Bamboo training participants showcase creativity at Taste of Saint Lucia

Castries, Saint Lucia: Bamboo training workshop’s participants showcased their creativity at the Taste of Saint Lucia Expo, an ARC Edition held at Rodney Bay.

It is to be noted that the workshop was held on December 15-16, 2023, and several participants were given an opportunity to display items such as Stools, Lamp Stands, Coffee Tables, Mugs, Boats, Jewellery and Flower Pots. All these products are made from bamboo.

Notably, the Taste of Saint Lucia Expo was organized to give local and small business owners an opportunity to showcase their products and gather revenue through the sale of these products.

It will form a part of events for the 2023 Atlantic Rally for Cruisers. The two-day event featured products across 50 local businesses, which range from the following,

– Food

– Clothing

– Condiments

– Arts and Crafts

– Local Rum

– Gifts or Ornament

Interestingly, around 25 participants benefitted from a bamboo training workshop which was entitled “Bamboo Works”, which was sponsored by the Taiwan Technical Mission (TTM) in Saint Lucia.

The workshop was facilitated by the Cultural Development Foundation (CDF).

About Bamboo Workshop

The workshop was held under the guidance of Ms Ya Ching Lee of Taiwan, who has expertise in bamboo weaving and contemporary product design.

Notably, the participants mainly focused on the naturally sustainable and beautifully- crafted creations that can be made by using various techniques to grow, preserve, treat, harvest and shape bamboo.

The Director of Business Development at the CDF, Murchel Hippolyte, disclosed that the objective of the workshop was to help the participants learn their own skills with the new techniques they have learned.

This would enable them to create value-added items that have good appeal, and this can inspire other people to become interested in the form of art.

Noting this, he stated that CDF is very huge in training people to deliver. For them, art and culture hold an important place.

He further said that this workshop was really about training the people and encouraging them to use bamboo and create many things from its distinctive styles.

“CDF is very big on training people to deliver. Arts and culture are among the biggest things for us. The workshop was really about training people to use bamboo- our national plant- to create many things from its different styles and techniques”, Hippolyte commented.

Many participants shared their opinions and experiences regarding this workshop. One such participant, Kelly Calderbank, while sharing his experience, admitted that he joined the workshop one week after its commencement.

He stated, “The experience has been both inspirational and rewarding for me. I felt surreal by having my items on display at the Expo.”