The rise of cruise tourism in Belize has spawned hundreds of so-called cottage industries with wood carvers, musicians, vendors and hustlers of all types cashing in. But for the most part those Belizeans are still on the periphery of the industry, still only gathering the crumbs from the cruise tourism pie. The change that crumbs to at least the crust, last September the IDB signed an agreement with the Belize Tourism Board and the Belize Tourism Industry Association for a "improving small business competitiveness in the tourism industry" project. Four months later another step was taken. Keith Swift found out more.
Keith Swift Reporting,
What do these Hot Mama Pepper Sauces and these cups made out of cured bamboo have in common? They are both made in Belize, both made by small entrepreneurs, and both marketed for tourists. Wilina Oldham blends her gourmet pepper sauces inside her kitchen in Cayo.
Wilina Oldham, Hot Mama
"Hot Mamas is made up in the Cayo District. We're on the Western Highway between Belmopan and San Ignacio at Pepperland, that's the name of our farm and its local products, its all made in Belize, and what we try to do is buy everything from the farmers locally. So we've got a few gourmet products, the sauces, and then we have regular hot sauces as well and we have jelly; just a few things to keep it hot."
And from Hot Mama's Kitchen in Cayo to Ras-I Gabourel's workshop in Gracie Rock Village and his bamboo creations.
Ras-I Gabourel,
"I live in Gracie Rock Village and I make most of my stuff in Gracie Rock, mostly everything I do is bamboo work. I've been wronging with bamboo for four years now in Belize."
Ras-I Gabourel and Hot Mama are two of the 600 small businesses in the tourism industry which will benefit from a memorandum signed this morning between the Tourism Board, Belize City Council, and the Belize Business Bureau. Just over BZ$1.5 million will be spent over the next three years and the project manager's Deanna Peyrefitte says that money will go to helping these small entrepreneurs technically, not financially.
Deanna Peyrefitte, Project Manager
"How this project will help is we'll have consultants who will actually go into the small businesses, of course with their permission and their involvement, and actually evaluate what is their strength and weaknesses and provide an outline a marketing and business plan of what they need to do to improve. So from there we'll have those who are willing and able to provide technical assistance, more tailored technical assistance. So it's really a project to provide technical assistance. What we're aiming at is improving the product, the quality of the products that are being produced by the small businesses."
Director of Tourism Tracy Panton says the assistance is needed to raise the bar for the "Made in Belize" brand.
Tracy Panton, BTB Director
"I think a lot of people come and want to take back a little piece of something from the country that they visit, you know some people buy things that are marked Belize but made somewhere else. So we want to promote that there are opportunities in tourism for our artisans and this is one way of doing it."
If you are a small business interested in the project, you need to have ten employees or less, assets need to be valued at $60,000 or less, and the gross annual sales must tally under $240,000. Those interested can contact the Belize Tourism Industry Association.
