Melissa and Michael Tornabene, a fellow American intern, brought complimentary skills to
their internships in Falmouth.  Michael assisted with several wood
restoration efforts, given his background in carpentry as well as
historic preservation.  Melissa has extensive experience with earthen
architecture and lime mortars.  In addition, they also worked together
to evaluate the exterior facing of the Falmouth Court House to
determine the original treatment of the facade and make recommendations
for restoration.

Falmouth, capital of the Parish of Trelawny, is situated on Jamaica’s north coast, approximately 30 km east of Montego Bay. Founded by Thomas Reid in 1769, Falmouth flourished as a county seat and market center for the Parish of Trelawny for forty years when Jamaica served as one of the world's leading sugar producers. The town was named after the birthplace of His Excellency Sir William Trelawny, Falmouth, Cornwall, England, Falmouth flourished as an international port-of-call, leading to the construction of numerous late 18th- and early 19th-century civic, commercial, and residential buildings.  Today, Falmouth is noted for being one of the Caribbean’s best-preserved historic towns.

Starting in 1840, Falmouth’s post-emancipation fortunes as a commercial center declined.  This decline and lack of support for development has left many of its early buildings standing. The streets are lined with many small houses known for their unique fretwork and windows, major merchant and planter complexes, and commercial buildings, all dating from 1790 to 1840.

In 2001, Falmouth Heritage Renewal was founded to work in partnership with the Falmouth Restoration, a Jamaican non-profit organization with a mission to preserve the historic integrity of Falmouth.  Today, these organizations work in collaboration with the Parish of Trelawny, the Jamaican Government, and several international organizations to serve its goals.

This program is particularly noteworthy for its community development efforts beyond historic preservation.  Each year, Jamaican youths (usually in the late teens or early twenties) work with trainers in the program to learn a variety of crafts necessary to restore historic buildings.

Local craftsmen and the Falmouth Heritage Renewal staff team-teach all courses, combining classroom lectures with hands-on training and fieldwork experience on structures within the Historic District of Falmouth.  Not only do these participants learn basic carpentry and masonry skills, they learn basic workplace survival skills, i.e., how to relate to supervisors, customers and co-workers. Topics of study include how a traditional house is made, restoration masony (making and using lime mortar), timber framing and repair, restoration joinery, and others.  Many of the program graduates use their newly-found skills to obtain jobs in Falmouth and across Jamaica.

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