SDC to showcase downtown Kgn manufacturers

The Social Development Commission (SDC) will be hosting its inaugural Downtown Home and Furnishing Fair tomorrow to showcase furniture makers and artisans from the downtown Kingston area.

The fair, which is being held in collaboration with the National Housing Trust, the Planning Institute of Jamaica, HEART Trust/NTA and private-sector entities, is slated to begin at 2 p.m. at Emancipation Park in New Kingston.

Attendees will be able to see more than 30 furniture, home decor, and accessory makers displaying their creative pieces as part of an effort to bring greater levels of exposure to the small manufacturers.

SDC Parish manager for Kingston and St Andrew, Sandra Goulbourne, outlined that the initiative is one that the entity is particularly excited about because of the opportunities for expansion and growth of the sector.

The selection of the venue, according to Goulbourne, was done strategically to provide the participants with a platform to network with residents as well as the hotel industry in the New Kingston business district.

The event will also target homeowners who are looking for locally made creative pieces to enhance their living spaces.

She indicated that the concept was born out of a prevalence of informal woodwork businesses in the downtown Kingston area, many of which are unregistered and unregulated.

GREAT POTENTIAL

"We decided that something had to be done to help address this, as many of the businesses have great potential, and, in some cases, there are even family-run entities with prospects for expansion," she explained.

Goulbourne pointed out that an event of this nature will be a big step in the right direction. With the growth in demand for employment, she indicated that there is a clear need for individuals to be able to create their own sustainable sources of income, which will inevitably contribute to the overall economic welfare of their communities and, by extension, Jamaica.

Building on the current initiative, the commission is expected to host the Kingston and St Andrew Business Expo on December 3, which will seek to display the work of other industry players, such as jewellery and craft makers and agro-processors.