Bluefields, Jamaica: Community Food Cooperative
Donation protected
The good people of Bluefields kindly request your assistance in developing a Food Cooperative to provide relief for raising prices on groceries in Jamaica. Times are hard and the pandemic has put a squeeze on tourism throughout the region. These kind and courteous hosts to our vacations are struggling to put food on their tables. I ask you to consider how you can give back.
"After the start that you are graciously granting us. We will make sure to sustain it for many generations to come. Thanks for your partnership...
...One unconditional love every time."
- Wolde Kristos (WK)
Our mission is to provide a range of community development projects and programs to the people of Bluefields and its environs in harmony with the natural environment.
Our vision is to become the leading community in Jamaica and the wider Caribbean.
The immediate goal is to build a Food Cooperative that will purchase groceries at whole sale prices from larger marketplaces then transport and distribute it to locals at lower cost wholesale prices. The funds for this project will go towards renting and facilitating the lower cost market in the Bluefields settlement as well as the permits and transportation costs required to maintain its business operations. The hope is that we can raise $5000 as quickly as possible. We hope to get there in record time and will provide updates as regularly as we can.
Since the global Covid-19 Pandemic was declared in early 2020, the travel industry has been severely impacted. Jamaica reported a 62.5 percent decline or 623,260 tourists in seven months of 2020. Last year, in the same period, Jamaica reported over 1.6 million visitors. This means that the people have lost their primary source of income. Being an island the result is a major wave of price inflation around basic goods. The cost of basic household staples like tomatoes and peppers have tripled in price. In rural communities that may rely on sustainable farming and small markets these inflated prices have left families unable to provide adequate nourishment to maintain the communal health to outlast the threat of Covid-19.
Bluefields settlement is one of these communities. Bluefields is located 30 minutes drive South of Negril. Many of the locals rely on the tourism from cities like Negril and Montego Bay to provide their household income. Fortunate for this community is the presence of leaders who have led several successful initiatives in the past to not only improve the lives of the local citizens but a dedication to preserve the fragile environment that makes Jamaica special. The same leaders who have provided labor and resources for locals to achieve better residence living conditions, basic computer skills and the coral rebuilding projects at the Bluefields Bay Fishermen's Friendly Society are asking now for help to build a Food Cooperative.
"We in Bluefields Bay Westmoreland Jamaica have been helping ourselves since l988. We have been working on four pillars since then.
They are:
1. Education for all. (Kindergarten to tertiary and skill training).
2. Food for all (sustainable fishery and organic farming)
3. Jobs for all (Hospitality Development and sustainability)
4. And the protection of our resources (human, natural, cultural, environmental)."
- WK
As a personal friend to several of the Bluefields community members, I can't tell you how much I personally appreciate your consideration to help out these local leaders that strive to help their communities after spending a majority of their professional lives eagerly welcoming visitors from around the world. Jamaica, Bluefields and the hospitality they provide to the rest of the world are a member of the world community and ask you assistance in helping them through these difficult times. If you have any questions about details that I can offer feel free to write me a personal note so I can align you more closely with this small humanitarian effort.
Thank you,
Seann
"After the start that you are graciously granting us. We will make sure to sustain it for many generations to come. Thanks for your partnership...
...One unconditional love every time."
- Wolde Kristos (WK)
Our mission is to provide a range of community development projects and programs to the people of Bluefields and its environs in harmony with the natural environment.
Our vision is to become the leading community in Jamaica and the wider Caribbean.
The immediate goal is to build a Food Cooperative that will purchase groceries at whole sale prices from larger marketplaces then transport and distribute it to locals at lower cost wholesale prices. The funds for this project will go towards renting and facilitating the lower cost market in the Bluefields settlement as well as the permits and transportation costs required to maintain its business operations. The hope is that we can raise $5000 as quickly as possible. We hope to get there in record time and will provide updates as regularly as we can.
Since the global Covid-19 Pandemic was declared in early 2020, the travel industry has been severely impacted. Jamaica reported a 62.5 percent decline or 623,260 tourists in seven months of 2020. Last year, in the same period, Jamaica reported over 1.6 million visitors. This means that the people have lost their primary source of income. Being an island the result is a major wave of price inflation around basic goods. The cost of basic household staples like tomatoes and peppers have tripled in price. In rural communities that may rely on sustainable farming and small markets these inflated prices have left families unable to provide adequate nourishment to maintain the communal health to outlast the threat of Covid-19.
Bluefields settlement is one of these communities. Bluefields is located 30 minutes drive South of Negril. Many of the locals rely on the tourism from cities like Negril and Montego Bay to provide their household income. Fortunate for this community is the presence of leaders who have led several successful initiatives in the past to not only improve the lives of the local citizens but a dedication to preserve the fragile environment that makes Jamaica special. The same leaders who have provided labor and resources for locals to achieve better residence living conditions, basic computer skills and the coral rebuilding projects at the Bluefields Bay Fishermen's Friendly Society are asking now for help to build a Food Cooperative.
"We in Bluefields Bay Westmoreland Jamaica have been helping ourselves since l988. We have been working on four pillars since then.
They are:
1. Education for all. (Kindergarten to tertiary and skill training).
2. Food for all (sustainable fishery and organic farming)
3. Jobs for all (Hospitality Development and sustainability)
4. And the protection of our resources (human, natural, cultural, environmental)."
- WK
As a personal friend to several of the Bluefields community members, I can't tell you how much I personally appreciate your consideration to help out these local leaders that strive to help their communities after spending a majority of their professional lives eagerly welcoming visitors from around the world. Jamaica, Bluefields and the hospitality they provide to the rest of the world are a member of the world community and ask you assistance in helping them through these difficult times. If you have any questions about details that I can offer feel free to write me a personal note so I can align you more closely with this small humanitarian effort.
Thank you,
Seann
Organizer
Seann Maria
Organizer
Snohomish, WA