Twenty more women have graduated from the rebranding of the craft industry as the National Cultural Foundation (NCF) plays its role in retooling women whose livelihood have been significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The graduation ceremony for the “Artistic Approach to Covid-19” Women and Craft workshop took place on Thursday.
The funding for the workshop was made possible through the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI) through the Canadian High Commission, Barbados in partnership with the Department of Culture and the National Cultural Foundation (NCF).
Chairman of NCF, Wollis Christopher, expressed gratitude to the CFLI and the participants for successfully completing the exercise. He said the workshop came about because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which turned the world upside down.
Many women involved in tourism were left without incomes, Christopher stated. He acknowledged the contribution of former Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism, Laverne Grant, who had seen the CFLI advertisement and encouraged them to apply for funding hence the Women and Craft initiative.
Christopher said the first group of women came from the windward side and the second group from the central and leeward areas of the country The NCF coordinator explained that workshop was held three days per week and lasted for four weeks, and described the group as skilful and creative with very outstanding art and craft.
Christopher encouraged the ladies to work together as there is strength in numbers.
Cultural Officer in the Department of Culture, Maxine Browne told the women that they are important, and that their children, and future generations will benefit from their hard work.
She, too, commended them for their active participation and for being builders of the craft industry.
Browne urged the women to continue to do their best and to lift the standards of craft in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. She said, the women will have subsequent training in online marketing and social media to help them market their products locally, regionally and internationally.
NCF/CFLI Programme Coordinator Julian Pollard said one of the main aims of the workshop is to get the women to make more money. The ladies, Pollard explained, were taught the history of SVG with the intention that their craft reflects this country’s history.
The NCF coordinator commended the ladies for their work and described their craft as lovely. He said that his desire is for craft to become one of this country’s main exports and called for more public and private sector involvement in the craft industry.
Participant in the craft training, Kendra Jackson said she was elated and a proud participant and expressed thanks to the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives and Pollard for his role in the programme.
The Women and Craft workshop, funded by the CFLI at a cost of over CA$70,000 (approx. EC$140,000) has one more cohort to train before completion.
The programme is being held under the theme: “Boosting the Capacity of the Craft Industry.” It is held at the SVG Development Centre of the Arts at New Montrose.