Reflections on Hurricane Melissa: What We Learned About Bamboo, Community, and Sustainability in Jamaica
- bamboo bioproducts
- 11 hours ago
- 4 min read
Hurricane Melissa Jamaica
In recent years, regions around the world have faced increasingly severe weather events — from floods and heatwaves to storms of unprecedented strength. In October 2025, Jamaica experienced one such event when Hurricane Melissa caused widespread disruption across the western parishes of Westmoreland and St. James. Communities in and around Savanna-la-Mar experienced significant damage, with homes affected, roofs torn away, and temporary disruption to power, water and essential services. Beyond the immediate impact, the storm highlighted the very real challenges faced by communities, alongside the resilience and leadership shown in responding to increasingly demanding conditions.
In the weeks following Melissa, our focus remained on responding responsibly — understanding how our bamboo test plots and sites performed, and, just as importantly, how we continue to work alongside our communities during recovery and rebuild efforts. This reaffirmed a core principle of Bamboo Bioproducts (BBP): long-term sustainability must be considered holistically — not only in how projects are designed and operated, but in the quality and continuity of relationships with local communities, particularly in moments of challenge.
At the national level, Jamaica has made significant progress in its recovery. Since Hurricane Melissa, the Government has mobilised an international recovery and resilience package of approximately US$6.7 billion, reflecting sustained confidence in the country’s economic governance
Bamboo Test Plots: Performance Under Extreme Conditions
Our bamboo test plots in Westmoreland were located well within the zone of strongest winds associated with Hurricane Melissa and experienced conditions consistent with a Category 5 storm.
Post-event assessments confirmed:
All bamboo clumps remained standing
Culm damage was limited, with only a small number bent or broken
Rapid re-leafing has since occurred, demonstrating strong recovery capacity
No soil washout or erosion was observed
Root systems remained intact and stable
These observations reinforce bamboo’s suitability as a climate-resilient crop. Its flexible structure, dense root system, and rapid regrowth make it particularly well suited to challenging climatic conditions, supporting both long-term productivity and land restoration.
Project Sites and Future Infrastructure
In parallel, inspections of the planned Friendship mill site confirmed that the location was not subject to flooding during the event. This validates earlier site selection, hydrological assessments and design assumptions, and supports the project’s long-term resilience strategy.
Our engineering and design standards continue to incorporate climate-risk considerations, including wind loading, drainage design, energy resilience and operational redundancy.
Immediate Response: People First
Following the storm, our immediate priority was the safety and welfare of our team and the surrounding communities.
Our response included:
Welfare checks and re-establishing contact across Westmoreland
Immediate support to staff through post-event grants and food packages
Coordination of logistics and relief delivery through local leadership
Deployment of emergency connectivity to support communications where networks were disrupted
This work was led locally by our Director in Jamaica, Saffrey Brown, who was seconded to parish-level recovery coordination efforts in Western Jamaica, ensuring alignment with official recovery efforts and supporting informed, locally grounded decision-making on resource use.
From Relief to Recovery: Supporting Local Schools
As emergency relief stabilised, our focus shifted toward recovery — particularly helping communities restore essential services.
Through engagement with local leaders and school administrators, Friendship Primary School — which serves families in the communities immediately surrounding our project area — emerged as a priority for recovery support. The school sustained storm damage affecting its ability to reopen safely and support children returning in the new year.
BBP committed US$20,000 toward vital recovery works at Friendship Primary School this January 2026, supporting roof repairs, utilities and essential infrastructure. This effort is being complemented by additional partner support, enabling recovery work to progress more quickly and helping ensure students can return to a safe and functional learning environment.
This approach reflects a long-standing BBP commitment: from the earliest stages of the project, we have prioritised the communities closest to our operations — supporting the families and future generations who will grow alongside us.
A Long-Term Commitment to Community and Sustainability
Hurricane Melissa tested Jamaica in ways that went far beyond any single project. It disrupted livelihoods, infrastructure, and daily life across western Jamaica, while also highlighting the strength, adaptability, and leadership present within local communities.
For our work in Westmoreland, the storm reinforced the importance of approaching development with humility and care — combining resilient land-use choices and thoughtful design with strong local partnerships and long-term community engagement.
As our CEO notes:
“Hurricane Melissa challenged our assumptions under the most extreme conditions. What we observed on the ground reinforced our confidence in the resilience of bamboo farming, in our site selection, and in the importance of strong local leadership. Equally important, it reaffirmed that long-term sustainability is shaped not only by how projects are designed and delivered, but by the quality and continuity of relationships with our communities — particularly in moments of challenge.”
- David Stedeford, Chief Executive Officer
As recovery continues, we will continue to share what we learn — and how those lessons inform our responsibility to operate thoughtfully, sustainably, and in close partnership with the communities that surround our work in Jamaica.