The mother and daughter duo earn from their home

FOR 40 years, Unity Village, East Bank Essequibo, has been Deomattie Ball’s home, a place where she worked on the farm with her late husband and raised four children.

She is better known as “Aunty Biggie,” and she has the only small shop in the village where she sells beverages, groceries and other things.

Ball is still taking care of a son, who is differently abled and would sometimes assist in doing simple things.

Her other two sons reside in Barbados with their families, and her eldest, a daughter, resides with her. Due to constant break-ins at her home, the young woman was forced to relocate.

“With the public assistance I would get for my [differently abled] son, I would use it to buy things for him, so that goes a long way because he is unable to work or do normal things,” she said.

Ball told the Pepperpot Magazine that her husband passed away 17 years ago, and she had to do something for work to bring in an income to the home to assist in paying bills and meeting other expenses.

She decided to open a small shop and that has been there since, but it is not a big earner; because of the economic struggles, she would sell a few items per day.

Her husband was a farmer and worked with the drainage board for some time, and they collectively had 15 acres of farmland they cultivated.

Ball explained that it is leased lands, so after her husband died and her sons went overseas to work and live, she was forced to transfer it to other people, since she could no longer plant.

She has a small kitchen garden of vegetables and fruits and a thriving flower garden.

“I would plant my own greens, but the rains caused flooding, and I lost all my crops; so when the weather is better I will re-plant,” she said.

Ball reported that apart from sawmilling work, there is nothing else for work there except farming.

Her son-in-law would get a three-day a week work at a nearby sawmill, and the rest of the days, he is at home.

Ball disclosed that when there is a bountiful harvest, the neighbours would gift them ground provisions and vegetables from their farms.

She was between chores and manning the shop when the team visited.

She has a modest home that is well-kept and has seating accommodation with a wooden table, for that added comfort at her shop.

Ball is a very down-to-earth, friendly, endearing woman who is at the ripe age of 70 and is getting by.

Indra Boodhoo utilising her skills to earn in Unity Village
Ball’s daughter, Darshnie Boodhoo, is 51 years old and she is a stay-at-home mom of a daughter, who would make achars, pepper sauce and chicken foot with sour to sell.

She has a plot of land aback her mother’s house where she constructed a house

Boodhoo used to reside there, but over time she suffered a few break-ins when she was not at home and out of fear, relocated to her mother’s place for safety, which is by the main access road- a convenient spot.

The property is about half-hour’s walk away from her mother’s house, and it is desolate, with just farmlands surrounding the place.

Boodhoo lost some valuables, including her jewels and some money she was saving. After that fourth break-in, they moved.

She told the Pepperpot Magazine that the place is often muddy, and she and her daughter, Darshnie Boodhoo used to walk through knee-deep mud to get out when she was going to school.

Even though they had hardships, her daughter excelled at school and gained 14 subjects at the exams and exited secondary school.

She began teaching at Stewartville Primary School a month now and would make the daily commute to and fro.

Boodhoo added that she decided to start a small business to supplement her husband’s earnings and began making pepper sauce, achars and chicken foot with sour to sell.

She would get orders at times, and she would fulfil those utilising whatever fruits are in season, such as golden apple, mango, sourie and tamarind to make achars.

She would bottle it and sell from her home.

Boodhoo also utilises her cooking skills and started a small catering business for religious functions, making seven-curry based on orders and other dishes for events.

She is well versed in baking too and can prepare just about any dish.

Boodhoo’s golden apple achar is to die for. A spicy, well-done achar that has all the right ingredients for that added flavour is so tantalising on the palate.

“I started to cook from watching my aunt at age nine years old and as I grew, I began preparing meals on my own and I got good at it and started baking too,” she said.

She would source fruits from the village or buy from the Parika Market to make her achars.