Glenford Bennett has been spinning trash into treasure for more than three decades and would love to pass on his craft-making skills to the next generation, but try as he might, he cannot beat the lure of a gun, which has been more successful in grabbing the interest of the youth around him.
The Trench Town-based craftsman is disappointed with what he observes as the youth abandoning their creative talents for a life of crime.
Speaking with The Gleaner from his 23 Third Street shop in the Kingston community on Monday, Bennett said finding a protégé or an apprentice was no easy feat. He worried that with the knowledge not passed on to the next generation, the craft could become extinct.
Fisherman Shawn Castell (second left) is presented with an igloo and fishing equipment by Jamaica Social Investment Fund Managing Director Omar Sweeney (right) yesterday as Industry, Commerce and Investment Minister Audley Shaw (left) and St Andrew South Western Member of Parliament Dr Angela Brown Burke look on.
Shawn Castell was a picture of fulfilment as he spoke to The Gleaner yesterday shortly after he was presented with a marine Igloo, a length of rope, and a variety of other fishing equipment.
“I will be able to upgrade my fishing business by building a deeper net,” he said. “I fish with a small net now, so this will prepare me for the Easter coming.”