Thirty residents of Santa Aratack benefit from a training course on Bamboo Weaving Techniques in Guyana.
The training was officially launched on Friday by the Minister of Tourism Industry and Commerce Oneidge Walrond along with the Chinese Ambassador Jao Haiyan in Santa Aratack Village in Region Three.
Minister Walrond noted the highly productive nature of the bilateral relations with China. She said Guyana has received invaluable support in various fields including medicine, infrastructure, tertiary education and training.
She expressed appreciation to the government of China and noted that the training is more than just learning a craft.
“It’s about empowering our people and building a foundation for self-sustainability. Our government recognises the immense potential in our indigenous communities and we are dedicated to enhancing the human resource capacity across the nation, by investing in training programmes like this we aim to equip our citizens with the skills and knowledge, needed to thrive independently,” she stated.
She noted that the community has a rich legacy in creating and promoting indigenous craft items.
According to the minister, it is amongst the best in the country.
She noted that the initiative will allow for diversifying that product offering, by utilising locally sourced bamboo.
This initiative, she noted, is also a testament to the broader commitment to sustainable tourism development, and promoting local craftmanship and sustainable tourism preserves cultural heritage and creates economic opportunities.
The tourism minister encouraged people to broaden their perspective of the potential outcomes and benefits.
“There is a significant demand for authentic Indigenous products within our country, with visitor arrivals continuing to climb, more tourists are actively seeking memorabilia to take back with them, additionally there is a growing community of expatriates who wish to incorporate local craft in their homes, highlighting the diverse markets for these products”
She is confident that the investment will be fruitful and yield remarkable results fostering economic growth and cultural preservation.
“This training will enable participants to turn bamboo, a readily available resource, into products that can be marketed locally and internationally, fostering entrepreneurship and economic growth within the community having an outlet for these products is critically important to attain full value chain organisation we will work to have them available at leading hotel brands and other strategic partners in Guyana and overseas,” she stated.
She noted that the Santa Aratack community is recognised for its craft and tourism potential.
“This government is committed to ensuring that the locals are provided with the opportunities needed to advance their livelihoods and is continuously seeking ways to support and enhance the capabilities of our people,” she stated.
Meanwhile, Ambassador Haiyan said that this training course will benefit the village tremendously and help them maintain the environment.
“Chinese bamboo weaving masters will teach bamboo and rattan weaving techniques, here I strongly believe that after training, Chinese craftsmen would be able to develop more bamboo and rattan tourism products and promote further development of local eco-tourism in the future,” the Chinese Ambassador stated.
She expressed the hope that it will help Guyana better utilise bamboo and rattan resources on a larger scale and broader scope thereby producing more household items.
She noted that Guyana has vast land spaces suitable for growing bamboo. The Minister said that bamboo and rattan products can effectively replace the consumption of wood and plastic so pollution and environmental damage can be reduced.
Additionally, Toshao Christopher Gouveia urged the participants to grasp the opportunity and learn to make items from bamboo.
“I want to thank both governments, the Guyanese Government and the Chinese Government for their full support with this,” he said.
The training introduces modern techniques and technology to enhance traditional knowledge while maintaining their unique cultural identities.
China is known as the bamboo kingdom with bamboo forests accounting for one-fifth of the world’s bamboo land area, forty per cent of the world species are grown in China while trade in bamboo and rattan products exceeds US $2 billion, accounting for 60 per cent in the total global trade.
China has close cooperation in the bamboo industry with many countries in products including bamboo furniture and utensils, bamboo textiles, and bamboo tourism etc.
The training is being conducted by the International Organisation on Bamboo and Rattan through the Chinese Embassy.