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The medicine quinine is taken from the cinchona tree grown in Jamaica. The value of quinine in the treatment of malaria fever was known to the Indians of Peru and other American countries from earlier times. It was noticed by the Europeans in 1638 when it cured the Countess Cinchon. The plant was then named in her honour. |
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Discover the inherent charm of villages with names like Standfast, Wait-A-Bit, Me-nuh-sen-yu-nuh-come, or Nonsuch |
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Resort Areas
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| | Montego Bay |
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Walker's Wood |
| Within the lush, Tolkienesque hills of the parish of St. Ann, is one of the most remarkable communities on the whole island. The village of Walker's Wood, marked by a tiny explosion of brightly coloured buildings along the main highway, stands as a shining example of how localized grassroots organizations can make or break the future of a community in transition.
In the 1970s, faced with poverty, a lack of basic amenities, gross unemployment and constant migration of the area's young people to Kingston, residents of the village banded together to form the Walker’s Wood Village Council, a group made up of nearly fifty representatives from local churches, schools, farms and other organizations in the area. Recognizing that one main root of all the community’s problems was the lack of employment opportunities in the area, the Council first set out to create a sustainable income-generating operation, and from this thrust, the Walkerswood Caribbean Foods Company was born.
Today, Walkerswood is best known locally and internationally for a line of seasoning, spices and condiments produced almost completely using local Jamaican ingredients, which are also supplied predominantly by farmers in the community. The employee-owned company is a model for community initiative, since over the years it has created for itself a niche in the gourmet foods market, while at the same time providing the community within which it operates with income, stability, and most importantly, a future.
The spice factory is only one success of the Council; to its credit the group has also organized construction of a multi-purpose community centre, construction of the Walker’s Wood Post Office, and is now working with an international development agency on the Coastal Water Improvement Project, which helps to educate farmers on how to develop and operate environmentally friendly farms.
In all, the beauty of the character of the community in Walker's Wood is seconded only by the physical surroundings; where rolling, verdant hills meet brilliant aqua skies there is nothing but serenity, co-operation, and a strong independent spirit that is uniquely Jamaican. |
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