Lawrence Braithwaite is one of many creative Guyanese who, over many years, have transformed their ‘knack’ for ‘working magic’ in the kitchen into foods that ‘catch on’ not just at the family table but with a much larger market of ‘foodies,’ big enough to transform a hobby into a profitable worthwhile economic venture.
When the Stabroek Business met Lawrence back in 2016 he was offering three products………. Plantain Flour, Barley Flour and Tamarind Balls. They we selling well. It is usually that way with naturally sweet-handed people like Mr. Braithwaite.
Some things have happened since our meeting in 2016. He has added to his range of products, also offering, these days, Instant Porridge Mix, and Plantain Flour Porridge Mix in Strawberry, Chocolate and Coconut flavors. There are times, too, when Pancake Mix and Fish Fritters are available.
The attraction in these offerings is that they are ‘quick cook’ foods. Most of them take about two minutes, ‘tops,’ to prepare. Lawrence says that much of his time is spent “thinking up” new ‘quick cooking’ ideas. He wants, he says, to respond as best he can, to the needs of busy parents.
His products usually sell well in parts of Georgetown. They are usually sold at James’ Rubis Service Station at Tucville, Bounty Supermarkets, The Guyana Shop and an un-named pharmacy at LBI, East Coast Demerara.
Life, however, has not always been good to him.
His products can be found at James Rubis Service Station at Tucville, Bounty Supermarket, Guyana Shop and a pharmacy at LBI, East Coast Demerara.
Since 2016, too, Lawrence has had to deal with other changes, challenges. Back in 1998 he had been diagnosed with Glaucoma. The prognosis was that he would eventually lose his sight entirely. These days his vision is fading fast; so fast that he has had to quit his job as a construction worker. The Buxtonian then turned his hand to rearing poultry. And cultivating vegetables at his homestead in Buxton. A combination of poultry diseases and the challenges of what had become near blindness forced him to give up his farming ‘ambitions.’ These days he has a full-time preoccupation with his ‘manufactured’ products operating a registered business enterprise, Braf’s Manufacturing, from his 468 East Ruimveldt home.
Braithwaite well remembers some of his earlier days in the ‘manufacturing’ sector. In 2013 he had participated in a product display at the Aurhur Chung Convention Centre. He had met, there, with functionaries of the Guyana Marketing Corporation (GMC) and they had encouraged him to create a registered business. GMC officials had, afterwards, ‘walked’ him through the process during which he had engaged a number of state agencies including the Government Analyst Food &* Drugs Department.
Lawrence’s now fast-fading eyesight has meant that he has had to secure the services of an Assistant. Rudo Best is the eyes of the production process. Her primary responsibility is with ensuring that the sanitation and food safety protocols are followed. Rudo also ‘doubles’ as an Administrative Assistant, playing a key role in some areas that include the packaging and labeling processes. She also interfaces with state agencies and outlets on behalf of the company and overseas the company’s involvement in product promotion exercises.
Braithwaite’s tamarind balls are a personal triumph. They have their origins in a ‘challenge’ thrown out to him to add those to his list of products. In Georgetown one day he took the plunge, bought some tamarind and produced what might be termed a sample batch. They sold out like proverbial hot cakes, his customers being both adults and children. The desired flavor, he says, is a “sour, peppery and sweet’ flavor.
These days he purchases shelled tamarind from a Berbice farmer whom he had earlier met in Georgetown. More recently he has also been securing supplies from a Mahaicony farmer though some of his supplies are also secured from various tamarind trees on the East Coast Demerara.
Beyond securing supplies Braithwaite has had to be mindful of health and safety considerations that attend the production of commodities that have to be handled constantly. Accordingly, his work space is carefully managed. Utensils are routinely sterilized and separated. The advent of covid-19 meant that additional layers of health-related protocols had to be added to the existing ones.
His Tamarind Balls sell well. They can be purchased at the Guyana Marketing Corporation’s Guyana Shop, James’ Rubis Service Station and at an unnamed outlet at LBI on the East Coast Demerara. They are also in high demand among ordinary vendors.
Packaging and labeling are Mr. Braithwaite’s biggest challenges. It is the high cost that is daunting, he says. Between packaging and labeling they ‘eat up’ around 30% of production costs. Still he has become acutely aware of the fact that in his line of work image is everything.
Time may not be on Lawrence Braithwaite’s side. He concedes that his “sight condition” is now almost certainly irreversible. These days, he soldiers on, evidently appreciative of the opportunity that his ‘sweet hands’ have afforded him not just to make a living but to win the approval of his customers.
