Thanks for that question.
what that help entails
A good starting point to get that information could be the tutorial in the Jabaco Wiki:
http://www.jabaco.org/wiki/Develop_the_Jabaco_Framework
what is actually required
everything what you require yourself. If your requirements on the Jabaco framework can fulfill also the needs of the others, su much the better.
must I be a Java guru (or even a Java disciple)?
No, not in the first place. But maybe you end up in getting a good Java programmer. Basic skills in object oriented programing can be helpful. The Jabaco framework is based on the Java framework, there is the namespace VBA, it is written in Java, it contains much basic VB functionality. The namespace VB is written in Jabaco it contains mainly all the controls that are based on Swing. Manuel and me decided to over work the super classes of the controls, the power of the Jabaco compiler is now much better.
Another point what is not discussed until now: the import of VB-Projects especially forms is not very satisfying at the moment. Could be good to make the sourcecode open.
regards
OlimilO