Community Craft Centres – Grenada

1. Community Craft Centres – Grenada Stakeholder Consultations - Phase 2

2. Craft Marketing & Development • New approach: encompasses Grenada’s natural, cultural and historic features by integrating popular tourist sites and attractions with rural craft marketing facilities • Opportunities include: markets and distribution channels, employment in rural sectors, linkages to community tourism • Challenges include: applying a business-orientation to the crafts sector, new promotional strategies and a new institutional approach

3. Overall Objective • Transform Grenada’s “cottage industry” model of craft production into a vibrant and integrated entrepreneurial venture by linking the crafts sector more closely with Grenada’s diversified tourism product, which includes nature, heritage, culture, marine and community tourism niches • Provide opportunities for craft producers to diversify their products to meet the demands of the different tourism segments

4. Characteristics • Market-oriented model will be self sustaining and able to service local market demand as well as participating in export markets

5. Step 1: Social Profile • Who are the producers? their products? what are their needs? • Predominantly women living in rural areas, working part-time weaving spice baskets • Create rural employment and improve the livelihood of families marginalized by the downturn in the agricultural sector

6. Social Profile (con’t) • Area of concern: shrinking pool of producers, not attractive to the youth • Solution: make crafts an attractive venture with real economic benefits, more producers and the youth will be attracted • Develop an “artisan model” for crafts that features a key artisan, with a recognized reputation, who then fosters a group of apprentices

7. Step 2: Market supply & demand • Craft sector follows trends in the tourism industry – production expands when demand is high and contracts during periods of decline • Areas of concern: fragmentation in the supply and demand structures • Little attempt to align product specialization with market segmentation

8. Market supply • Producers don’t tend to produce ranges of products for specific market segments (cruise, marine, eco-tourists, stay-over visitors, returning residents, etc.) • Produce simple items at low cost, little investment, that sell quickly and cheaply

9. Market demand • Retail outlets and vendors forced to import crafts • There is a demand for genuine, locally produced crafts, for each segment: • Retail: Stay-over visitors (58%), local sales (30%), cruise passengers (12%) • Cruise tourists: important for rural communities, take tours, purchase on-site, authentic items made by local producers from indigenous materials

10. Step 3: Sites and Attractions • Grenada has an excellent tourism product (tours and attractions) • One in three visitors take a tour to visit sites and attractions • Need to improve the management of these sites to maximize the benefits from the different tourism segments

11. Sites and Attractions (con’t) • Potential for the crafts sector: develop sales and marketing facilities on location at sites and attractions • Potential for strengthening the attractions to enhance the natural, heritage, cultural and community tourism

12. Step 4: Government Strategy • Government has targeted tourism in its economic strategy, encouraging growth in the sector: • New cruise ship terminal, increased hotel rooms, assisting small hotel sector; privatizing sites and attractions • Expand the benefits into rural areas by developing villages and towns into cottage industries or craft centres

13. Step 5: Best Practices • Successful arts and crafts initiatives in the Caribbean: Barbados, Jamaica, St. Lucia, Dominica • Asia: collaboration among local producers, NGOs, “fair trade” organizations, between local and foreign firms • Innovative arrangements between artisans and buyers establishing distribution channels, providing training, using the Internet, etc.

14. Step 6: Craft Development Strategy • Formulated from: (a) employment and income needs in rural areas • (b) a healthy market demand supplied by touring visitors • (c) outstanding sites and attractions, and • (d) the Government’s desire to diversify the tourism product

15. A. Arts and crafts initiative • Suited to Grenada’s unique brand of tourism: natural, historical, and cultural features, small hotels and guest houses • Main elements: a business orientation; marketing and promotion strategies; and an effective institutional structure • Market-oriented model: self sustaining, able to service local market as well as export markets

16. B. Sites and attractions strategy • Promotion of sites and attractions strategy along with an arts and craftsis a new approach to crafts development • Enhance the unique offerings of Grenada’s tourism: natural ecology, historical sites, cultural heritage, and marine and community tourism • Strengthen management and promotion of the attractions sector

17. C. Community tourism strategy • The linkages between sitesand attractions and crafts will be integrated into a community tourism strategy • Strengthen management of both the crafts and sites initiatives, rural areas will gain significant benefits from the tourism sector (income and employment)

18. Step 7: Select Craft/Tourism Sites • Dougaldston Spice Factory • Grand Etang • River Antoine Rum Distillery  Belmont  La Sagesse  Annadale Falls

19. Other possible sites Production Sites: • Marquis/Soubise • Vendome Possibile Sites: • Bathway/Levera • Hillsborough

20. Part 2 - Community Assessment Defining the capacity requirements needed to support the project

21. Craft Initiative (committee) Craft marketing strategy Sites and Attractions (committee) Sites and promotion strategy Local committees for each site:

22. Proposed project structure

23. Craft Marketing Strategy

24. Operational Structure