Banana paper may provide cash-strapped Caribbean countries with the best hope for a brighter future.
Nine youths from Haiti, Jamaica, St. Vincent and Suriname are now visiting Japan at the invitation of the government to receive training in the utilization of banana fiber for making paper and other products. They will leave Saturday after spending 13 days in Okinawa, Kyoto, Nagoya and Tokyo.
It is the first time that Japan has invited foreign trainees in this field and is part of various cooperation programs Japan pledged to Caribbean countries during a ministerial meeting in Tokyo in November 2000.