Jamalco assists local business ventures

HALSE HALL, Clarendon:

AS THE shortage of jobs continues to make life miserable for many Jamaicans, the unemployed are being urged to start businesses of their own.

This call came recently from the Clarendon bauxite company, Jamalco. The company, in its bid to assist with the problem, is facilitating this process in its host communities, through the Jamalco Entrepreneurship Develop-ment Programme (JEDP); and since June this year, has disbursed $6.3 million to 15 groups of farmers in Clarendon and Manchester.

Corporate services manager at Jamalco, Leo Lambert, said the objective of the programme is to create alternative income-generating opportunities for persons in Jamalco's host communities.

"The communities in which Jamalco operates are marked by high unemployment and low skill levels among the residents. We are cognisant that there are not many opportunities for employment in rural Jamaica and so JEDP was implemented to create an avenue for people to provide and earn for themselves," said Lambert.

The projects were recently visited by the monitoring committee which comprises representatives of Jamalco, the C&WJ Credit Union and United Way of Jamaica. Lambert, who expressed pleasure with the strides that the beneficiaries have made, commended them and noted that they are trailblazers who have a special obligation to ensure that the projects continue to do well.

"The programme has given birth to a new round of community entrepreneurs. Your challenge is to ensure that your businesses operate profitably and to adhere to good business principles and practice," said Lambert.

Crop production

The JEDP groups, comprising five persons each, are involved in the production of crops, such as hot pepper and tomato as well as pig and chicken rearing; and already, one of two groups rearing chickens has slaughtered mature birds for a ready market at the Winston Jones High School, while another has built a bigger pen to expand its pig-rearing operations.

One group of farmers also has a field of hot peppers that will be ready for harvesting soon, and another is involved in greenhouse technology farming, where sweet peppers and tomatoes are cultivated in greenhouses established on rehabilitated mined-out lands.

The JEDP programme was implemented in October 2010 with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the then Clarendon Cooperative Credit Union (now C&WJ Credit Union) and the United Way of Jamaica.

The MOU signified the establishment of a revolving fund of some US$232,000 comprising grants from Jamalco and the Alcoa Foundation to the United Way of Jamaica, for the establishment of small entrepreneurial enterprises by residents living in Jamalco's host communities. The loan fund is being managed by the C&WJ Credit Union.

JEDP also helps to reduce the residents' dependency on the company for employment. Additionally, the programme was executed to accelerate the amount of rehabilitated land returned to agricultural use by farmers located in mining communities.

There was also the recognition that there was a need to increase the amount of mined out rehabilitated land returned to agricultural use, and so put idle hands to work to benefit families and develop sustainable communities.

rural@gleanerjm.com