Using the ancient Indonesian methods of resisting dye with wax, Caribelle creates the many designs for which they have become associated. The company saw its fortune and its sole means of marketing and promotion dissipate when Carnival Cruise took a decision to withdraw more than half of its fleet from St. Kitts as a port of call. This drop off in cruise ship arrivals in early 2002 has reduced the Caribelle Batik’s sales as its major customers are cruise ship passengers. 

Caribelle Batik was recruited into the SMED Program in St. Kitts on April 2002 due to its ability to increase its sales and specifically export capacity.  Through the Program the Business Advisor sat with management of the firm and discussed the status of the company with a view towards changing the trend of loss of sales. Strategic planning and formulation of a technical assistance schedule were developed to create new windows for marketing, promotion and sales to the world with the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). 

The intervention of the USAID Small and Medium Enterprises Development Program (SMED) was in the form of providing the services of an expert website developer. Management provided the specialist with the materials needed for the preparation of documentation and the development of the website. A multi-functional website was developed for the company and was published to the web in April of this year.  Since the launching management has received a number of inquiries from overseas and noticed an increase in the number of orders. The manager of this firm recently reported that he received an email from an individual in Colorado who complemented him on the layout and the informative nature of the site.  The individual also commented that the site was well designed and easy to navigate. The site receives an average of fifty hits a day even though the site has not been e-commerce enable as yet and orders are processed via email.

The owner now has the capacity and resources to promote the batik apparels manufactured by Caribelle Batik and also to promote Romney Manor the home of Caribelle Batik and St. Kitts as a tourist destination.