COMMENTARY: Made in Dominica

To prosper Dominica desperately needs to put into practice these three elusive words: MADE IN DOMINICA!

Small businesses are currently in vogue but my approach to the challenge of creating employment focuses on initiative rather than funding. During the course of my life I have personally known eight entrepreneurs who became millionaires. Not one of these individuals had a college education and they all started without a penny to their name. The billionaire Richard Branson is a case in point. I have also known scores of highly skilled craftsmen, from blacksmiths to musical instrument makers. None made a fortune but each had a rewarding and independent lifestyle.

Innovation is born out of necessity. To practice what I preach the following is an account of a product developed entirely from Dominica’s natural resources.

My work as a painter requires fine art paper that I purchase at great expense from specialist manufacturers in Europe. While the quality cannot be faulted the papers seldom meet my personal requirements. The paintings in my series Daughters of the Caribbean Sun extol the beauty of the islanders and I want the paper upon which they are painted to speak of the islands of their birth.

Hence, the development of fine quality papers handmade in Dominica from the island’s abundant natural resources. Skills and processes that date back to the 16th century, together with pure river water, tropical sunshine and flora rich in cellulose fibres: sugarcane bagasse, banana stems, pineapple leaves, exotic grasses, palm fronds and bamboo, go into the making of a collection of papers that are unique in colour and texture.

The process is high on skill but low on capital. The ingredients grow in profusion on my doorstep and the equipment has been made in my own workshop. I have just completed the experimental stage with sheet sizes 14” x 17”. The next step is to design more sophisticated equipment that will enhance quality and efficiency. The improvements will also enable me to process a wider range of raw materials and produce larger sheet sizes.

In addition to flora with paper making potential that currently grows in Dominica, there is a tree that could be advantageously introduced. Some of the finest paper in the world is made from the inner bark of the Paper Mulberry tree (Broussonetia papyrifera). The tree is native to Far Eastern countries but can be cultivated in all sub-tropical regions. In addition to its value for fibre, food and medicine, the tree is a vigorous pioneer species and its tenacious roots can help to stabilize land. For Petite Savanne this tree could be a life saver!

Although the paper made at my Antrim Studio is primarily intended for my own use, there is a niche market among art connoisseurs for paper with a difference. Also, these papers reinforces Dominica’s claim as the Nature Island of the Caribbean and as such they have a tangible appeal to visitors.

You can follow the progress of my paper making venture at: sculpturestudiodominica.blogspot.com

 

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4 Comments

  1. Vee
    July 31, 2017

    Wonderful! I truly admire stories of persons encountering difficulties and instead of giving up or settling for less transcend to new innovations. Wonderful work. Keep at it!

    Made in Dominica products are needed in the world.

  2. Well done!
    July 28, 2017

    Dear Roger,

    Well done! It all starts with education.

    We should introduce a class in innovation from elementary school. The course work could be focused on creating locally made items and so change the value system of l;earned helplessness so rampant in high and low places on Dominica.

  3. sylvester Cadette
    July 27, 2017

    Sir, I salute you. Every article of yours make my heart glad: from commentary on art to insights of your profession as an artist, to your sculptures to your commentary on everything Dominican. I love how you have embraced our Nature Island to your oneness with Dominica, having been sublimated into Dominican culture and everything Dominican – and Caribbean too.

    Your insights are wholesome and food for thought – thanks!! Dominica has great talent and diversity. Our National Anthem says it all – We just need to come forward sons and daughters of this Gem beyond compare.

    A quote from the Shakespearean play “Hamlet, Prince of Denmark” reflects the Dominican Spirit. It says, “What a piece of work is a man! How noble in reason, how infinite in faculty! In form and moving how express and admirable! In action how like an angel, in apprehension how like a god”!

    What we need to strengthen is an entrepreneurial and innovative approach in this new paradigm.

    • Roger Burnett
      July 27, 2017

      Dear Sylvester,

      Thank you for your kind words. I have known Dominica since the 1970’s and for the last thirteen years I have made your island my adopted home.

      Somerset Maugham, in his book “The Moon and Sixpence”, expresses my feelings as follows:

      “…Sometimes a man hits upon a place where he mysteriously feels he belongs. Here is the home he sought, and he will settle amid scenes that he has never seen before, among men he has never known, as if they were familiar to him from his birth…”

      I have a great and overwhelming love for Dominica and I will do all I can to help preserve her pride, resourcefulness, independence and identity.

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