PORTLAND, Jamaica — Small business owners across Portland are facing a confluence of setbacks in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa.

Pauline, a shop and bar owner of Seaview in the northeastern parish, who also operates an oil-making business, said her three sources of income have been impacted, pointing to the ongoing power outage since Melissa made landfall on October 28 as the most challenging issue.

“Everyday I have to buy ice to keep the things cool,” Pauline told Observer Online, lamenting the additional expenses caused by lack of electricity.

She also explained that she has lost out on revenue due to the loss of coconuts she uses to make coconut oil.

“I use the dry coconut to do my business like to make boil oil, virgin oil, so I lose off of that … because I would get the dry ones to boil my oils,” she said.

Winsome Cowan, a cookshop operator in Hart Hill, said her operations have also been affected by the lack of electricity.

“My little business a set back because I have to buy ice every day to put drinks on,” she said.

Cowan explained that she would normally buy fries and chicken by the bag and store them, but now she must purchase smaller portions daily due to lack of refrigeration.

“That don’t work out, you just doing something to do something,” she said, expressing frustration with trying to keep her business afloat.

Meanwhile, Carlene Smith, an ice cream shop owner of Hart Hill, said she was forced to give away her product for free after losing power. Without a generator, she said business has been extremely difficult.

Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Jamaica as a ferocious Category 5 storm with estimated 185 mph winds and torrential rainfall, killing more than 40 people and leaving nearly 80 per cent of Jamaica Public Service (JPS) customers in darkness.

Portland was spared the worst but business operators such as Jahsentus, who sells clothes from the back of his truck, are feeling the pinch of the general downturn in economic activity since the storm as residents focus on recovery. Not only has it affected his sales, it has also negatively impacted his receivables, he said.

“They do not have it and even if they have it I cannot dictate to say pay me because I also get damage and so I use my sympathy to understand what a next person is facing,” Jahsentus said.

Despite the slowdown, he remains optimistic.

“A little thing catch on now and then, not much in comparison to what use to, but we give and take because we understand what take place,” he added, noting that he had made three sales that morning.

A fruit vendor also reported slow business, saying that with ATM machines down, customers are unable to withdraw money. Still, he remains determined to “see it through and keep trying.”