WHEN Courtney Wolfe left his home village of Suddie, Essequibo Coast and relocated to Silver Hill, Soesdyke/Linden Highway to become a farmer 10 years ago, he knew he was up for a task. Today, he has a small boutique and a stall from which he sells groceries, fresh produce from his farm, a chicken business and is the only place on the highway that sells ice cream and it can be considered a ‘pit stop’ for travellers. Wolfe feels that hard work over the years led him to become self-employed and he is quite happy about that achievement.
The 49-year-old told the Pepperpot Magazine that at first, he started to sell greens and fruits from a small roadside stand on the highway. The greens and fruits were from his farm and the business grew over the years when he started to plant pumpkins, ground provisions and pineapples. After investing his money to construct a chicken pen, he started a chicken business where he now has 2,000 meat birds. And once fully grown it is plucked and sold to wholesale buyers and folk from the East Bank, East Coast, Linden and Kwakwani. The only challenge with the chicken business is having to shuttle feed from Bounty, because it is wholesome feed which helps the meat birds to grow.
“I still have to pluck chickens manually, but I am looking for a way to have an electric system in place to save time,” he said. Wolfe explained that after some time had elapsed he took a loan and started the boutique business selling clothes and footwear among other haberdasheries. It is a place where you can stop and get a pair of slippers or an ice-cold beverage or eddoes that melt in the pot. This small business owner has a cultivation of squash, corilla, pineapples, sweet peppers, wiri-wiri peppers, celery and coconuts on a 20-acre plot of land. The father of four related that he got the lease for the land for agricultural purposes and he is doing just that to earn, because having worked for many years in the interior as a miner, he has attained the ripe age where he wants to be closer to home.
Wolfe has set up a Lister engine system powered by his solar panels which power his freezers to get ice-cold beverages, keeps his ice cream cold and makes ice. “I am familiar with engines, having worked in the hinterland as a miner I would have gained a lot of knowledge; so I make from scratch a Lister engine system which is English-made and I would let it work for a few hours before taking it off and it keeps everything cold for a while,” he said. Wolfe reported that the Lister engine which uses diesel, was set up two years ago and he would work it for four hours every day before switching it off. As for water supply, he has seven of the 250-gallon tanks which store rainwater for drinking and cooking purposes.
In the dry season, there is a creek half a mile away from his home and he would walk to get there if the need arises. As for the environment, Wolfe keeps the open concept and with that in mind, he has created plant, pots with empty lemonade bottles as a way of beautifying the place. He explained that they used to sell lemonade and the empty bottles were plenty so his wife came up with the idea and she created those bottle plant pots for the front yard. Wolfe has done a good job of taking care of the environment by keeping it clean and has constructed wooden benches under shady trees and the place has a lot of plants, trees and flowers.
At this shop you can get a phone card and sit for a bit to enjoy a cold beverage or just to look at the scenic view it offers. Wolfe has no immediate neighbours and a lot of space to himself and his family. The business is opened from 06:00hrs up until 21:00hrs in keeping with the curfew and does not promote rowdy behaviour or loud noises at his shop. “It is time I enjoy life because look at my hands how it hard, I worked in the bush and all over the place for 33 years and now I want to work with myself,” he said. Wolfe enjoys good cellphone signals and it would appear as if he is very contented with his life on the highway.
