I am a Jamaican residing in Japan, but will be relocating to my home country next year. Having lived in a society built on the principle of hard work and using what one has to grow and sustain oneself, I believe Jamaica can grow and produce sustainably if we use what we have to propel ourselves out of poverty and hopelessness.

What the Japanese have done is to use what they have; perfect it and keep using it to improve their society. I think our future wealth as a nation lies in our food - we should start using our unique, traditional food and culture to take us out of poverty.

Create factories which would produce authentic Jamaican cuisine and begin to export packaged meals worldwide. How is it that we buy frozen pizza and other stuff from all over the world? Why can't we sell our food in this way? Why don't we have jerked chicken meals, jerked pork meals available ready to eat?

Why don't we have tins of run-down, tins of callaloo, tins of our famous peas soup and pig tails and beef soups, ready-to-eat? Why don't we have curried goat, brown stew chicken, stew peas in tins, ready-to-eat?

Why don't we have Devon House ice cream worldwide? No, we want to buy Haagen-Dazs or Baskin Robbins.

Why don't we have our patties available worldwide? Why don't we have our desserts, our fruit cakes, pudding and other things available worldwide?

I am, etc.,

PATRICIA WILSON

patois21@yahoo.com

Fukuoka, Japan