19 artisans awarded grants to bolster the artisanal side of the development minerals industry since 2017, impacting more than 700 persons — 239 directly and 479 indirectly — in communities averaging 6,000 people. Additionally, significant investments in capacity building since 2016 have helped build productivity, financial viability, and environmental stewardship.

Artisan capacity building is just one component of a US$1.4-million investment by the EU to bolster the profile and profitability of Jamaica’s development minerals industry.

Rose Town’s Rainford, artisan producer of 20 years and community instructor to up-and-coming clay artisans, said his grant helped him create a productive workspace crafted from a container donated by the Rose Town Foundation for the Built Environment. He added windows, doors, panes, bought tools, and moved the retrofitted studio near to the clay field.

Sponsored training in Tanzania sharpened his skills.

“I learned how to make moulds and glazes and how to be more balanced in my approach to my craft,” he said.

He’s most proud of passing on skills to youth from his community, partnering with the foundation and other potters like Theophilus Reid, a senior artisan.

Reid works from his backyard, which is the same place he was born, inspired by the exploits of 10 generations of potters who have brought renown to Rose Town. These days, the latest generation is continuing the legacy, selling in Barbican and Norbrook — upscale neighbourhoods in St Andrew — and “pushing carts to sell and feed their families”, Reid explained.

With production improved they can fill the large orders that occasionally come from owners of flower shops and plant nurseries. In good times, they receive up to 100 orders for clay pots.

“While times can be rough, positive things are still happening, and we can find our food and keep out of trouble. People are gravitating towards us and say they like our work. This motivates us,” he declared.

In rural Race Course, Campbell’s Khadabra received its first grant in 2017 under phase I, and a second grant in 2022 under the Development Minerals Programme Phase II to support small business COVID-19 response recovery. He purchased woodwork equipment to pivot a portion of his product line to a unique mixed clay/woodwork medium.

“This helped our business because at this critical time our business did not just slow down, it practically stopped.

“I [also] made kitchen fixtures and closets, during the COVID time, with the equipment that we bought to keep my staff employed. Even after the COVID period I find that it [continued to have] a good impact on the market.

“And this in itself has been a plus. Even after COVID we have had a lot of new products going out on the market; we are better positioned.

“The programme has truly, truly been beneficial and we have more persons employed even after the pandemic — and this was all because of the funding. We were really able to do a lot more,” said Campbell.

With water being an important ingredient in clay pottery, a water tank and pump were essential purchases to address low water supply in the community.

“There are times, for days, we would have no water and it would slow down our operation, so we needed to store water,” he added.

The training in Tanzania also helped him to figure out how to use the kind of clay found in his parish.

“The clay in Clarendon is useless by itself but at training we learned about adding different materials [clay body] so that the clay could work — and this itself has been a tremendous impact on my business,” Campbell explained.

Khadabra has been a lifeline for many unattached youth over the years, especially in the period following the closure of the nearby sugar factory in 2019, just ahead of the pandemic. Campbell has been their dedicated mentor.

“I created this business to help young people not just to have a job, but to have a measure of discipline in terms of time management and the quality of their outlook on life. They are taught discipline, to be on time, and to be efficient with work. We even discuss social life, and I encourage staff to open bank accounts to start saving and to look at creating jobs,” he said.

When Campbell arrived in Race Course he started with one employee. Now, he has six on his payroll — five of whom are from the community.

Campbell, Rainford and Reid — all artisans working the last remnants of accessible clay fields in two different locations — have a few things in common: they are upskilling unemployed youth, creating jobs, generating income, and feeding families from an underutilised development mineral ripe with potential.

Their work can only continue if they have access to the raw materials, preferably close to home to help sustain current operational and production costs.

“The land should be kept clear because it is a natural source of raw materials for artisans, not just for those from Rose Town,” said Gayle. “Artisans from across the country can benefit from this natural resource but if we cover it with cement or any other thing we lose out, and we should try our best to keep as much of our natural resources as possible.”

The Development Minerals Programme is geared at bolstering production and trade in underutilised development minerals and to help the sector showcase and fulfil its economic potential. UNDP said, over both phases implemented in Jamaica, the programme has built the profile and improved the management of development minerals.

This, it said, was achieved through in-depth capacity building including training; small grants; innovative technology products including the production of maps and databases; development of regulations on environment, health and safety; and organisation of community dialogues, technology fairs and networking events.

Robert Campbell is seen mixing clay for use.

Senior artisan Theophilus Reid is hard at work in Rose Town, St Andrew.

Robert Campbell of Khadabra, who has instant access to clay fields in the rural community of Race Course, Clarendon, shows off one of the pieces from his studio.

GAYLE…the land should be kept clear because it is a natural source of raw materials for artisans

The global pottery ceramics market is forecast to reach US$421.8 billion by 2033.