CATEGORY:TRAINING/DEVELOPMENT
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By Trevor Thwaites
Inside Grenada correspondent
Thursday November 30,2006


ST.GEORGE’S, Grenada - The Grenada Rural Enterprise Project (G-REP) has allocated $1million dollars to skills training, adult education, school nutritional programmes and technical and vocational training.

Its main aim is the eradication of poverty, by providing opportunities in a sustainable and equitable manner to rural households, especially women, offering them a chance to realize economic growth and development.

Coordinator Cisne Pascal says that training fulfills two of its mandates.
She listed them as: diversifying, improving and sustaining beneficiary income earning activities and strengthening capacity to build confidence at the rural community level.

Cisne said that skills training- a major part of capacity building and diversification of income activities, fall under community participation and support component, that is managed by Community and Mobilization Specialist Edward Fedee.

Ms Pascal said that under the sum allocated, skills training needs will be identified by the communities themselves and G-REP will then facilitate the sort of training that is required. She indicated that communities also demand that skills be useful, not just skills training for training sake. “The communities are our clients as G-REP is a demand given project. Whatever, the rural communities identify as their major need, G-REP is compelled at meeting certain limits of the course.”

G-REP recently completed a Hairdressing and Cosmetology and Small Business Training Course for nine participants. The Hairdressing and Cosmetology aspect was conducted by Ms Jenny Rapier of “A Cut Above”, one of the most recognized Hair Dressing Saloons in the country,

While the small business component, was provided by the Small Enterprise Development Unit of the Grenada Development Bank. G-REP, which began operations here two years ago, is expected to be around for six years with a budget of just over $2million. Funds are being provided by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and the Grenada Development Bank (GDB). Several other programmes will be undertaken.