March 31, 2024



BRING YOUR CRAFTS, CROPS AND DELI TO THE BEACH. SELL, SHARE, BARTER AND TASTE.
ENJOY THE BEACH AND KEEP IT CLEAN.

Winnifred Beach Community Market! 🛍️
📆 Date: Sunday March 31, 2024
BREAKFAST AVAILABLE FROM 9:30 AM

Come on down to the beautiful Winnifred Beach for a one-of-a-kind community market, mon! 🎉

🌺 Immerse yourself in the beauty of the beach while exploring a wide range of local vendors showcasing their unique crafts, tasty treats, organice produce and handmade treasures.
You'll find amazing jewelry, vibrant artwork, and much more, all made with love inna Jamaica! 🎨💍

🎶 Feel the rhythm of some good tunes by D-Selekta and other performers. Let the music move you and groove to the sweet sounds of Jamaica. 🎵

Mr Chalis taking care of the beach

Winnifred Beach
A REAL COMMUNITY BEACH FOR THE PEOPLE

Winnifred Beach is one of the last remaining public beaches in Jamaica, a rare combination of authenticity and beauty; the secret dream of many "First World" travelers. The Beach is also an historical community place for Portlanders where they traditionally go to celebrate events, improve health, relax and unwind.

During the years some residents have planted small stalls for the sale of corn, hot soups and other Jamaican well-known dishes. During the holidays there is music and activities on the beach.

Families, seniors, church's groups and tourists visit the beach regularly especially. The beach is managed by our Benevolent Society. A contribution of $200 for adult is requested at the gate. We calculated that this is the minimum contribution in order to provide water, clean bathrooms, beach cleaning and garbage collection to the beach. Thank you for your support.

The side of Jamaica you never get to see (Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown)

In memory of Frederick Barnet Brown

In 1918 Baptist missionary Frederick Barnet Brown willed the estate to his wife. He mandated that once she died, the property be used as a rest home for missionaries, teachers, and the poor. In essence Brown willed his property to the Fairy Hill community. He established a trust to administer his estate, but the group failed to do so consistently. As a result, Jamaica’s attorney general became the sole trustee of his will in 1938. Most of the property, including Winnifred Beach, was someway sold to the UDC in 1972!
Despite the title UDC has never been in charge of maintaining the beach, and since 2004 our association made up of local vendors and community members has been in charge of maintaining and improving the beach itself.

PRESS RELEASE - March 25, 2022 - PROPOSED TEF DEVELOPMENT



A little bit of history.
On October 6, 2014, an agreement was sanctioned by order from the Port Antonio Resident Magistrates Court. The UDC was ordered to apply for a separate title for Winnifred Beach and the lands to access it and to create on the new title an easement (or special right) for public access for bathing and recreational purposes. The UDC still owns Winnifred Beach but the community has a right to use the entire beach area, forever, regardless of who owns it.
Since then a formal entity was created, Free Winnifred Beach Benevolent Society, with the main purpose to manage and mantain the beach.

On March 20, 2022, a public consultation organized by TEF took place at Winnifred Beach. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss plans for a “development” of the beach.
More than 100 people took part in the discussion, which gave locals, community residents and international visitors the opportunity to express their views.

Dr Carey Wallace (Executive Director of the Tourism Enhancement Fund) explained how the funds allocated for the development of the beach would contribute to the overall economic development of the community. However, we did not get the details of how this should happen.

The official purpose of the meeting was to consult on what kind of development the community would like to see on the beach, and TEF prepared an online questionnaire for this purpose.
It was pointed out that the questionnaire only focuses on the aesthetic and functional issues of the "development". No reference is made to the current beach operators who have been operating and managing the beach for over 20 years and who have been operating under the leadership of FWBBS since 2008. No question was included on which management model to adopt and how to integrate the community members in this new phase.

The FWBBS has officially invited TEF and UDC to select a a date for a meeting between representatives of the FWBBS and the representatives of UDC and TEF to analyze possible forms of cooperation.

Given that many of the questions posed remained unanswered and that TEF said it wanted to agree this development plan with the community, the following is a list of 10 main points summarizing the results of the online questionnaire, the audience suggestions and the proposals of the FWBBS:


1. DEGREE OF INTERVENTION: We recommend that funds earmarked for beach improvements be spent primarily on infrastructure work, such as a new parking area above the beach, solar energy and rainwater harvesting systems to serve the activities on the beach, eco bathrooms, natural trails along the various facilities and shops. We have already done feasibility studies on these matters and are ready to bring our proposals to the table at our next meeting with UDC and TEF. In all cases minimal intervention shall be TAKEN.

2. AESTHETIC GUIDELINE: Whenever construction is to happen the community ‘s preferred aesthetic favors the use of bamboo, wood, and stones. Existing trees be retained and maintained, with professional pruning, as required, for the health of the trees and safety of the public
3. GOVERNING STRUCTURE: We aim to build an innovative and successful cooperation model between UDC and the Winnifred Beach Community. Decision-making for the beach should be on the basis of a governing body whereby the spirit of the process is: 51% the beach community’s input, via their representative body (the FWBBS), and 49% the GOJ’s.

4. SCHEMATIC LAYOUT ; Some structures need to be removed from the beach front and rebuilt in the inner part. Bathrooms and showers will be rebuilt in a more set back area and the existing structure should be demolished or repurposed. Built structures should be as invisible as possible from the sea.

5. ENTRANCE FEES: Maintain a beach is quite expensive. Even  for entrance to the beach, and should detail the cost of maintaining the beach, so visitors can see what is involved. Payment shall however continue to be optional. All proceeds shall go to maintenance of the beach and social activities programs for the community such as: enviromental training courses, swimming classes, marine protection awareness programs and art and craft exibitions.

6. PARKING: Parking should be offsite, ideally shaded with solar panels.

7. VENDORS: The existing vendors must be allowed to stay. They will pay a minimal rental (to be determined) to contribute towards the maintenance of the beach. No other deduction of revenue from sales will be applied to vendors. The total number of vendors permitted shall not exceed 20.

8. CAPACITY: A carrying capacity for the beach shall be established, generated from NEPA and Beach Control Authorities requirements with beach community input.

9. UTILITIES: Connection to the grid is needed but not necessary. Electricity must be mainly by solar power (according to the Vision 2030 ambitions/proposals).

10. Preserving the same “casual tropical style” of Winnifred Beach is a key component to the success of this project. It is one of the main things that attracts tourists to Jamaica.  We envision BEACH ART INSTALLATIONS inspired by nature and realized by local and international artists. This model has been developed with great success in many parts of the world.

Contrary to the message presented in the media, our association, which represents the majority of the beach operators and many members of the community, is not against the improvement of the beach. We are critical of a type of development driven solely by profit, to the detriment of the beach's heritage and the social well-being that only a free and authentic beach can offer the community.
We aim to offer a higher standard of service to support new tourism development in this area and to make Winnifred Beach the flagship for international tourists seeking an authentic experience in Jamaica while it remains as a community resource.


The Free Winnifred Beach Benevolent Society
www.free-winnifred.com
info@free-winnifred.com 

Open letter to Dr. Wallace
and the Tourism Enhancement Fund

Five years of struggle

The Free Winnifred Beach Benevolent Society (FWBBS) was formed in 2009 to legally oppose an attempt to privatize the beach by the UDC, a government agency whose acronym stands for Urban Development Company.

After more than five years of legal battles, and thanks also to active protest at local and international level, the verdict was handed down on 6 October 2014 at the Port Antonio Magistrate's Court. 

The UDC was ordered to apply for a separate title for Winnifred Beach and the lands to access it, and to create on the new title an easement (or special right) for public access for bathing and recreational purposes. This means the community has a right to use it forever regardless of who owns it. 

Winnifred Benevolent Society wishes to celebrate the right for all to access the beach, the
need to recognise community spaces where everybody can gather and spend a special day.

We are all glad about such a decision, however, we need to make everyone aware that the
struggle is not over!

HOW WINNIFRED BEACH WAS WON

Get a sneak peek at Anthony Bourdain's experience at Winnifred Beach.

DMc

Winnifred Beach Support

Winnifred Beach in Fairy Hill is my favorite beach in Portland, Jamaica. The white sand beach sits in a lush tropical cove with crystal clear water. Most importantly it's a public beach and is open to everyone at no cost.
It has a vibe unlike the costly private beaches and gated resorts that tend to be too expensive for local Jamaicans. Locals have been operating small food shacks and selling crafts on the beach for over 30 years.

Please support the Winnifred Beach Benevolent Society's efforts
to " Keep Winnifred Free".

DMc

Free Winnifred’s Beach: Keep It Free and Beautiful!

Posted on September 2, 2017 by petchary 

Winnifred Beach

JAMAICA |Land Grab Plan Revived? Will Jamaican Citizens be Excluded from the island’s Recreational Beaches?

By Damion Coombs

Press Release - Bob Marley Beach, St. Thomas

The Free Winnifred Beach Benevolent society expresses its solidarity and concern over the ongoing expropriation process at Bob Marley Beach in Bull Bay, St. Thomas.

The Jamaica Beach Birthright Environmental Movement (JaBBEM) is trying to avoid the imminent threat of the public losing access to yet another community beach, destruction of fisherfolk's livelihood and land dispossession of prominent Rastafari family members at Bob Marley Beach.

The importance of access to beaches and rivers which constitute part of the Jamaican ecological heritage cannot be understated. Bob Marley would surely be hurt and insulted were he alive to witness such an act take place at his favorite beach.

This is no way to honor his legacy, it will put Jamaica in a bad light on the world stage, and we encourage both the Government and People of Jamaica to halt this action.

Devon Taylor - President of JaBBEM, JaBBEM.org
Contact: Dr Marcus Goffe
Representative Attorney
876-426-7530; Goffelaw@gmail.com

Winnifred Beach is open daily from 6am to 6 pm!

For info call Cynthia at 876-3477085 or 876-5624860



A SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR  INTERNATIONAL DONORS

New Deal Mfg. Co. - Los Angeles
Salvo Arena - New York
Giselle Foundation - Toronto


Please support our association and help us to keep Winnifred authentic and free.
Our bank account is:
National Commercial Bank (NCB)
Port Antonio Branch
Free Winnifred Beach Benevolent Society
Account 841005481 (Chequing)

Free Winnifred Beach Benevolent Society (FWBBS)
Fairy Hill, Port Antonio, P.O. Box 7124, Portland

For direct support write to info@free-winnifred.com or contact Nino Sciuto, Chairman FWBBS, at 876 390 0118


Meet few members of our team