– delivering diverse agro-processing goods from one booming product

WORKING on the farm and alongside her husband Randolph Benn for the past 37, Rosamund Benn, a mother of five children, she still looks as young as the 37 years that she has been marrie.

A truly proud Pomeroonian, having been born there, Ms. Benn said, however, that she however grew up in Moruca, Region One (Barima-Waini), but has been living at Grant Wide Gardens, Pomeroon River, for a very long now.

REGULAR AND VIRGIN COCONUT OIL
“I have always been involved in farming, planting a variety of crops for many, many years. This is my life and I really do enjoy what I do. However, in 2010 I started to branch off into what I am involved in today and that is the
making of the regular and virgin coconut oil on a wide scale,” Ms. Benn told the Pepperpot Magazine.

She explained that as a result of being involved in a women’s group in Charity Village she was exposed to the making of the virgin coconut oil. “Immediately I started making it, though on a small scale; making about two gallons every week.”

Ms. Benn said that the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) organised the training from which she gained a lot of information, not just on the making of coconut oil or agro-processing in general, but also on how to manage a business, whether in the agriculture sector or otherwise.

“Things that we sometimes take for granted were looked at in a very important way during the training…things like the preparation area, wash hands, cover mouth, cover hair, making sure the entire surroundings is always clean, including the utensils that are being used and everything.

“Then I also gained training from food preparation to managing – not only your production area, but managing your finances; recording keeping, for example while on the farm how to keep records of what chemicals are used; how empties are discarded; records of how often spraying is done, the areas sprayed and also the chemicals used; keeping track of crops from the time of planting to harvesting and selling, and then even looking at what you are going to sell and many more,” Ms. Benn stated.

THE WAY I AM
She said that this particular training she received has really helped her to be the way she is now, which is a better farmer than she was before. Because of this, she told the Pepperpot Magazine, she is always willing to share with the members of the public and to help others to be better at what they do.

Even though among the farming activities she was involved in over the years was the making of the regular coconut oil, Ms. Benn said that she had never ventured into it fully. However, when she started doing the ‘press’ oil and saw that there was market there for it, I gradually increased my production.

COST OF PRODUCTION
According to Ms. Benn, there is a heavy cost attached to the making of the ‘press oil’ or `virgin coconut oil’ as it is also called. She said that as a result she had to try to get the most out of every coconut, since the processing [is] much slower and quite different since it is through the fermentation method, which takes a while to process. The reason, she noted, is that it is absolutely important that all the moisture in the oil is sucked out before it ready for the market. If this is not done the oil will get rancid, she pointed out.
“So in order to get a very good virgin coconut oil, there must be what I call the ‘curing period’. I always got to give of my best to the people,” she said.

TAKING FAMILY SERIOUSLY
Ms. Benn said that in addition to all the work is being done on the farm, as well as through the processing industry, she still has a family to care of. And so, she says that while everything else is taking place she still has to find time to work together with her husband and children.
“I love my family and I always work to keep us together. My husband and I, along with my children have been working together for all the years and it has not changed,” she said.

In terms of the coconut work, Ms. Benn said that the bursting and digging of coconut is not an easy thing and admitted that she is not very good at that aspect of the work. It therefore means that as a family they have to get people to help in this regard. However, she said that notwithstanding the challenges she has been able to continue to increase production to between 30 to 40 gallons per week at present.

MARKETING OF FRUITS AND VEGETABLES
When the Pepperpot Magazine visited Ms. Benn at her Grant Wide Gardens estate down the Pomeroon River, it was clear that she was up to the challenges set before her. She obviously does not allow the tests of being a wife; mother, homemaker and businesswoman to get the best of her.

“I still try to leave time to do other things because there is market to go to, and when my husband has cash crops then we have to take it to the market twice a week. She said that they harvest one day and go to the market the next day, so we juggle it around,” she said.

On market days within the Benn’s family, there is usually an assorted variety of fresh fruits and vegetables available for sale, which is mostly done at the Charity market.

COCONUT CASSAREEP AND PEPPER
The farming and agro-processing within the Benn’s estate does not end with the regular coconut oil and also the virgin coconut oil; also the fresh fruits and vegetables; Ms. Benn has also gained fame from the consistently high quality of coconut cassareep that she produces.Then there is a wonderful variety of pepper products that she makes, which includes the ‘lime-pepper’, which is usually well-cured, having gone through another careful process as well.

“I always used to wonder how you can get cassareep out of coconuts, but then when I saw my mother-in-law doing it, I learnt how and started doing it, which she says that is done mainly from the dried nut water.

“It is an excellent product, which does not need any other ingredients, but when it is done it is the real thing; it is lovely and there is no need to use much and it also gives an excellent colour when cooking the food,” she said.

She explained that before selling the coconut cassareep in bottles she sold it in bulk but that was found to be hardly profitable, especially after such a tedious processing task of this particular product.

WADNET
Ms. Benn stated that being a member of the Women’s Agro-Processors Development Network (WADNET), she has been able to go to a number of exhibitions and was also able to take part in a number of activities, which helped her to acquire some markets to sell her products in bottles.

Again, it was through an IICA’s revolving fund that she and others benefited. And since it was at a time when bottles were difficult to get here in Guyana, I was able to purchase bottles from Suriname to put the cassareep, also through the WADNET group she is able to continue to get the cassareep sold.

FLASH FLOODS
Ms. Benn told of some challenges with the virgin coconut oil, especially since people in the Pomeroon have been experiencing flash floods and lots of rain. She said that she is not directly affected by her level of production; there is need for much sunshine in order to get the best ‘pressed’ oil since the sun is extremely crucial in the processing stages. (mercilinburke2017@gmail.com)