A family tradition for generations

Sunildat Ravi Haimchandriji, better known as “Spoon”, is a gifted furniture maker (joiner). It is a skill that runs among the men in the family.

It is very clear that he likes his job a lot because when he speaks of the pieces he has made, his features would light up and he credits his ingenuity to being different which allows him to make pieces unlike regular joiners.

Haimchandriji can build anything from scratch and according to specifications. He is well versed in home furnishings because he has been directly engrossed in the profession for the past 44 years.

“I was drawn to this type of work since I was a boy because my father as a builder and my brother is also the same, so I took an interest early on and I tried to master the skills required and today I can safely say I can do it well,” he said.

Haimchandriji told the Pepperpot Magazine that he exited the formal school system at 14 years old and began working as a joiner.

He used to work with people and then he branched off to become self-employed and he always knew he would be good at his job because he was way better than others and his very first piece was a slide glass cabinet.

The joiner reported that if a customer comes with a photo of what piece of furniture they want, he would advise them and try to give them exactly what they require without delays.

Haimchandriji stated that he used to be an employee at Home Line Store, the maker of all household furniture, many years ago.

The 55-year-old father of two recently outfitted a newly built house with all the furnishings and employed two helpers to sand and spray the pieces, including cupboards, counter tops and general furniture.

He added that pleasing the customers is what he is all about because people have to get value for money and giving a good, quality product is an excellent policy for small business, it keeps it operational.

“I like to challenge myself to go over and beyond and I would always try newer pieces and get creative and make furniture that is very pleasing to the eyes and of an excellent quality,” he said.

Haimchandriji related that furniture lasts on based on how you take care of it and the type of woods used and the best quality of woods for home furnishings are silverballi and keriti and the MDF waterproof wood.

The joiner stated that he works mostly alone and when he has a job that requires more than one person he employs two men from the village to assist.

Haimchandriji disclosed that he doesn’t have a workshop since most people prefer he goes to their houses to do the job and often provides the materials.

He is a resident of Reliance Abandon Village, East Canje Berbice.

The furniture brothers of Adelphi Settlement

Parmanand and Kishore Persaud, who are brothers, also share skills n the furniture business. Parmanand is a joiner who specialises in spindles and bed legs, while Kishore is versed in all types of upholstery work.

Parmanand told the Pepperpot Magazine that it is a generational tradition, most men in the family are joiners and it is a natural gift they inherited.

His grandfather and brothers are also joiners, so they made it into their jobs and are hoping to extend their small business into a stationary workshop.

He would do the furniture job part-time since he is employed at the Albion Sugar Estate as a Bell Loader and works on a shift system for 12 hours at a time.

Kishore is a full-time furniture maker and when the team visited, he was making a bed at his home which serves as a temporary workshop.

Kishore told the Pepperpot Magazine that he would make furniture from scratch and re-cover chairs among other household furniture.

The father of one stated that he is aiming to build a workshop at his home and he is of hopes he can achieve that this year.

Kishore added that he is presently employed at a furniture workshop and would take on jobs at his home.

“To have a comfortable life, you have to have two jobs and it is hard but you must put your family first,” he said.