Berbice couple pioneers local beeswax enterprise

Sep 15, 2014 News

– decorative candles, hair and skin products on market

By Leon Suseran

Berbice bee-keepers Devon and Allison Gilead have pioneered a local enterprise which markets on a small but significant scale by-products from their business.

Some of the decorative candles made from beeswax, on display

Their products, Nature Gift Vaseline, decorative candles, natural honey- roasted nuts, honey and soaps have entered the market over the past two months.
Gilead, a bee- keeper for over 18 years, developed a love for the work and nurtured the idea of developing by- products -honey and wax. “Once you get a love for something, you will get the very best out of it,” he stated. He started with hair and hand products.
“The products are selling very fast…a lot of people love it, but there are a lot of people in other parts of the country who do not know about it.”
His wife, Allison, who happens to be his marketing agent, so to speak, talked about their products. A natural moisturizer, she added, was developed for both hair and skin, “and so, we did some research— my husband and myself— and we thought that instead of using the petroleum jelly used to make Vaseline, we will use the beeswax, because we found out it is a wonderful moisturizer.”
The beeswax is used in conjunction with coconut and crab- oil, bee pollen and bee propolis to make the all- natural product, “and we came up with our wonderful ‘vaseline’ and we also add a little clove to give it a little freshness and lemon oil.” She added that everyone loves the product which can work for both hair and skin. “If you keep using it, especially after you shower; it leaves your skin smooth and helps to clear up your skin.” None of their products have artificial ingredients.

Pure honey (in glass), and vaseline additives: coconut oil, crab oil and bee propolis {in small jars} on display

The candles, she added, are made from the wax. After the honey is extracted from the honey comb, the remains of the combs are put into a solar wax melter and the sun does the rest. The melted wax is then poured into the moulds and the candles are formed.
A two- ounce jar of the hair product retails for $500. She noted that some people might say that it’s pricey but there are a lot of good and natural ingredients inside. “We decided that we would not set it at $800 but $500 so that it can be affordable to everyone.”
The prices for the decorative candles vary from $2,000 to $5,000 because of their sizes and amount of wax needed to create them. The candles are usually purchased for decorative purposes, she added, especially by hoteliers in Guyana.
His small operations are located at Sixth Street, Islington Village, East Bank Berbice, also where their products can primarily be bought, since they have not started marketing them via supermarkets or shops as yet.
When asked if it is scary dealing with bees, Mr. Gilead said that one really needs to have a love for bees. And he was stung many times but never quit. “One time I was doing work in Sandvoort and they started to attack me and I ended up jumping off a roof- top. There was a second time I was doing work in a burial ground and I was attacked again,” he added.
Beeswax is a known moisturizer, and is said to protect the skin from the sun and other elements. Honey is said to be full of anti- oxidants and is also anti- bacterial and consists of a host of minerals such as Potassium, Phosphorus, Calcium and Iron.

The vaseline and other products on display

The husband and wife team also prepared pamphlets with information about their products.
Anyone interested in the operations or products of this young and enterprising couple can make contact with them via telephone numbers 661-9766 or 612-3028.