Oé-Cusse, East Timor (August 16, 2021): One hundred and eight (108) participants recently completed a Hospitality and a Jewelry Making training programme in Oé-Cusse. Both courses were (3) days in duration and were held from August 9-11, 2021 at the ETV Palaban High School in Pante-Macassar. The courses were facilitated by the East Timor Development Agency (ETDA) and were organised by the UNDP in collaboration with the Community Tourism Unit under the Office of the President’s Authority RAEOA ZEESM TL.

The hospitality training was attended by fifty-nine (59) participants. The subject matters covered in the first two (2) days were customer care and service, personal hygiene, workplace health and safety, cleaning the kitchen and food preparation.

The third day focused on practical cooking skills with Chef Rey from ETDA. Participants were able to use common local produce found in the market in Oé-Cusse to prepare delicious food and drink items such as tamarind juice with ginger, pumpkin soup, rice croquettes and biscuit cake.

For the jewelry training, forty-nine (49) participants were exposed to and practiced the techniques needed to make earrings, necklaces and bracelets with wooden or plastic beads. They also learnt costing and how to price their products to ensure profitable results. The expectation is that afterwards participants would be creative and create products with local materials, that can be an extra source of income.

Overall, the majority of the participants were from the youth segment and 60% per cent were female. These recently concluded trainings are part of the UNDP and SAR-ZEESM tourism project, designed to build capacity within the community, correct the skills and knowledge gap in tourism, and to improve the quality of hospitality services and products in Oé-Cusse.