Two years ago, just after the Covid-19 pandemic hit, Amrita Routche, 37, found the perfect opportunity to start a business, making concrete garden figurines and planters, which she experiences a great demand for at Christmastime.
Amrita, a mother of two girls, who hails from Herstelling, East Bank Demerara (EBD), has always been very good with her hands, but it was the first time she delved into such a venture.
Even though she has to work extra hard during this season to fulfil her orders, she does not find it burdensome, as she enjoys creating the unique designs. She also offers discounts to her customers during the holidays.
It was actually just before the pandemic that she came across similar concrete designs on YouTube and knew she could take on the challenge of creating them. She never got around to doing it though, as she was busy operating a nail salon business.
After dropping her daughters off to school, she would head to her business place, located inside a pharmacy at Grove, EBD. Some days she would hardly get clients or sometimes, none at all and she would feel very disheartened.
When the lockdown started during the pandemic, Amrita had no source of income. Her husband, a mason, was also out of a job and that made life even more difficult for them.
Her children needed an internet connection for their online schooling but she could not afford it. Luckily, her friend who lives across the road shared her WiFi password, so they were able to join their classes. Even though the internet connection was a bit weak, it was a great help until she was eventually able to set up her own.
Amrita knew she had to act fast to make some money and she used the internet to brainstorm different ideas on YouTube. In the end, she knew that creating the garden planters and figurines would be the perfect business to start.
She was also aware that many Guyanese take pride in their flower gardens and would have more time during the pandemic to spend in it. But her ideas did not stop there! Amrita also decided to start selling exotic flower plants, including a variety of orchids, cacti and succulents.
Even though this new venture seemed more challenging, she was still ready to achieve her concrete goals. With a knack for craft, she immediately started fabricating her own designs.
She does most of the work herself, especially the intricate designs and the painting. Her husband’s skills as a mason also comes in handy and he provides whatever support she needs.
Her next stage after starting out was getting people to buy her products and she promoted it to a few people she knew. The business actually took off after her sister who has a gardening page on Facebook, advised her to set up a page as well.
She then created her Facebook page: Amrita’s Garden Centre. She was amazed that within a short time many people started following her and making purchases. Many people complimented her for the eye-catching pieces and that was enough to motivate her to keep going.
“My goal for the new year is to make shelves to display my products better. Right now I’m not getting a chance to put out new items because I keep getting orders and I have to fulfil them.”
All of her pieces are fully handmade and it takes her one day to finish a few. Her designs on the concrete planters include mushrooms, frogs, tree houses, elves and flowers. She also creates concrete plant stands, some taking the shape of tree trunks.
Amrita soon got the opportunity to start displaying, selling and getting orders for her pieces at monthly exhibitions. She also got to meet many other creative people and gardeners.
There were times when the exhibitions were not that feasible though and she was not able to recover the cost for her booth and for transportation. But she did not let that dampen her spirit and she continues to be part of it.
Amrita also has skills in cake decorating and was taking orders for birthdays and other occasions. She then enrolled for a course to enhance her skills. She does not find the time to do it now though. She was proud too, that she has talents in knitting items like chair backs, centre pieces and table runners. She is always ready to supply orders she gets for them.
She acknowledges that there are many other women who have hidden talents and encourages them to find their true potential.
“There are so many things we can do to empower ourselves,” she advised them. “But if we don’t try you we won’t know what we are capable of. So many videos are available out there to teach us, so we have no excuse that we don’t know…”
She encourages the women too to “go ahead and try it… It is not that hard. I was amazed at what cement can do. If not there are simpler things that you can …try to make.”
Amrita said the women can unleash their true potential if they stopped “wasting time on social media on things that would not benefit them. They should start using the internet to learn new things every day because you cannot get back the time that is lost….”
