Martha Hanna-Smith's Story

Martha, a.k.a Mattie, was born in the Settlement of Delectable Bay on the island of Acklins, Bahamas.  She received an early education at the Pompey Bay All Age School on Acklins Island. As a pioneer of the San Salvador Teacher’s Training College on the  island of Salvador, Bahamas, she graduated as a trained teacher. Martha was fortunate enough to further her education and training at the University of the West Indies in Mona, Jamaica. She graduated from UWI-Mona with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and General Studies.

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Married to Rudolph Smith (deceased)  for 44  years, that union produced four (4) wonderful sons. She taught Food Nutrition, Clothing Construction, History and Home Economics in The Bahamas for over 40 years. While establishing herself as a teacher, she also functioned as an artisan specializing in straw, shells, herbal teas, jams, jelly, and sand products.   She is also the Author of the book, “Bush medicine in Bahamian Folk Tradition”.

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Martha has traveled extensively attending many National and International conferences. Her attendance at such conferences enabled her to be a force in the development of entrepreneurs within the Craft Industry of the Bahamas. To her credit, she is Past President  of the Bahamas National Craft Association.

Martha was instrumental in establishing local craft associations on the islands of Eleuthera (Crafters Association of South Eleuthera)  and Exuma (Exuma Crafters Network). She enjoys working with the youth, and continuously inspires by teaching in the areas of arts, crafts, entrepreneurship and Bahamian bush medicine traditions.

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Mattie's Authentic Bahamian Creations was formed in 2010 with the focus of introducing customers and entrepreneurs to: the health benefits of bush medicine, the empowerment of entrepreneurship, the utilization of natural resources, and the continuance of Bahamian culture.