WHAT started out as being just helpful in the kitchen with her beloved mother eventually turned into a small business for Dawn Edwards Dickson, whose thriving business, Dawn Products, has 27 items on the shelves at the supermarkets.

Dickson has always been passionate about cooking, and being in the kitchen is her happy place. She often finds herself there with her mother, helping out day after day.

She didn’t see it as a burden but developed a liking for making things from scratch, and when they had a lot of green seasonings such as fine thyme, broad leaf thyme, married man pork, celery, shallot and pepper, they would blend it together to make green seasonings to add flavour to the pot.

The mother of three told the Pepperpot Magazine that she loved spending time in the kitchen and would make meals for the family.

During that time, she taught all her children how to cook, and as word of her delicious foods got around the family, they began asking her to make green seasonings, assist in cooking, and season some meats.

Dickson reported that as a grandmother of six, she had a full house and would prepare meals for the family, and that made everybody happy.

She stated that relatives and other family members began placing orders for her special green seasonings, and she obliged them, and that’s how her small business started.

Today, Dickson has a store in her village, Upper Berbice River, Maple Town, Aroraima, which her husband managed while she handles the making of the 27 items from her very own kitchen.

This agro-processor is from an Amerindian background and is also of mixed race. She lives in Aroraima, just near RUSAL, the bauxite company.

She met her husband-to-be in Linden, but she is originally from Lamaha Street, Newtown, Kitty, and her spouse is from Philippi, Corentyne, Berbice.

Explaining how she ended up living in Aroraima, Dickson added that she worked with a cousin as the manager of the kitchen of Universal Contracting Services for about eight years.

She noted that after that time, she was given the opportunity to have a spot to open a business near the bauxite company.

Dickson started her journey as a self-employed person with her green seasoning making and also did some catering on the side, as a side hustle.

“Being in the kitchen with my mom really opened my eyes on how things can be done properly, and we came together to make many foods from scratch, and so did my seasoning business started. She inspired me to have my own business, instilled good values, and ensured I was confident enough. For that, I am thankful,” she said.

It took a lot of practice to master the art of making seasonings. They used to make green seasonings, store them in a five-gallon bucket, and distribute them in the kitchen when they had a catering event.

Dickson told the Pepperpot Magazine that she is versed in cooking as well, and she is well-known in the community for 800 residents.

She pointed out that she makes three types of sauces for barbeque: chunky sauces with onions and garlic cuts, original and spicy sauce, and a mixed sauce for chicken.

Dickson also makes a fish dip for fried fish and a fish and herbs powder along with a powder seasoning, which includes garlic, ginger, and onion paste, which can also be used for tea or meats, and a curry paste.

She also makes green seasonings in original, with extra onion, garlic and ginger for fish and meats, her very own Guyanese version of jerk seasoning, mango achar, pepper sauce in red and yellow peppers and mango sour based on orders.

Dickson explained that she developed her own packaging and labelling and got registered as a small business last June.

Her products are sold at the Guyana Shop, Robb Street, and she began her small business three years ago.

Dickson works alone for now, but when the work is overwhelming, she gets a “day help”, and she is hoping to expand her small business in the near future to employ others.

She would buy her green seasonings from farmers locally and in bulk and prepare them for the various seasonings she makes.