BY INGRID BROWN

Associate editor — special assignment

browni@jamaicaobserver.com

WHEN residents of Black Hill in Portland could not find jobs in the formal sector, they capitalised on the community’s location on the main road, setting up shop in the square to sell produce to motorists traversing the busy thoroughfare.

Their goods range from breadfruit, pear and soft yam, to plantains, apples and guineps, and despite the dry spell affecting the island, an abundance of ground provisions can always be found in the square where scores of residents, mainly men, eke out a living.

Many of the vendors are themselves farmers who sell the produce they grow, often at cheaper rates than vendors in the market, they say.

Over the last decade, they have built a loyal customer base and a strong bond with each other which allows them to leave produce for their colleagues to sell while they are busy working in the field.

“You just leave yuh things and anybody here just sell it fi yuh and give yuh the money when yuh come,” said Kevin Marsh, who was among the first set of people who began selling in the square, more than a decade ago.

And with this being the only income for many residents of this eastern parish, they were quick to commend themselves for using their own initiative to make a living.

“This is a good thing that we doing here because this is what put food on many people’s table because nuh work nuh deh ah Portland,” Marsh said, adding, “any little thing that wi find on wi property we are able to take it out here and by the day done wi can meck a little money to feed wiself and wi family.”

The residents say it is quite coincidental that the majority of the sellers are men. Women only come out to assist during mango season, which happens to be one of the busiest sale periods.

“There are some things that go quicker than others and so when it’s mango and guinep time that is really good for us and that is mainly when the women come out to sell,” Marsh told the Jamaica Observer North East.

He explained that during mango and guinep seasons they do not wait for motorists to pull off the road to make their purchases but instead package the fruits in transparent bags and display them in their hands for a quick sale.

Mango and guinep time aside, however, Marsh said the most sought-after times of the year occur during the staging of major festivals in the parish when there is an increase in the number of people using the busy main road.

“When you have festivals here in the parish it is the best time for us and whatever we have always sell off by the time we put them out,” he said.

One young man, Damion Robinson, said selling along the main road has prevented a lot of youth, like himself, from getting into trouble. He pointed out that landing a job in the formal sector is one of the most difficult things for young people in the parish even as he, too, lauded their ability to create employment for themselves.

According to Robinson, were it not for this opportunity to earn an income he too would have been forced to go down the wrong path.

“Mi would rather come out here every day come sell whatever little thing mi find because mi nuh want end up dead,” Robinson said.

On the subject of the drought, the farmers/vendors are not totally unfazed by the incidence, citing damage to their produce.

“The things would be bigger and prettier and a lot more things would be out here but the dry spell burn off the things,” said Delroy Shaw.

He explained that the breadfruit, for example, have been severely affected as they have begun to fall off the tree before they mature.

But the drought isn’t their only challenge. Shaw told the Observer North East that sometime ago, the police seemed hell-bent on removing them from the square.

“The police use to come regular come teck weh wi tings and mash up the stall but wi had to stand up and tell dem not to try and stop wi from mecking wi living and so now they ease off and leave wi alone,” he said.

On top of that, the vendors say that because praedial larceny is rampant, many of them have registered with the Rural Agricultural Development Authority and are required to have identification cards in order to trade in agricultural produce. They say they are often required by the police to show proof of ownership of the produce they are selling.

The farmers/vendors also spoke about the occupational hazard involved in farming, saying that although crops such as breadfruit and mangoes grow without much attention, it is not as simple as some may think.

“It’s not as simple as you see it because we have to climb tree and sometimes when wi climb tree without eating any breakfast wi get bilious and if yuh nuh careful yuh drop out ah dat tree so fast yuh nuh know what hit you,” said Marsh.

“Is coconut tree do mi hand so,” added Shaw, showing off calloused hands.