Nevis, West Indies. ?A Non-Tourist-Trap? Blog About Nevis.

Rural Tourism Participants Sell Lemonade

Basseterre, St. Kitts – Nevis
June 07, 2012 (SKNIS)

Participants from the Rural Tourism Business Lab workshop hit the streets of Basseterre during the lunch hour on Wednesday to get a sense of selling products and what it is like to interface with customers.

Five groups offered raffle tickets; balloons and greeting cards; jam and honey; and lemonade; as well as carrot juice and tea leaves for sale, to test what they have learnt in the classroom while benefitting a worthy cause.

Course participants Vieda Mills, a Youth Development Officer in Nevis and Jamie Phillip of the Ministry of International Trade in St. Kitts, told SKNIS that while recruiting registrants to undergo the training they became intrigued with the project.

“In the future I would like to open my own business so I thought why not give it a shot and [attend] the training,” Ms. Mills stated.

Phillip had a similar story. “I think I was the first person to sign up because on the first day when the registration forms arrived I said I want to get on this course.” He got the blessing of his supervisors and is now fully engaged in the June 04 to 08 workshop being facilitated by Rina Yaffe and David Slyper of MASHAV – Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation.

The trainers are presenting on issues such as how to plan and start a business, marketing, sales, product development, time management and creativity. Very useful information for Mr. Phillip.

“Presently, I have a pastry and bread making part-time business,” he revealed. “So this is just a step in the direction of actually having a full-time business.”

Dion Browne and Edecia Richards are both unemployed. Browne is working to launch a catering service in the near future while Richards is seeking employment. The young persons praised the facilitators and organizers and were grateful for the new experiences.

“It’s wonderful and amazing,” Browne expressed, as he proudly boasted of the sales his group had.

Richards stated that the lessons learnt will help her to be a better employee. “The skills I have attained at this workshop, I can take them and practice … in the workplace which means I will be more productive and valuable to the company,” she disclosed, referring to the sessions on time management and efficiency.

All proceeds from Wednesday’s activity will be donated to local charitable causes.

The workshop is coordinated by the local Organization of American States (OAS) office in collaboration with the Young Americas Business Trust, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Israel and the Departments of Youth in St. Kitts and Nevis. Other partners include the St. Kitts-Nevis Development Bank, United Nations Development Programme, the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank, Chamber of Industry and Commerce, University of the West Indies Open Campus, Clarence Fitzroy Bryant College, the Ripple Institute and the Ministry of International Trade.

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St. Kitts – Nevis’ Tourism Minister – Richard Skerritt
Photo By Erasmus Williams

Basseterre, St. Kitts – Nevis
June 05, 2012 (CUOPM)

St. Kitts and Nevis’ Minister of Tourism, Sen. the Hon. Richard “Ricky” Skerritt, is among more than a dozen ministers of government, including a premier and a chief minister from the Caribbean in New York City for the second annual Invest Caribbean Now Power Forum.

The investment breakfast, a partnership between digital media company, Hard Beat Communications and the Caribbean Tourism Organization, the regional tourism arm, is set for the Marriott Marquis in Times Square New York City on June 6th from 7:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.

Besides, Mr. Skerritt, who is also the Chairman of the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) are the Hon. Dr. Daniel Orlando Smith, OBE, Premier and Minister of Finance and Tourism of the British Virgin Islands; Chief Minister Government of Anguilla, Minister of Finance, Economic Development, Investment, Commerce & Tourism, Hon. Hubert Hughes; Minister of Business Development and Tourism of Bermuda, Hon. Wayne Furbert; Minister of Tourism & Civil Aviation of The Bahamas, Hon. Obe Wilchcombe; Minister of Tourism, Sports and Culture of St. Vincent & Grenadines, Hon. Cecil Mckie; Minister of Tourism of St. Maarten, Hon. Romeo Pantophlet; Minister of Ministry of State of Jamaica, Hon. Damion Crawford; Minister of Tourism, Heritage, Culture and Creative Industries of St. Lucia, Hon. Lorne Theophilus; Minister of Tourism of Trinidad and Tobago, Hon. Rupert Theophilus Griffith; Minister of Tourism of Haiti, His Excellency Stephanie Balmir-Villedrouin;  Minister of Tourism & Civil Aviation of Grenada, Hon. Dr. George Vincent; Acting Minister of Tourism of Guyana, His Excellency Irfaan Ali; Luis Gerardo Rivera Marin, current Executive Director of the Puerto Rico Tourism Company and Alain Richardson, President of the Collectivity of St. Martin.

Invest Caribbean Now 2012 panellists are Jonathan S. Blue, Chairman & Managing Director, Blue Equity, LLC. and CEO of Cool Petroleum; Jay Yeo, President, Solamon Energy Corp.; Lisa Lake, Chief Development Director, Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship – Caribbean; Jean Arnell, vice president of the French Saint Martin Chamber of Commerce and Hon. Minister of St. Kitts and CTO Chairman, Ricky Skerritt.

Organizers of Invest Caribbean Now 2012 will also honour world renowned business leader, Sir Richard Branson with the 2012 Leadership Award for his commitment to the Caribbean via the launch of his Branson Center of Entrepreneurship – Caribbean.

The forum comes as Chinese investment in the Caribbean continues to boom in this free trade emerging market economy that is politically stable and boosts a highly literate work force and an established tourism market, and which the International Monetary Fund and World Bank forecast will see a 3.5 percent growth into 2013, higher than the economies of Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and similar to those of East Asia.

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OAS Director – Starret Greene
Photo By Erasmus Williams

Basseterre, St. Kitts – Nevis
June 04, 2012 (CUOPM)

Thirty participants attending a Rural Tourism Business Lab Course have the opportunity to learn a number of tools such as inter-personal skills, leadership and networking, training and experience, strategic alliances and the application of technological resources in business development.

So says OAS Representative in St. Kitts and Nevis, Mr. Starret Greene, who indicated that the Young Americas Business Trust (YABT) through the UNDP Youth – In Program, was eager to invest in the future of the youth in St. Kitts and Nevis.

The OAS Diplomat said that a flourishing group of young entrepreneurs had the potential to increase employment for young persons who were unemployed, create wealth in the economy, help sustain economic growth and development, through the expansion of the productive sector, and attract and motivate other young people, to establish their own businesses.

The Course is sponsored by the Young Americas Business Trust (YABT), which is an affiliate of the Organization of American States (OAS). Sponsorship of the Course is also in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

In addition, local stakeholders, to include the Development Bank of St. Kitts and Nevis, the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of St. Kitts and Nevis, the Clarence Fitzroy Bryant College, the Ripple Institute, the Ministry of Youth Empowerment, the Ministry of Education and Information, the Ministry of Tourism and International Transport and the Ministry of International Trade, have all joined forces in providing tangible support for the Course.

Ten participants from Nevis and 20 from St. Kitts, ranging between the ages of 16-35, the main goal of the Course is to advance the development of the next generation of entrepreneurs in St. Kitts and Nevis.

It will also build on previous and current programmes, projects, activities and initiatives in the area of entrepreneurship, with a view to foster a spirit of entrepreneurship among young people in St. Kitts and Nevis.

The Course ends on Friday, June 8, 2012, with a closing ceremony that will feature participants making presentations to local experts in Tourism, Small Business Development and Financial Services.

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