By Michel Outridge

RAMRATIE Itwaru has established her small business as a seamstress at the Timehri Neighbourhood Market, where she has a stall vending school supplies and ready-made school uniforms.

She is among several vendors selling from fresh fruits, to meats, greens, salted fish and other items, including pointer brooms and other locally produced items.

At 58 years old Itwaru has been in the sewing business for the past 20 years. Although small, she gets by making ready-made school uniforms for mostly East Bank Demerara schools and welcomes orders for other schools as well.

“I been here for six years, but I have been doing my sewing business since the old market and this new market was established around the same time when the road was extended and business has been fair,” she said.

Itwaru noted that the old market, which was in existence since in the 1980s, was demolished and was replaced by a new one which is more conducive to vending.

“I grew up here and went to schools and so on; then I managed to start my own business because I wanted to work with myself against having to work as a cashier at CJIA like I used to,” she said.

Itwaru told the Pepperpot Magazine that she has since registered her business as Shanta’s Dressmaking Shop and her niece-in-law shares a part of the shop; she also does her bit as a seamstress.

“We don’t pay a rental but we have to pay weekly market dues of $1,100 which goes towards the provision of security and electricity. We are comfortable here because the government build a part and we did the rest; they gave us the tarmac, with shed and posts and we had to enclose it. Before the road was extended we were at the old market and the conditions wasn’t nice,” she said.

Itwaru is selling complete school uniforms from$1,500 and up and welcomes orders. The place is open from 07:00hrs to 17:00hrs from Mondays to Saturdays.

“We live well here and join to pay for the weeding and cleaning of this market and things ok so far,” she said.

Itwaru added that she resides at Lions Road, Timehri and is optimistic her small business will flourish.

Who wants a sno-cone?

The Pepperpot Magazine met a very enterprising young man, Marcus Nedd; he is the local sno-cone vendor at Timehri Docks Primary and Nursery Schools.

The 19-year-old said he started the business recently, selling snow cones during the break periods by the school; he added that it keeps him busy tending to school hildren, who would gather around his sno-cone bicycle.

Nedd noted that he bought the sno-cone machine a year ago and when he had garnered enough money, he had it welded to a bicycle which was custom made and was able to start doing business.

“I used to sell up by the airport and then went by the schools and business is good there because it is a big hit with the children,” he explained.

Nedd reported that a sno-cone starts as low as $100 and goes up to $400, all is with condensed milk and the varying syrups, water and crushed ice, that are purchased from the city.

“On weekends I does do weeding work up by the airport and I am from a large family of 19 brothers and six sisters, and I have been working since I left school from Form Four doing various jobs such as carpentry and welding,” he said.

Nedd starts working from 11:30hrs up until 13:00hrs and would get something to eat from the nearby snackette, after which he would ride his bicycle up to the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) to vend his sno-cone.