The Unique Belize artisan programme was made possible through The Government of Belize with counterpart funding from the European Union via the Belize Rural Development Programme 2 (BRDP 2). Unique Belize is a standardization, certification, and branding programme aimed at helping Belizean artisans working at or near to nine archaeological sites in the country to promote their work in the local an
d international marketplace and to help consumers to identify and purchase authentic Belizean artwork. The Unique Belize label is designed to indicate that the artwork meets three criteria:
1. The artwork was created by a Belizean citizen or legal resident;
2. The artisan has been licensed or otherwise legally been given the authority by the National Institute of Culture and History (NICH) to use the design. The Unique Belize Artisan Programme is one of the major outcomes of the “Diversification of Community Based Tourism Products and Services” components of the MTBCAAS project. This component was initiated in November 2013 and involved a rapid assessment of the sector, the development and delivery of a small business and product development training as well as a three month mentorship programme for the artisans. Sixty four artisans participated in the small business training programme, of which 42 were women. The artisans were then invited to participate in the advanced product development training, which focused on introducing product design innovation and production to piloting a new line of artwork that meet current market trends and are more appealing to identified target markets. Thirty-five (35) of them were then provided with a three month mentorship programme at the end of which they completed new product prototypes.
