He says some days he sells one bag and some days he sells a dozen or more. But for Andrew Herman, his polyethene string-bag business is his main means of an income, a trade he learnt since he was 10-years-old.
Herman can be seen around town pushing his cart with the colourful string-bags displayed on his cart. He said he wakes up before sunrise and head to the city from his home in Golden Grove on the East Bank of Demerara to ply his trade.
He said he started making the bags after learning the art from his late grandmother. “That’s in the 1970s, my grandmother was a businesswoman , she use to sell on Water Street near the arcade,” he recounted.
He told the Guyana Times that in those days he made the bags for her to sell and he noted that at the time he was “still younger that the Common Entrance class.” At the time, Herman said he was a student of the St Andrews Primary School at the Stabroek.
Andrew Herman and his coloured strong bags
Back in those days, Herman said his grandmother and his aunts plied the craft-making trade. “I use to look on and watch how they making it and that is how I learn,” Herman said.
Herman said that bags are strong. “These bags can carry a sack of cement. It can tek the weight ,” he said. He likened the material to the seine nets used by fishermen, adding that since those nets are used to haul tonnes of fish, his bags possess the durability to fetch the heavy items.
Designing the bag
Herman said making the bags require a lot of skill and time. He said it takes as much as two hours to make one bag. According to him, he utilises various colours of the polyethene string which he inserts into various needles. “Each string use a different needle,” he said.
Andrew Herman says he has been making the polyethene string bags since he was 10 years old
He said that he starts the process by plaiting and sewing from the top of the bag until one colour is complete. “You plait that colour and when you reach the end you burn the ends to keep in in tack,” he said, adding that he ends the process with the handle which is plaited and burnt at the end to complete the bag.
Herman noted that he retails the bags for $1000 although he posited that the entire process can be time-consuming and he should increase his price. But he wouldn’t. He said that he understands that the customer may not be able to afford to pay a higher price. “Some days you sell one, yesterday I sold three,” he said, noting that some days he sells more.
Herman noted that although the sales may fluctuate, he loves his trade. “You got to be able to manage and go again. Some days I take a time off because I have to gather my materials and make the bags,” he said.
With a chuckle, Herman said he is a father of one, but he noted that he has seen children who resemble him while walking around. He said he has several grandchildren and he noted that he loves his family dearly. Anyone who wishes to contact Andrew Herman can contact him on mobile number 682-4724.
