Chester Williams, or “Mr. Chet” as he is called, is a builder, entrepreneur and
innovator. For 40 years, Chester was an awarded builder of bridges, roads,
airstrips, dams, and residential construction. Chester, originally from
Washington State, brings to his work a respect for nature and the environment.
Mr. Chet ran a multi-million-dollar construction company, C.W.W. Construction,
in Washington State. Initially, Chester and C.W.W. Construction specialized in
and became widely recognized in Washington State for constructing concrete
structures for water distribution and for sewage treatment plants. C.W.W.
Construction’s Public Works projects, financed by Washington State and the US
Government, expanded to include bridge retrofit and road construction and
retrofit. Mr. Chet has been acknowledged by Architectural Digest and also
received an award for his work on the Chief Joseph Damn.
As an entrepreneur, Mr. Chet’s pioneering development of a successful
beachfront resort on North Maya Beach, Stann Creek District—the initial Calico
Jack’s—opened up that area to investment and growth. Mr. Chet during a visit to
Cayo District was smitten by the warmth and beauty of the village of El
Progresso and proposed the move of the project to the small farming village.
Chet’s vision is to bring growth to El Progresso including by providing villagers
with skills such as carpentry, mason, plumbing and electrical work.
Mr. Chet and the team first built the zip line for which CJV is best known.
Whether you are a zip line enthusiast or not, you will enjoy seeing the
juxtaposition of the superior construction of the zip line system (including
Calico Jack’s jungle lift) and the striking jungle canopy. Mr. Chet and the team
subsequently built the resort buildings, the pool and most of the furniture in the
restaurant and bar and units.
As an innovator, Mr. Chet invented UroBlock™ a material whose components
and manufacturing processes are ideal for the tropics and unskilled workers and
yet offers versatility in design and aesthetics. Chet has been able to train
unskilled workers to erect a UroBlock™ structure in one or two days.
Noteworthy, is that when this project was initiated in 2008, most of the staff
came to work barefoot. Today most of the team drive vehicles to work and live
in cement houses with indoor bathrooms that many have built given the skills
they have learned from Mr. Chet. The building of these houses has been
financed by zero interest loans provided by Calico Jack’s.