Rosamund Benn, the brain behind Pomeroon Rose, a new agro-processing start-up which manufactures virgin coconut oil and coconut cassareep, believes in the power of perseverance and consistency.
The Pomeroon River resident earlier this year branched out from a local women’s agro-processing group to establish her own registered business, a concrete demonstration of her belief that we should stretch ourselves and look for ways to
expand and being unique.
“I want to let women know that they need to look at business not as something just for today, but to look beyond tomorrow and know your business can be that which you dream it to be.”
Benn, who was born in Pomeroon but grew up in Moruca, Region One (Barima-Waini), stressed, “Consistency is key. You give them a good product; let it remain a good product all the time. Stick to your product. I look at it as a relationship (the business), and just as you would in a relationship, give your dedication and commitment.”
She is so particular about ensuring the high quality of her products that, while she accepts help to prepare the dry five-year coconuts she uses for both the oil (the coconut meat) and cassareep (the coconut water), she is the only person actually making the product. Waxing eloquent about the versatility of the coconut tree – with myriad uses for the nuts, branches and other parts of the plant, Benn noted that many persons looked down on the coconut, but now we have the science to prove its many health benefits. Coconut oil has powerful medicinal, fat-burning, antiseptic and moisturising properties, many of which it shares with coconut water, the main ingredient in the delicious cassareep Benn created that many are coming to prefer.
“If you have a dream, I think you should follow it,” she declared when asked what advice she would give would-be entrepreneurs, e adding that patience and honesty were the most crucial qualities needed by businesspeople. She also called on authorities to simplify the process of operating a business to help entrepreneurs grow.
The homemaker and businesswoman noted that sometimes there are challenges –“ not one, not two, sometimes it’s like a storm, but if you’re prepared to weather that storm, success will come…Never ever think you can’t make it”.
“When you fall, do you just lay there with people saying ‘oh look, that woman fell’?” she asked quizzically. “No, you pick yourself up, dust yourself off and go again.”
Benn acknowledged that running a home and a business was a challenge in of itself. Her day starts early, as she awakens and prepares breakfast for the family and sees her grandchildren off to school. Once that task is accomplished and her housework done, she begins the procedure of turning the prepped coconut into the highly beneficial oil using a solar (UV) heater. She said planning your work and working the plan was essential to juggling family life and business.
“You need to be focused; have a plan, prepare, careful planning and preparation. Don’t wake up today and say I want to do this, wake and say today I will do this and plan how you will achieve it,” she counselled, before thanking her husband and children for their support in her achieving business success.
The Women’s Agro-Processors Development Network (WADN) member, who says success is about seeing the business deliver on time and meet demand, has her sights set on expansion. “I plan to expand my business into the Caribbean. I have persons (interested buyers) in Trinidad and I am working to export.”
Benn has already applied for her licences from the Food and Drug Department and is ready to repeat the feat she accomplished as part of the women’s group of exporting 50 gallons to Antigua, thanks in part to the Guyana Marketing Corporation (GMC) and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA).
Contact: Grant Wide Garden, Pomeroon River, Guyana; 683-0762/614-5024; [email protected]
