KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) — Mayor of May Pen, Councillor Winston Maragh, is calling for citizens of Clarendon to form themselves into groups in order to tap into resources that have been provided by international entities for development projects.

He said communities need to follow the example of the Peckham Community Development Committee, which was able to secure US$130,000 from the Organization of American States (OAS) for a bamboo project.

The Chinese Embassy has also provided $1.4 million for the undertaking.

Maragh noted that other communities can access resources to undertake viable economic projects.

He noted that the Clarendon Municipal Corporation has a local economic development department, which has been spearheading several community-based ventures, and urged other groups to seek the services of the Corporation as “we are pushing economic development.”

“I am sure that the community of Peckham is going to move forward and I would like other communities to do likewise,” Maragh added.

He was speaking following a graduation ceremony on Friday at the Clarendon Municipal Corporation for 60 young people, who received training in bamboo technology under the Peckham project.

The Peckham bamboo project, implemented in 2015, aims to contribute to the development of a viable and sustainable bamboo sector in Jamaica, by creating employment and entrepreneurial opportunities in bamboo cultivation and manufacturing of bamboo by-products.

Aspects of the project include training in bamboo cultivation, by-product manufacturing methodologies and techniques; facilitating organic certification of bamboo farms; and establishing a pre-processing plant.

The project is being executed by the Clarendon Municipal Corporation with input from the National Housing Trust (NHT), Social Development Commission (SDC), University of the West Indies (UWI) Bio-technology Centre, Bureau of Standards Jamaica, Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, and the Caribbean Local Economic Development (CARILED) project.

The Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), through the Community Renewal Programme Secretariat (PIPJ-CRP), is coordinating the implementation of the project.

Already under the initiative, charcoal has been exported through a private sector entity.