Catadupa residents welcome new community heritage tours initiative
Published:Saturday | July 20, 2024 | 12:08 AMChristopher Thomas/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
The Catadupa community in St James, which has suffered years-long economic decline despite being the home of National Hero Samuel Sharpe, is set to experience a resurrection in the coming days, following Wednesday’s official launch of the Catadupa Heritage and Eco Tours initiative.
Residents of Catadupa hailed the programme, which was spearheaded by the Tourism Product Development Company [TPDCo], as a much-needed booster for Catadupa, a farming community 22 miles from Montego Bay which fell into decline after its local railway service was formally discontinued in 1992.
Prior to that closure, the railway served as a major economic lifeline for the area, through which tourists passed by train along the way to the Appleton Estate in St Elizabeth.
Pauline Graham, a 70 year-old seamstress and resident of Catadupa, recounted how she and other dressmakers and shop owners in the area prospered from tourists’ visits to the community in the heyday of the railway system, prior to its closure.
“I am feeling very great and excited and happy about this launch, because we used to have the tourists pass by over the years, and I was one of the vendors back when the train used to run out there, and it was so good for us. We could go out and put on our pots and depend on the train to come in order to make some money. And the shopkeepers and everybody else could depend on it, and, from it stopped running, things have been breaking down,” said Graham.
Dorret Salkey, the proprietor of Catadupa’s local Railway Dutchie bar, was equally ecstatic about the fresh attention being given to Catadupa’s potential revival via the new community tour initiative.
“Wednesday’s event was good, and I am happy about it, and I can’t wait for it to kick off. You have people here, especially those in the tourist business from the days of the train, who are not working, and they still have their carvings and other stuff. So this initiative would really help,” said Salkey. “It would even help me, because business is very slow now. We could make a little sale at the bar, because, once people are waiting and the tourists are shopping, they will have a drink. And I also cook for the tourists whenever they come, so it will help me a great deal.”
The Catadupa Heritage and Eco Tours event, which is slated to be held every other Wednesday, with the next one scheduled for July 31, is geared toward celebrating the area’s historical significance, including its connection to Samuel Sharpe, who was born in the Catadupa Mountains and played a pivotal role in the Emancipation War of 1831-32.
The tour’s offerings include views of the community’s natural forested landscape, cultural performances, and locally prepared food.
Catadupa’s recorded history dates as far back as 1794 when it was the property of slave owner Nicholas Trout. The nearby Croydon in the Mountains Plantation, where Samuel Sharpe was born approximately 14 years earlier, was a local tourist attraction before being shut down because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
During Wednesday’s launch, Homer Davis, minister without portfolio in the Office of the Prime Minister and the member of parliament for St James Southern where Catadupa is located, hailed the community’s potential for growth through the tour programme, which has been in development under the TPDCo since 2022.
“The launch of this heritage tour could not happen at a better time, with the boom in tourism and the increasing demand for rural and heritage attractions. It’s not all about the hotels, because, to truly experience Jamaica and its culture, you have to visit areas like Catadupa,” said Davis.
“I am committed to this initiative and will continue to advocate for its success. Maintaining economic buoyancy in Catadupa is crucial to preventing a rural drift to urban centres. This project offers a pathway to community economic stability,” Davis continued.
Meanwhile, Claudette Glegg, the chairman of the Catadupa Tourism Cluster, pointed out that the heritage tour will make full use of Samuel Sharpe’s legacy in the area.
“Our vision is actually to capitalise on the rich legacy of the Right Excellent Samuel Sharpe and, as such, the community will be impacted in terms of empowerment. Unemployment is very high in the community, and the people are talented with their craft items. So that is a segment of the tour where persons will be able to purchase things,” said Glegg.
“We will also be visiting our history of Sam Sharpe in different areas that we have in the community. This is the reason for the pushing of this initiative to be realised, so the town can awaken.”