Michael and Melissa Belz, 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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