 The One Village, One Product, Overup Concept is a comprehensive Japanese approach to building the capacity of rural communities while identifying a product that originates within the community, represents its culture, and has the potential to generate economic activity for the community. The initiative aims to maximise the output of all aspects of small and micro producers by developing products and branding that meet the standards of local, regional and international markets. Project consultant of the Overup Project, Kurt Harris explains, the project seeks to fill the gaps which exist in ensuring the successful marketing of local products. What you'll find happening is that through agriculture, a lot of small and micro producers are able to sustain a livelihood. The challenge they have, however, is in the product development and sometimes in the product branding. Through the Overup, what they are able to do is that since Overup is a global community, that brand becomes recognisable. And persons recognise that there's a quality associated with Overup from within as we develop the project, but also from outside of St. Ocean where other persons know of what Overup is. So because agriculture really has a low entry point for many small and micro producers, you'll find that it is generally targeted as a way through which small and micro producers can enter into the livelihood and then help them to grow to be larger producers ultimately. Over the past several weeks, Overup project team members have been evaluating the project composition to ascertain whether the formulation would work locally. With the hosting of last week's criteria testing event, judges became acquainted with the criteria against which each product will be judged in order to meet Overup requirements. That we have looked at Parley and we've recognised that Seymour seems to be one of the lifeblood projects and products out of Parley. There are other products where we are testing Seymour's. In Schwazel, we are testing the handicraft and in Souffre we are testing Coco. So we are looking at what are the products that those persons are producing out of Seymour's and on the 14th of December, persons will be amazed to see some of the products that micro producers are actually producing out of Seymour's in Parley. Similarly in Schwazel, I mean everybody knows that Schwazel has a lot of handicraft. What we are finding that a lot of people don't really know what a lot of the craft out of Schwazel is. Most of them just simply know the clay pots but there's so much that is coming out of Schwazel and so the Overup is seeking to promote a lot of what those producers are doing. While logistics for the official Overup launch on December 14th 2021 are being finalised, the Ministry of Agriculture stands ready to assist individuals interested in strengthening their abilities and capacities in the agriculture sector throughout St Lucia. From the Communications Unit of the Ministry of Agriculture, I am Anisha Antoine reporting.