HAVING ventured into the manufacture of aluminum items, even before he was a teen, Raymond Cambridge, now 40 and a tinsmith by profession, would have already made

literally tens of thousands of such items.
The items he produces, and for which there is great demand, include: chick-feeders, macaw cages, fire-buckets, mail boxes, scale pans and a variety of cake pans.

And having stamped his niche, and won the support and confidence of his customers across coastal Guyana, he is now exploring the possibility of capturing export market for what he considers an economically viable trade.
It’s a trade he’s inherited from his grandfather, David Davson Snr and father David Davson Jnr – owners of the popular ‘Davson and Davson’ Aluminum Craft shop, located on Lombard Street, opposite the Charlestown Post Office. The origin of the business dates back to the 1960s, with his grandfather now being deceased. However, it was the elder’s expressed wish that it should live on in the family.

David Jnr, taking pride in his hand-crafted items down through the years, shared the art with his six sons, and taught them a lifetime skill, which would provide sustenance for themselves and families.
And so, loyal to the cause, Raymond and his five brothers stuck by his father’s side and ensured they ‘soaked up’ everything they needed to learn to pursue what he now refers to as a virtual ‘family trade. They saw it as an assured source of income, provided that they put their shoulders to the wheel and ‘put out the works’. And this they did. With business being what it is at this time, he produces on average, ten chick-feeders or 300 in a fortnight.
Initially the emphasis was on macaw cages and to a lesser extent cake pans. Then as the macaw trade with the North West District became popular, there was a demand, hence the focus was on that item.

And with the emergence of widespread cake shops and fast food businesses, cake-making took on more than a ‘Christmas feature’, with cake being sold on a daily basis, came a greatly increased demand fo0r cake pans.
Then came the sophisticated mail boxes, a departure from the use of 5-lb milk tins, cut, painted and placed on fences as mail boxes, as was the norm in in less sophisticated neighbourhoods in the 60s and 70s.

But as buildings became more vulnerable to fires, the need was created for fire-buckets in which to store sand in public and government buildings in the event a fire should break out. That saw the emergence of fire buckets as an item in the trade.
But the chicken-feeders, Raymond admits, has become the fastest selling item in the business. Chicken has now emerged about the fastest selling meat product in Guyana. There is demand for it in in hotels, restaurants, for use in the home, canteens, tuck shops and places of entertainment, in hospitals and even the prison. And today, with the sale of Bar-B-Cue Chicken having become a regular feature and being sold indoors, at workplaces and even in the streets – chicken has become big business.

Hence, with the manufacture of chicken feeders, Raymond is sure he can’t go wrong, since it is now public knowledge that the rearing of chickens has now become a quick source of income-generation, and more and more people are becoming involved. So for tinsmiths such as Raymond Cambridge and family, it will be a business they will never regret pursuing.

Now proudly married and living with his wife and 8-year old son Samuel at Lamaha Park, East La Penitence, he operates his trade across the road from where he lives. Raymond, a simple and law abiding citizen, is dedicated to his work and daily can be seen engaged in producing these items which he churns out manually, using a simple machine to cut and bend the aluminum in shapes and sizes as the items demand.