Folklife Apprenticeship Programme

The Department of Community and Cultural Affairs would like to thank our Tradition-Bearers and Apprentices of the Folklife Apprenticeship Programme 2011-2012 for keeping Bermuda's culture alive.

This project, featuring the pairing of six tradition-bearers and six apprentices, was established in 2008. In creating structured opportunities for tradition-bearers to work one-on-one with interested young people, the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs hopes to foster the growth of a younger generation of tradition-bearers in Bermuda.

The main objectives of the Apprenticeship Programme are to:

• Foster the development of a new generation of tradition-bearers
• Promote the transfer of knowledge and experience from established tradition-bearers to the next generation
• Establish a structure and format for a knowledge-transfer programme between tradition-bearers and young people (35 and under)
• Promote Bermuda’s traditions in the community
• Promote intergenerational learning in Bermuda by linking tradition-bearers and interested young people
• Compile some best practices on intergenerational learning

APPRENTICESHIPS NOW IN PROGRESS (July 2011 - March 2012)

The Department of Community and Cultural Affairs welcomes applications for our unique Folklife Apprenticeship Programme. The principle objective of the programme is to foster the growth of a younger generation of tradition-bearers in Bermuda. The programme pairs a tradition-bearer with an interested apprentice for an 80-hour apprenticeship beginning July 2011 and concluding no later than March 2012. Deadline for St. David's Cooking and Dinghy Racing extended until July 27. Click here to download flyer.

• St. David's Cooking and Heritage Mr. Rickilee Pitcher
• Storytelling with Mrs. Florenz Webbe Maxwell
• Jazz Music Tradition with Mr. Ronald Lightbourne
• Model Boat Carving and Woodcrafts with Mr. Milton Hill
• Fitted Dinghy Racing with Mr. Mark Soares

COMPLETED APPRENTICESHIPS (Sept 2009 - March 2010)

1. Fishing with Mr. Llewellyn Hollis
2. Cake-making with Mrs. Juliette Jackson
3. Organic farming with Mr. Tom Wadson
4. Building with Mr. Leon Burt
5. Quilting with Mrs. Lynn Morrell
6. Cooking with Mr. Fred Ming

COMPLETED APPRENTICESHIPS (Sept 2008 - March 2009)

In 2008, the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs launched our pilot Folklife Apprenticeship Programme with great success! Click Here to watch a short film with 5 tradition bearers and their apprentices engaging in the passing on of Bermuda's Heritage.