The daily job of local fruit vendors

IT WAS out of necessity that Royston Jackson, an Ann’s Grove, East Coast Demerara, youth made a decision to start selling fruits and to eke out an honest living. But today, having been in the business for about seven years, and eventually targeting and satisfying the needs of people whose wellbeing and sometimes very existence depends on the regular intake of particular fruits and vegetables, Jackson asserts: “It gives me a degree of satisfaction.”

Growing up, Royston had needs which he could not expect his parents to continue providing indefinitely. Moreover, Ann’s Grove is a place where there are little employment opportunities for young people.

“All I was concerned with was being able to earn an honest living and be independent and so I got on board with selling fruits that were accessible in the countryside,” he told the Pepperpot Magazine. But having started out as an itinerant vendor (walking and selling) with no fixed base from which to operate, he was faced with challenges – especially walking around in the hot sunshine or hustling to shelter from getting wet whenever it rained.

“I walked selling around Bourda Market, Stabroek Market, down Regent Street, Water Street- you name it,” he said. But again there were challenges – he had to contend with competition from fruit vendors operating from fixed spots in those same areas. “And whilst I got sales, it was not steady, but up and down and I needed something better,” the young man told the Sunday Pepperpot.

A DIFFERENT STRATEGY
By the time Royston was 25, he started reasoning that in order to earn his daily bread from fruit vending it would have to be on a bigger scale. It would have to be done in a systematic and sustained way and he must have assured customers since fruits are perishable. And so he began exploring the options.

In order to catch an East Coast Demerara bus to get home, or having to go to the General Post Office or Medicare Pharmacy, Royston invariably found himself in the vicinity of Robb and Hinck Street – an area, which though not overcrowded, seemed always abuzz, but yet, seemed to be a safe environment for fruit vending.

And blessed with the ability to strategise and think outside the box, he reasoned that the prospects should be good for plying his trade. Full of confidence, he decided to give it a try and was lucky to secure a vending spot on the pavement – snug, sheltered from the elements and just outside of Medicare Pharmacy, frequented by health-conscious people and people who understand the importance of fruits as amazing sources of vitamins and minerals.

“Being involved in the fruit selling business, over time I’ve come to realise that there are people who buy fruits depending on what their mind give them, while there are others who consciously go out in search of fruits and vegetables because they understand the importance of such fruits and many have healing properties,” he said.
And so, Royston has employed a strategy which sees him placing emphasis on the sale of fruits that are known to be high in healing properties, and not readily available on other fruit stands.

BENEFITS OF FRUITS
Fruits should not only be eaten because they are attractive and delicious but for health considerations. Rich in vitamins A and C, plus folate and other essential nutrients, they may help prevent heart disease and stroke, control blood pressure and cholesterol, prevent some types of cancer and guard against vision loss.

Therefore Royston is targeting essentially people who understand the true value of what he has on sale and who would consciously come in search of his fruits.

ESTABLISHING HIMSELF
Royston got going, operating from his new spot and on a much larger scale than he previously did while ‘walking and selling’. And from then on, he says, there has never been a dull moment. He is now sourcing his stocks from wholesalers who bring and offload their produce on the Stabroek Wharf. And these stocks he says, come from as far as Essequibo, Berbice, Parika, Linden, Essequibo, Laluni and elsewhere.

“In fact, with the business being so demanding, I have to literally leave my home around 3:30 hrs every morning, religiously – except Sunday, and head for the Stabroek wharf to buy fruits. It is challenging. I hardly get sleep at nights, but being a father of three, I constantly remind myself that, ‘Whatever is worth having, is worth working for’,” Jackson now 32, said with an air of satisfaction and conviction.

WORTHWHILE SACRIFICE
Meanwhile, also sharing a similar experience and success story is Phillipa Braithwaite, who lives at Friendship, East Bank Demerara (EBD), and every day of the working week she travels to the same point of business outside Medicare Pharmacy. Braithwaite has been in the business for about the last five years and has no regrets.

“It would be exciting, but challenging,” the mother of four says. “Exciting when you can make selfless sacrifice and watch your effort (business) grow. Particularly exciting too, are the days when senior citizens would come to the GPO to uplift their pension and come cross to purchase their supplies of fruits.

Braithwaite however, said that the job could be challenging when you have to virtually walk a tight rope while being on the lookout for damaged or sub-standard or ‘touched fruits’ as we say.” The woman said that there are times when wholesalers attempt to get away with delivering fruits with insect bites and other forms of abrasions. “My plea to wholesalers would be: ‘For heaven’s sake, give us good produce because the money we pay you is good money.’”