A cornerstone project of the Dolphin Head Trust is the Bamboo Conversion and Utilization Facility - an initiative to provide women and youth in the Dolphin Head area with alternatives to environmentally destructive activities, while laying the foundation for re-forestation efforts.

The objectives of the conversion and utilization facility include:

• improving and diversifying the economic base of the local buffer communities

• stemming environmentally deleterious activities being carried out by members of the buffer communities by providing viable alternatives for income generation and

• generating enough income to continue conservation activities in the project area in future

The Challenge

Jamaicans have always maintained a close relationship with the natural environment. In fact, a substantial portion of the Jamaican economy is derived from agriculture. In recent years, however, the rise of rural poverty and loss of arrable lands has pushed community members to the forests for their livelihood. This is due much in part to a shortage of formal employment opportunities throughout the parish, and further propelled by a low level of educational attainment.

Activities include forest clearance and burning of forest margins for agriculture; structural degradation of forest interior resulting from logging, extraction of non-timber forest products, and progressive shifting cultivation.The cumulative effect of this trend is loss of native forest canopy-cover, encroachment of invasive species (such as bamboo), and isolation of forest blocks.

The Solution

To protect the diverse habitats in the Dolphin Head region, the Trust has generated broad community support for conservation, by creating a nucleus of economic activity – outside the boundaries of the forest interior – which draws upon existing skills of resource users. A central component of the Trust's strategy was the establishment of the Bamboo Conversion and Utilization project which utilizes an abundance of bamboo resources to create crafts and furniture, provide training and employment for women and youth – while decreasing its invasive effect in the Dolphin Head area.

Since its launch, the Bamboo Conversion and Utilization facility has developed the Bliss Bamboo furniture and accessory line, which reflects the creative nature of the area’s residents.  Bliss Bamboo boasts over 15 furniture designs, 10 bamboo weaving options, and 6 unique finishes.   To view more pictures of products currently being produced by the Bamboo Conversion Facility, click here.