TREASURES DOWN SOUTH
My mother could never tell me what caused a fever, but somehow she always had the cure. In my dizzying, drooping
stage of sickness I watched her hands move around my face; down my neck and felt them wipe the illness off my back.
I thought my mother was a magician, and ever since I have loved her hands, in fact I felt hands had the magic that
eyes, used ever so often in poems never had; that words as liberating as Martin Luther King Jnr’s were no match to the
careful way hands could heal, start an embrace, lift a drooping head, a falling body and could steady an anxious heart.
The women of the Treasure Beach Women’s Group have the same magic, their hands moving in rapid ways, while their
eyes wander to the nearby sea in a reminiscing way that al-
lowed them to flow even faster, was it memories of a happier
time? A trying day or the powerful way nature could place
us in a trance, creating a rhythm that is somewhat incompre-
hensible. The end product, a basket.
Their hands have produced beauty in many other forms of
craft; earrings, T-shirts, jewellery boxes that all served the same
purpose but represented in many ways – to match a feel-
ing, personality or pay homage to their calm, quiet Treasure
Beach community. I noticed a painting propped up carefully
at the back of a shelf, a man sitting in a boat in the middle
of a river; the water was the right shade of grey-white, and
the grass a deep green that you can only find on the virgin
mountainside
“Who’s the photographer?” I asked Celeste, one of the lead-
ing women at the Treasure Beach Women’s Group.
Celeste of the Treasure Beach Women’s Group showing off the gift shop
“It’s actually a painting by one of our mentors Rebecca” She said
These women have realized the power in their hands, they speak highly of their community and women’s group – a
sisterhood that has managed to break down gender barriers by showcasing their entrepreneurial skills. They are mothers,
sisters and wives that have stepped outside their comfort zone to show off their strength, often proven by the depth with
which they speak and the hearty way they cackle at a joke. They place their soul in everything – the craft, their homes
and businesses. Even those who don’t exude the same confidence and outgoing personality, once they start telling their
story show the strength of a woman.
These women are also helping to transform community tourism in Treasure Beach; they have participated in our tour
guide trainings, craft workshops and have established bed and breakfast businesses that have the appeal of a small
close knit community. Let us continue to support those who have a vested interest in community development and
have realized that tourism has the ability to improve the lives of Jamaican people.
No wonder Vogue Brazil chose them to be featured in their October publication!
The women relaxing inbetween their interviews
with Vogue Brazil