Allison and Devon Gilead – Jack of many trades, master of all

By Lakhram Bhagirat

Allison and Devon Gilead are actively giving the figure of speech “Jack of all trades, master of none” a whole new meaning since they are dabbling in many trades and certainly mastering them all.

The couple has been dabbling in several areas from business to farming and they have recorded successes. However, the success has not been without trial and error. Together, they are farmers, beekeepers, small business owners, manufacturers of handmade beauty products, and candle makers.
While the couple is actively involved in every aspect of their ventures, they both have their own projects that they nurture. For Allison, it is managing the small business and making beauty products.
Sharing her journey with the Sunday Times, Allison said that they currently operate from their home in Glasgow Housing Scheme, New Amsterdam in the East Berbice region.

Reminiscing on her earlier days, Allison said that those days of struggles have strengthened her resolve to work hard.
“I grew up the old school way. I was raised by my grandparents with 4 other cousins. I remember at moonlight we would run the streets and play games and my grandfather would tell us the most scary stories. My grandmother would tell us long time stories and riddles before bed and I always looked forward to that.
“I grew up with no electricity and many months no water. We grew up in a little wooden one-bedroom house because my grandparents had to provide for 4 other grandchildren. It was a struggle to provide for us financially. I was moved from one family member to another just to finish school,” she related.
She attended the Overwinning Primary School and then Canje Secondary where she completed her secondary education. However, she would have to re-sit the Mathematics and English CSEC exams. After doing that, she then went on to the New Amsterdam Technical Institute where she did a diploma in computer science.
However, she did not stop there, rather she went on to do courses in food and nutrition, sewing and cake decorating.
She would later get married to Devon and give birth to her first son – Javon. When Javon was just 9 days old, he was diagnosed with atopic eczema. According to the Mayo Clinic, atopic dermatitis (eczema) is a condition that makes your skin red and itchy. It’s common in children but can occur at any age. Atopic dermatitis is long-lasting (chronic) and tends to flare periodically. It may be accompanied by asthma or hay fever.
No cure has been found for atopic dermatitis. But treatments and self-care measures can relieve itching and prevent new outbreaks. For example, it helps to avoid harsh soaps, moisturise your skin regularly, and apply medicated creams or ointments.
“After going from one doctor to another, with little to no help, I began to do diligent and intense research and educate myself on natural homemade remedies (for my son’s condition). Being that my husband is a beekeeper, we already had most of the by-products. This led us to create our skincare ointment and that helped him 100 per cent onto this day. He would be 11 years soon,” the mom said.
After realising that they had an amazing product on their hand, Allison was inspired to go further. She started to look into soap-making and continued with her research. It took her years to perfect her formula and it meant that she had a lot of trial and error phases.
Today, she is successful at making cold process soaps from scratch.
She currently makes 7 different types of soaps, all of which have different unique benefits for the skin. The soap line includes turmeric and honey, noni, coffee, coconut milk and oats, activated charcoal, lemongrass, and green tea soaps.
In addition to soaps and ointment, Allison also makes body butters and hair care treatments. She also utilises the bee’s wax from her husband’s apiary to make lip balms and candles.
However, despite having access to quality honey and bee’s wax, sourcing additional materials to make her items have proven to be a challenge for Allison.
“Coconut oil and olive oil is a major part as well in our business, as these oils are carrier oils. Sourcing these oils often are a struggle as persons would keep raising their prices, especially for the coconut oil. Sadly, Guyana does not have majority of the materials you need. This is one of my struggles as a small business owner. I love the support and encouragement I have received from my customers, friends and family. I am tremendously grateful,” Allison said.
“It doesn’t matter where you come from or how you grew up. What matter is how you choose to make your future. If you want to do something, go right at it with prayer and determination. Don’t quit and never listen to negative comments. Instead, use the negative comments as stepping stone to greatness,” she advised.

Bees and exotic crops
Devon Gilead has always had a green thumb. Since he was a young boy, he always had success when it came to planting so it was a no-brainer for him to enter the world of farming.
The 40-year-old father is now a beekeeper and farmer.
“I was introduced to beekeeping by my neighbour/big friend (Mr Joby) who would carry me along with him to render assistance. He would kill the bees and harvest the honey and I wanted to save and rear them. I figure if this continued there wouldn’t be any honey bees left. So, I started my own journey, researching and reading everything about bees. It was a struggle at first getting the bees to remain in the hives, after a lot of attempts and prayers, I was successful.
“Bees are the greatest engineers, the best pollinators in the world. They are dedicated to their duties and are very hard workers. They are only defensive when threatened. I have grown to love bees. I have also gotten immune to their stings. I learn the more time, energy, effort and love you put into the bees, the more they will produce honey,” the veteran beekeeper said.
Devon has his apiary at Ithaca and said he wished he had the space to keep it closer since getting to his apiary requires a boat. He also said that there are times when malicious persons would steal honey and destroy his hives.
“Beekeeping can be dangerous but with the right amount of research and bee gears you can master it. Beekeeping pays financially. I am not only a beekeeper but I also do private work for persons. I remove bees from persons’ premises. I am also willing to help serious and interested persons get into beekeeping,” he said.
Devon produces raw honey, bee propolis, bee pollen, honey roasted nuts, stingless bee honey for cataract, conjunctivitis and other ailments. He is also interested in sharing the knowledge of beekeeping with others.
“I have been farming for as long as I can remember. I have blessed hands. I’ve noticed anything I placed my hands on bloom and grows bountiful hence, why I decided to plant grapes. I am fascinated with extraordinary fruits. I tried strawberries and they did bear but not to my liking. They came out small so I opted for planting grapes, of which is a huge success today. I currently have 5 grapevines that bears at my home. I also have small plants available to be sold to anyone interested,” Devon related.
He also plants other crops like cauliflower, cabbage, lettuce, sweet pepper and tomatoes.
Together, Allison and Devon are working on making sure that they continue to excel at everything they try.