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Hard work pays off for Dartmouth fruit seller
– now owns her own bus and home
By Yannason Duncan
Karen Barrington could be described as a “workaholic” but in more common terms, a “Hustler.” Mrs. Barrington, who travels twice a week to Georgetown to transport fruits from the Essequibo Coast to sell in order to earn a living, hardly spends her time doing nothing.
Karen Barrington in her fruits bond
“It ain’t easy but me a try, this give me all that I own today.” The mother of seven initially started out by catching crabs at the Better Hope Sea Shore and picking mangoes in the back dam. Back then, her two older sons, Delroy and Denroy Barrington, accompanied her. Barrington would then return to her Darthmouth, Essequibo home, where she would begin her day by selling those items, walking from Village to village with a basket on her head.
This pattern continued over the years and despite many challenges, her determination brought her successes one step at a time. The 51-year-old, Darthmouth entrepreneur, who is in the business for almost three decades to date, recalled becoming motivated by yearning to earn her own money. In fact, after she and her first husband had separated, the burden of raising her then young children became her sole responsibility.
But before she started to catch and sell crabs and mangoes, she purchased clothes and sold them on the Essequibo Coast. She however stuck with picking and selling fruits to customers outside of the Region because of its encouraging rewards.
“Sometimes you would just make back your own money that you put in to purchase the fruits and another time you earn double.”
Over the years, Barrington also noticed an increase in customers. Reflecting on her first years selling at the Stabroek, Bourda, Leonora and Parika markets, Barrington confessed that the task was grueling but the rewards remained encouraging. She vividly recalled having to travel to Georgetown on the M.V. Mali accompanied by her children, including her now deceased mother, Joan Marks, and boarding the ferry from the then Adventure Stelling with all of her produce.
“First time we used to have to carry all of our produce without the assistance of anyone straight to Georgetown but today, I have my own transportation”.
The task of soliciting customers was difficult. She explained that she used to spread cardboards to sleep on just to occupy her spot, especially through Friday night. Barrington maintained that her purpose then was and still is to take care of her seven children. Through her hard work Barrington proudly stated that she was able to educate all of her children, purchase land, construct her own home and today purchase a mini-bus, which currently aids in transporting her produce to Georgetown.
Barrington, who purchases fruits, including mangoes, gooseberries, star-apples, soursop, bananas, cherries, awaras, tamarind, five fingers, oranges, pears, genips etc by the trees from residents near and far on the Essequibo Coast on Thursdays, would later transport a full bus load of the produce on Mondays and Fridays to Georgetown where she sells back to other vendors. And whenever pears are in season Barrington says she purchases them by the thousands and sells to vendors. This advanced operation takes less time and gives Barrington more days to accumulate enough produce to transport to Georgetown for the following week. She said, today whenever she goes to Georgetown to transact her business, almost all of her produce are sold. She admits that sometimes she makes a minimal profit and on other occasions, she scores excessively.
The proud Essequibian said her children too are going into the back dam, especially the boys, to pick fruits and travel to Georgetown to sell.
She said that her elsest son has since built his own house from picking and selling fruits. “You first have to be determined in whatever you choose to do. It’s not everybody’s lot to get a good job because ‘job ain’t deh’, find something to do and be your own boss.”
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