By Michel Outridge

JENEL Burgess is hoping to establish her own small business someday but is gainfully employed at this time being a local fruit juice vendor at Plaisance Railway Embankment, East Coast Demerara.

She told the Pepperpot Magazine that she is working for a colleague selling locally made fresh fruit juices and she has the ideal spot for such business, a central location not far from the Guinness Bar.

Burgess related that she has been on the job for seven months now and is quite pleased she is getting to meet more people every day.

“Selling here is good because I meeting all kinds of people and I am learning how to deal with customers because some people are so peculiar and then I have my regular customers,” she said.

Burgess stated that she sells cherry, tamarind, sorrel, mango, pine, ginger among other fruit juices along with strawberry milk, milk chocolate and ‘bomb’ for the men which is a combination of fruits, milk and nuts.

This 18-year-old related that she did other jobs before and it didn’t work out and she is holding onto this one until she can figure out what she wants to do for a living later on in life.

With the opening of schools in September, Burgess added that it will be a busy time for them since their fresh local fruit juices are a big seller with school children.

Meanwhile, the Pepperpot Magazine took the opportunity to talk to the owner, Buxtonian Akeysaw Haynes of Stacy’s Fresh Fruit Juice.

She noted that she used to work with a large scale fresh fruit juice business before she was inspired to start her own about four years ago.

“I used to work with this man, who make the same fruit juices in the city and he told me I have the potential to start my own business and he came to Buxton and showed me how to get about the juice making business and that’s how I started,” Haynes said.

She related that all local fruits are bought from villagers and it is fresh every day and the juices are made from scratch and it is wholesome and of good quality.

“This is not juices that you get with Kool-Aid or some drink mix inside. This juice is made from fresh local fruits grown right here in Guyana and we are buying it from framers within the village,” she said.

Although there are some challenges during the rainy weather they cope because they have to purchase ice, plastic bags and other raw materials and also manages to employ four persons, Haynes pointed out.

She told the Pepperpot Magazine that the actual making of the fresh local fruit juices is done by her and family members at her home in Buxton and it has evolved into a family business.

The liquid detergent business
Asola Bent is the friendly face behind the 3R “Reuse, Refill and Reduce” business. It is 100 percent eco-friendly and is the Detergent Refill Centre that is located at Railway Embankment.

The 23-year-old has been at the job for the past three months and so far, it has been going well in terms of relating to customers.

“We sell liquid laundry detergent, hand soap, fabric softener, car wash liquid, degreaser which are reasonably priced at $420 and $360 per litre at the refill outlet which recently opened its doors for business,” Bent said.

The business opens from 09:00hrs to 18:00hrs on Mondays to Sundays and are closed on Saturdays and employs two persons and they work on a shift system, six days per week.

“I have my eyes on becoming a professional baker or pastry chef and I will attend Carnegie School of Home Economics to qualify myself and move in that direction but in the meantime, I am garnering some funds working at this job, this is, however, honest work,” she said.

The local detergent company has several outlets across the country manned by different owners but the same supplier.

Persons can access eight different products at the centre including dishwashing liquid, hand soaps, disinfectants, multipurpose cleaners, fabric softeners, laundry detergents and even car wash detergents.

Aside from the initial business, the centre is a spin-off to focus on community development and environmental protection.

As opposed to the cost of detergents that are found in the supermarket, persons would be able to get a refill for at least 50 percent less.