JBDC Hosts Three-Part Lecture Series To Stimulate Textile Sector

The Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC) will be hosting a virtual three-part lecture series in June, under the theme ‘Festival of the Cloth –Conversations Across Continents, Cultural Retention and Mergers in Products and Processes’.

Chief Executive Officer, JBDC, Valerie Veira, said the initiative is a part of the organisation’s efforts to stimulate the textile ecosystem and to encourage local designers in the fashion and gift & craft sectors to revive local textile production at a sustainable and commercially viable level.

“We are encouraging small and large-scale production of batik/tie and dye for domestic uses and exportation, as well as to promote the use of Jamaican fabrics with Jamaican patterns/motifs. It will enhance the creative micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) sector and entrepreneurship, particularly among designers and producers of fashion, textiles and accessories,” she explained.

The virtual sessions will be held on June 16, 23 and 30, featuring Jamaican and Nigerian experts.

On June 16, the focus will be ‘The Spirit of Culture – Manifestation in Textile Designs and Accessories’. The series will then zoom in on ‘Jamaican Hands and Hearts – Encircling the Cradle of Brand Jamaica’, on June 23, and conclude on June 30 with the theme ‘Moving Forward – Adine in a Yabba’.

Over the past two years, the JBDC has benefited from the Nigerian Technical Assistance Cooperation (TAC) programme, where two Nigerian experts were assigned to JBDC to impart new techniques impacting the fashion and gift and craft sectors.

The intervention saw more than 50 Jamaican artisans and designers attaining new skills in chasing and repoussé, beading and fabric print using batik.

“As a continuation of the programme, a more in-depth textile programme is being proposed to develop a sustainable and commercially viable textile printing sector in Jamaica. This programme will seek to transform the skills learnt to create and perpetuate unique Jamaican designs and identity in hand-printed fabrics that will tell our stories and preserve our culture,” Miss Veira added.

Persons interested in participating in the sessions can visit the JBDC website (www.jbdc.net) to register.

The JBDC is the Government’s premier business development agency, established in April 2001 to assist in the sustainable creation and development of MSMEs in Jamaica.