Sharon Smith, the coconut vendor
IT may not be the preferred job for women but for a single parent of two, this woman sought an honest living that was available to her in order to support herself and family.

In an interview with the Pepperpot Magazine, Sharon Smith said that she never wanted to be a coconut vendor but she grasped the opportunity when it presented itself, nevertheless.

“For me, I really don’t care what people say about my profession because at the end of the day I am self-employed and it is a paying job,” Smith said.

This Herstelling,East Bank Demerara resident said she learned from watching and working with her children’s father who was a coconut vendor as well. She worked beside him for some time and one day when he left her to oversee the business as went to `run’ some errands but took some time to return, she attended to customers who came by..

Smith related that the customers wanted coconut water and she had no choice but to out her `non-skill’ to work at cutting the nuts.
She admitted that initially it is was not an easy task, she received many cuts but after much practice she has perfected the art and today considers herself as just as good as any other coconut vendor.

Smith stated that cutting coconuts isn’t an art that is learnt overnight since it is all about being precise and knowing what you are about.

“Cutting coconuts is harder than it actually looks, the cutlass is very sharp and any slip of the blade [if] it comes in contact with your bare hands, you can get cut easily and that happened when I first started but now I can do it in relative ease,” she said.

Now, 10 years later, the 37-year-old is a “pro” at what she does. She admitted that some people look at her ‘funny’, while others are in awe of her skills with a coconut and a cutlass.

In plying her trade she has gained the respect from both women and men, some of whom would stare in sheer amazement whenever she places a coconut in her bare hands and chops it for a customer to have a cool drink of coconut water.

Smith likened the chopping coconuts in her hands as just like learning to ride a bicycle because you have to fall down and get up to be able to have the balance to continue.

She added that some men have since admitted to her that they would not even attempt to chop up a coconut like she does because they are afraid. Other persons also ask her a lot of questions about her job.

The water coconut business is lucrative whenever there is sunshine, it isn’t a high paying job but. Smith said that she would rather work for herself than to be employed somewhere else.

Her sweet water coconuts are sourced from the Pomeroon.
“I make a small profit but it is better than nothing because I have to buy ice to place the coconuts in a large cooler for it to be cold for customers, plus I have to pay [someone] $600 per day to push my stand to and from Leopold Street,” she said.

She vends every day except Sundays, a day set aside for her family and it is a job which is right up her alley.Smith said that she does not see herself doing any other job unless it is a very high paying one.