By Michel Outridge

Blairmont residents, Pamela Persaud and her husband have a vegetable shade house in their yard; this has fostered a farming group within the community, which provides an income.

She told the Pepperpot Magazine that since the Canadian Hunger Foundation (CHF) and its regional office, CHF Caribbean, initiated the ‘Promotion of Regional Opportunities for Produce through Enterprises and Linkages’ (PROPEL) Project, they were able to start the Blairmont vegetable shade house producers group.

Persaud related that the project started in 2013 and a handful of farmers are part of the initiative, which produces mostly pak choi and lettuce seedlings.

She stated that the business is managed by her spouse, but she would assist and all plants are sold at the Rosignol Market on a large scale.

The mother of three told the team that she has been residing in the village since 2002 and described life there as normal.

Her husband also works at the Blairmont Sugar Estate.

Persaud noted that the upkeep of a shade house entails long hours of hard labour and prices at the market often fluctuate; sometimes they incur losses.

“Life is not easy, but you have to try and make things work, even if it means working two jobs, because everything is money and to earn we must,” she said.

Meanwhile, the team encountered the lone vendor at the Blairmont Sugar Estate, Bibi Selena, who has a small roadside stand.

She provides a reliable service for employees of the sugar estate by opening her stand from 07:00hrs to 16:00hrs, offering home-made snacks such as pholourie, egg- balls, channa and confectionery such as biscuits and sweets.

Selena also has some cold beverages, all reasonably priced to meet the pockets of sugar workers and she is strategically located right outside the factory, just by the Mill Dock (the part that takes in the cane).

When asked how she spends her time at the stand most times alone, the mother of three said she has a small battery-operated radio which she would listen to, in the form of company.

“I used to cook different foods, but I don’t know because things have somewhat slowed, so I am just making snacks now and it does sell out by midday, but I do stay a bit longer to sell other things,” she said.