Beginning last August the Agriculture Department of the St. Ignatius Village Council has been facilitating a Farmers’ Market for Farmers drawn from Central Rupununi, including the villages of – Quarrie, Moco Moco, Kumu, Hiawa, Parishara and St Ignatius, among others. The Market is staged on the lawns of a well-appointed open space populated by modest buildings, from which vantage points the ‘vendors’ ply their trade.
Roldan Welcome, the Village Counsellor whose responsibility it is to ensure that the event is run off in good order, appears to take his responsibilities seriously. For the Farmers and Kitchen Gardeners in the various communities the event is one of considerable importance. It affords them a well-attended market at which to sell their produce, and by extension to generate earnings that cannot otherwise be easily realized. At the Market, too, deals could be struck that allow for longer term trading business relationships. Welcome appears pleased with the trading environment which the Market allows.