Jamaican-based Countrystyle Community Network, under its Villages as a Business Model initiative, has launched its first pilot project in Africa, dubbed the Royal Community Tourism Development Program.

The program targets communities with tourism potential that can be harnessed to create business ventures and attract investors, including members of the Caribbean diaspora in Europe and the Americas.

Led by the Network’s African Ambassador, Dr. Prince Tengol Klepmani, a two-member delegation from Jamaica travelled to Ghana to conduct feasibility studies and engage with traditional leaders and community members in Paga, the first pilot community, located in the Kassena-Nankana West District of the Upper East Region.

The delegation from Jamaica, which included Countrystyle Community Network Chairman Roy Paga and Senior Architect Jason Stone, joined the chiefs and people of Paga and the Paga Youth Movement to launch the program on Tuesday, October 20, at Paga Town Park.

Key initiatives to be introduced under the program include the establishment of identity centres to showcase the communities’ cultural heritage and identity, including through the creation of Royal Truth Museums.

Another key initiative is the “Know They Self” initiative, which will promote cultural and business exchanges between the diaspora community and the people of Paga.

As part of the initiative, 100 Jamaicans are expected to visit Paga next year to reconnect with their heritage and develop personal and business relationships.

During their visit to northern Ghana, the delegation also paid homage to the Buipe Wura, Paramount Chief of the Buipe Traditional Area in the Gonja Kingdom, Buipewura Abdulai Jinapor II, who also serves as Vice-President of the National House of Chiefs.

The delegation also met with the Upper East Regional Minister, Akamugri Donatus Atanga, who pledged government support for the initiative.

The team further paid a visit to the Upper East Regional Office of the Ghana Tourism Authority, led by Mr. Joseph Appiagei.

The delegation also visited the palaces of the Bongo Naba, Naba Baba Salifu Atamale Lemyaarum, in the Bongo District of the Upper East Region; the Navro-Pio, Pe Aneakwoa Balinia Adda Asagpaare II; and the host Paga Pio, Charles Awiah Awampaga II, Paramount Chief of the Paga Traditional Area.

The Upper East Regional Office of the Ghana Tourism Authority, together with the Paga Youth Movement, also led the delegation on visits to tourist sites across the region. These included the Pikworo Slave Camp, Paga’s two major crocodile ponds—the Chief Pond and the Zenga Pond—as well as the Ghana–Burkina Faso border and the Upper East Regional Museum.