Chinese government granted 1.4 million Jamaican dollars to the Peckham bamboo project

In May 2015, the People's Republic of China, through its Embassy in Jamaica, granted 1.4 million Jamaican dollars to the Peckham bamboo project. On 23 June 2015, the Chinese Ambassador, Dong Xiaojun, handed over the J$1.4 million to the North West Clarendon Member of Parliament, Richard Azan. The project was also financed by J$500,000 from the Caribbean Local Economic Development Project (CARILED), a program run by the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), and 130,000 USD from the Organization of American States (OAS). The Peckham Bamboo Project was implemented by the Clarendon Municipal Corporation under the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce’s Bamboo Products Industry Project (BPIP), with oversight from the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ). The purpose of the project was to create employment and entrepreneurial opportunities through bamboo cultivation, usage, training, and production of bamboo by-products. The Chinese grant was used to acquire a state-of-the-art kiln for bamboo charcoal production. A commencement ceremony occurred on May 28, 2015, and the project was completed in 2018. Bamboo investment interest is still ongoing in the Clarendon region. Aspects of the project include training in bamboo cultivation and by-product manufacturing methodologies and techniques, tissue culture research, supporting the development of a bamboo policy framework, facilitating organic certification of bamboo farms, and establishing a pre-processing plant.

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