…at their processing factory in Region One
AS Guyana observes Agriculture Month 2024 this month under the theme “Transforming Tomorrow: Championing Food Security through Innovation and Technology,” it highlights the need for sustainable practices and technological advancements to secure the future of agriculture.
The Sunday Chronicle is featuring the Blue Flame Women’s Group with the Hosororo Naturals brand from Region One (Barima-Waini), Hosororo Hill, North West District (NWD) in the Mabaruma sub-district. They produce from scratch at their processing facility cocoa sticks, cassava bread in three sizes and also garlic-flavoured, coconut oil, coffee and fruit mix.
Christina James is the leader of the Blue Flame Women’s Group and she is also involved in the marketing of the locally produced products in Mabaruma and also in the capital city.
The locally-produced products are wholesome, organic and meet the food and safety requirements and are available at all leading supermarkets and shops in the city. The Blue Flame Women’s Group consists of 12 women drawn from three villages: Hosororo Hill, Bumbury Hill and Wanani Hill in Region One.
According to Christina James, the processing facility was funded by the women themselves, through a self-help project, the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) Canadian Agency for International Development (CIDA) and the Guyana Turtle Conservation Society.
IICA is a specialised agency for agriculture in the Inter-American system, with the mission to encourage, promote and support the efforts of the member states to achieve their agricultural development and rural welfare goals by means of international technical co-operation.
James shared with the Sunday Chronicle that IICA provided essential training and capacity building for the 12 women, significantly enhancing their ability to efficiently produce and manage the processing facility. She noted that when the facility opened in 2005, the women worked voluntarily. However, as they expanded, they were able to provide paid positions, creating stable incomes for them.
James emphasised that all raw materials are sourced from local farmers in the village and surrounding communities and that every product is made from scratch while adhering to strict hygiene standards. The agro-processor also mentioned that the processing facility is located at Hosororo Hill, with their products available for purchase at a supermarket in Mabaruma, where she is based.
James is originally from Ogle, East Coast Demerara but relocated to Region One after marriage and she is a mother of five.
She reported that as a growing small business, they are hoping to expand once they have the capital to invest in the processing facility and also to provide stable employment for locals.
The 59-year-old noted that they sometimes sell products directly at the processing facility on Hosororo Hill, but they also have an office in the IICA building on Brickdam, Georgetown, which allows them to tap into the local market.
James explained that their community falls under the Community Development Committee (CDC). While they receive funding for their agro-processing project, they strive to sustain themselves as much as possible to keep the small business financially viable. She also mentioned that the training from IICA has helped them establish a network with other women’s groups in the region, enabling them to successfully market their products and develop new ones through partnerships.
“We provide daily work for the 12 women within the Blue Flame Women’s Group because we are aware they need a living and to bring in an income to the home for their families and as a remote community jobs are not always within reach,” she said.
The Blue Flame Women’s Group is a story of women’s resilience whose efforts have seen the birth of a processing factory in a far-flung region, moving from making cocoa products in their homes for sale.
The equipment to make the factory operational was purchased through monies raised by residents and from the presidential grant, James said.
This women’s group is part of the Women’s Agro-Processors Development Network (WADN), which was established in 2011; it consists of 11 women’s groups involved in agro-processing, having been drawn from Regions One, Two, Six and Nine.
The groups produce a variety of products, including cassava farine, cassava bread, peanut butter, vegetable and fruit-based sauces, achars, coconut oil, bottled water, cocoa sticks and soaps.
Prior to the establishment of WADN, the groups operated as individual entities, independent of each other, and in some cases unknowing to each other, given the geography of Guyana.
However, as part of a Making Markets Work Programme, it was recognised that greater efficiencies and synergies could be realised by bringing these groups together, since they all share similar objectives, challenges and operational issues.
WADN is registered under the Friendly Societies Act, and its objectives include developing market linkages locally and abroad, and building capacity of member groups.
The Women’s Agro-Processors Development Network is a Registered Friendly Society in Guyana. It aims to empower its member groups specifically through improving their entrepreneurial skills. The Network is also a member of the Caribbean Network of Rural Women Producers (CANROP).