Mai'khi C'NiaAND IT came to pass that on the day of toil the people laboured in tandem and all across the land Jamdowners "tun dem han mek fashin" for indeed Jamdown's beauty was their duty. And all roads lead to the north coast for the national project at "Water Square," which was the town centre of historic Falmouth, to beautify the fountain centrepiece and its surroundings.
Dearly beloved, Jamdown life is choc full of disturbing ironies and verily I say to ye, the Labour Day Project in Falmouth is one such occurrence.
Behold, one and one-half decades ago a 1991 Mills Press Publication unveiled Jamdown's heritage as an untapped resource, and in that book it was written that Falmouth is a model Georgian town that was laid out in 1770 which is remarkably intact and unparalleled in the entire Caribbean Sea, and compares well with Colonial Williamsburg which is located in the State of Virginia in the land of the free.
HERITAGE ATTRACTIONS
Now this same Williamsburg is rated as one of creation's top heritage attractions, where over one million visitors per
year journey to appreciate
its Georgian architectural characteristics.
The study lamented the fact that Williamsburg which was reconstructed from architectural guesswork was the product
of lavish American federal diligence and spending, whilst Falmouth which hath retained its original buildings and is of superior authenticity hath been neglected and left to crumble in the dust by the Jamdown authorities.
Yea, the publication e'en outlined a comprehensive restoration proposal for Falmouth, in phases, complete with recommendations for the utilisation of space and properties, and a tour across the rock amalgamating other sites of similar architectural vintage which it aptly dubbed "The Heritage Trail."
Alas, nothing hath transpired in developing this unique product which would make Jamdown attractive to a particular segment of the creation-wide tourism market, give the people a larger slice of the tourism pie, and infuse expanded volumes of the tourism dollar directly into the Jamdown economy.
Hear O Madam Premiere, 'tis a noble thing for ye to spruce the town square, but were thou not haunted by the empty shells of debilitated buildings across the street staring thee in the face as thou toil all day? If thou art able to make the square magnetic in one day, how much of that languishing restoration proposal can thou muster over the next twelve months if thou apply similar zeal to implementing the project in time for Cricket World Cup?
Behold, herein lies an extraordinary opportunity to apply the concept of thinking outside the box in thy quest to enrich the lives of the people: The studies art complete, the community hath long been organised with a planning and oversight group in place, the usage of the buildings art identified and plans art drawn for their restoration thereof.
ADEQUATE FUNDING
Verily I say to ye, all that remains is to identify and access adequate funding and the administration's support by mobilising its appropriate agencies: the JTB to assist in developing the tourism concepts and marketing the product; TPDCo to train the people and sustain beautification efforts; the NHT to develop an appropriate funding scheme for the housing component of the product where private residences art to be restored or improved and offered as accommodations; and the UDC to transform the road network and the town's infra-structure to consistent quality.
Dedicate ye the resources of state to this project and thou wouldst render Trelawny truly worthy of the opening cere-mony of the Cricket World Cup in an ancillary manner of speaking and establish a model for other heritage locales across the rock to emulate. Selah.
