— advises craft-maker Melba La Gadoue

CRAFT-MAKING is not a skill that is learnt overnight but requires dedication and perfection to achieve products of very high quality. Melba La Gadoue, a New Amsterdam resident, would say nothing different. “What I am doing is not something I just woke up and decide to do, nor have I just jumped on a bandwagon. It was always there. Learning from my grandmother who did pickles, my grandfather was into leather craft and an uncle was a sculptor… I have combined those skills to produce new products under the line ‘Eco Intricate Creation’ and ‘Genuine Naturally fresh,’” she said. La Gadoue’s products were on display at the Women in Business Shows in Miami, Florida, Barbados and Suriname. Her first exposure came moments after a telephone call to Sonia Noel, hostess of the Women in Business exposition. Initially, she was told that the space at the Pegasus Hotel-slated event was filled, but after pleading and sending one of her signature pieces to Noel, she was considered.
The rest is history.

Her first set of pieces called “Pointer and bamboo craft” was an intricate wrapping, bending and twisting of various materials. “I had to produce 65 pieces in seven days. It was long days and short nights to complete the task,” she recalled, while beaming with pride. A trained teacher by profession, La Gadoue is head of the Integrated Science Department at Vryman’s Erven Secondary School in New Amsterdam. Juggling between the classroom and her business is not such a difficult task, as her craft products are done mainly on weekends or late at nights. Her craft preference is the use of the palm, the coconut material, because each piece is unique. She promotes upcycle, recycle management within her community and when a piece is purchased from ‘Eco Intricate Creations’, one directly promotes and shows appreciation for the environment.

“I do bottle craft too. It’s different, comparing to the regular designs. I work with burlock materials and leather… I impart a bit of sculptor [sic] as I have made photo frames made of leather and stones… I also do ‘Fascinators’… a few were displayed by models for Michelle Cole at Guyana Carnival in 2019,” she said.

Due to COVID-19, business is a bit slow as persons have been channelling their financial resources differently, so as to survive during this period. However, during the ‘lock down’, she has ventured out and has expanded to include a new line of products tabled under the “Genuine Naturally fresh” brand.
The items are Moringa cheese straws, Lemon water, Sweet and Sour Bar-B-Que sauce, Tamarind dip, Lime syrup, Lime achar and Energy bars, among others. The products are organic and the produce are grown on a family-inherited estate, the Palm Grove Estate, an area where slaves once cultivated cocoa and coffee at Ekura, Canje River, in Berbice. La Gadoue is encouraging her womenfolk to discover their gifts and turn them into income-generating activities.
“There is room for everyone. When you are creative there is so much you can do. Everyone is born with a skill or a gift. Whatever you do best is a gift. Follow through passionately. Fight the fear within you and you will succeed,” she said.