Claudia Gardner, Hospitality Jamaica Writer

The Hanover-based environmental non-government organisation, The Dolphin Head Trust (DHT) will commence distribution of its Bliss Bamboo line of products to the island's tourist industry by September, says the Trust's executive director Paula Hurlock.

Bamboo Bliss furniture on display at the elegant Tryall Hotel in Hanover.

"We intend to very shortly have one or two outlets - one in Montego Bay and one in Kingston - exclusively carrying our products, because we don't have a lot of capacity to manage distribution all over the island," said Ms. Hurlock.

Bliss Bamboo products are manufactured at the Dolphin Head Bamboo Conversion and Utilization Facility at Dundee Pen in Hanover with support from the Embassy of Japan and the Environmental Foundation of Jamaica (EFJ). Currently, the facility's 10 line staff members produce plant holders, curtain rods, coffee tables, side tables, loveseats, armchairs, throne chairs and small craft items such as rainmakers, vases, wall hangs and incense holders.

supporting the product

"Some hotels in Negril have taken orders from us as well as the Spanish chains in Montego Bay and St. Ann. The Fiesta Hotel Group has also committed to supporting the product, so we have informally discussed that prospect," Ms. Hurlock said.

"We are definitely going to develop a line of products for the local craft industry, and of course the Montego Bay airport craft shops, because we will have to be able to have a mixture of products, both large and small, to be able to keep our cash flow going.

The trust estimates that it can earn an average of $600 per month if external forces such as drought and fires do not affect its manufacturing capabilities.

"We are not going to concentrate too much on custom furnishing because it is too time-consuming. Although the Bliss Bamboo line will be targeting the local market, if the hotel industry is interested we will definitely be able to supply them but those would naturally have to be special orders," she said.

The DHT is also establishing a partnership with bamboo furniture manufacturers Kleasion Group of the French-speaking Caribbean island of Guadeloupe.

"Their (Kleison's) market is going to be Europe because Guadeloupe is a French colony, and therefore we would be moving our products between Jamaica and Guadeloupe," Ms Hurlock explained. "Part of the cooperation we have now is going to be assessing the feasibility and working out the details of the arrangement as to whether we are going to be a product of Jamaica or a product of Guadeloupe. Those little details are still being worked out."

She hopes to be able to use that same channel for the Bliss Bamboo products, which she says has the potential to enter the European market very shortly.