At Fellowship, Mahaicony, Alfred Richmond was busy working on his farm. He was peeling coconuts to supply to a middleman by midday. His wife, Trudy and son were helping him.
The middleman wanted the biggest and the best quality nuts for exporting. He was paying Richmond $20 each and although the farmer was not satisfied with that price he was very happy that he had gotten a new market.
He was distressed though about the decline in his once flourishing business and was praying for it to “pick up.”
A large-scale farmer, he once enjoyed a steady market for coconut oil which he would make with the “rejected” nuts. He sold a large amount of the product at the Stabroek Market but now he is “just selling a little.”
He also sold a small amount in the community but said, “Nobody is coming around now.” In the past, he made one barrel, containing 50 gallons of oil, per day.
Now, he said “the market is not there” and he is barely