By Michel Outridge

NIZAM Ali is a fruit and ground provisions vendor who has been in the business for the past 50 years. Ali told the Pepperpot Magazine that he started to sell in the city and moved up to West Coast Berbice when his father passed away 22 years ago; he remained in the community where he is earning.

He now resides at Number Two Village, West Coast Berbice, where he has a kitchen garden of greens which he sometimes sells at his stand at Rosignol Line Market. Ali explained that the market is located about two miles from his home and it is easy for him to make the journey.

He described sales as ‘picking up’ for the festive season and coming down to Christmas, he is hoping all his produce will be sold out.

Ali has a healthy stand full of ground provisions, vegetables of bora, pak choy, bora, carrots, calaloo, citrus and some fruits.

“Vending is lucrative business once you have buyers with the cash flow and this is a good location I am at right now; and it is the only market in Rosignol, the busiest spot for such business,” he said.

Trevaun Farley is a honey-roasted peanuts vendor with his own mobile cart. He sells just outside one of the stores at Rosignol, West Bank Berbice.

The small business operator told the Pepperpot Magazine that he used to vend the same honey-roasted peanuts at Rose Hall, Corentyne, Berbice, but decided to relocate a few days ago.

“I used to go till up Rose Hall by the arch and sell, but I moved up here to Rosignol because it is closer to my house and I get the time to tend to my cash crops,” he said.

Farley lives at Number Four Village, West Coast Berbice and has a farm of vegetables.

“When I selling up there I don’t get the time to look after my farm, because of the distance I have to travel; by the time I get home is night and I really can’t do much to my crops then,” he explained.

Farley would source fresh peanuts locally and would make his honey roast sauce and prepare his honey-flavoured roasted peanuts fresh daily in front of the customer right from his mobile cart which is made of metal.

“I out here and I does watch and see how things are and then I would decide how late to stay and conduct business,” Farley explained.

He stated that business is gaining momentum since it is the festive season; the time of year almost everybody looks forward to and once the spending power is there, sales skyrocket and everybody is happy.