AMESHA Halley manages the family-owned K and K Supermarket in Farm Village, Mahaicony, East Coast Demerara and is people-friendly with a warm smile.
She gives off a good vibe which is a plus for her business and provides employment for one young lady who operates the bill payment and money transfer section of the business.
The supermarket is the only one in the community, and it is supported by the locals, who make their daily purchases of essentials. The business is conveniently located on the public road.
The mother of two told the Pepperpot Magazine that the supermarket opened its doors four years ago and there are items that are reasonably priced even if a dollar less.
The shelves in this supermarket are well-stocked, and there are various local and imported items to choose from.
Halley is originally from Ann’s Grove, also on the East Coast Demerara but resides in Perth Village with her husband and two children.
The business opens from 07:30hrs to 19:30hrs providing reliable service to customers, who are friendly and very cooperative.
Halley reported that it is a very safe village; they would leave things unattended and it would be there when they get back.
They would do their bulk shopping from the vans and trucks visiting on weekdays, so it is convenient to shop right from the supermarket without having to leave.
Sharon Halley, the snackette owner
Meanwhile, also in the same village is the home and business place of Sharon Halley, who has a cosy snackette on the lower flat of her residence.
Her son has a water and detergent re-fill business there, as well, and she has five other children.
Telling her story, Halley stated that she is from Zeskendren, Mahaicony, but when she was three years old, she came to live with her grandmother, who is from Farm Village.
She added that Farm is a village of families, most people are related by blood, and there are very familiar with each other, making it a close-knit community.
Halley, a very likeable woman, related that growing up in the village was nice. They walked on the train line before it was dismantled and a road was constructed.
She disclosed that the train stopped its operations in 1970, and she was born in 1971, so she was unable to travel on the train but remembered the train tracks vividly.
Halley pointed out that life back then was very hard. Her grandmother was a hard worker who had a farm where they had cash crops on both sides of the train line.
The 51-year-old reported that then it only had three other houses, and it was a much undeveloped, busy area, and they had a lot of trees, including coconut trees.
Halley stated that her grandmother was among the first settlers in that village and she attended the Train Line Nursery School and then to Mahaicony Primary and Bygeval Secondary School.
She related that, after she finished secondary school, she worked at BURMA sampling rice and paddy for some years.
Thereafter, she gave birth to her first child and joined the Guyana Police Force (GPF) where she stayed for three years.
Halley later went to Carnegie School of Home Economics, and after she was qualified as a chef, she worked at Caribbean Rose Restaurant in the city and went on to hold a job at Midway Snackette in Mahaicony.
The mother of six added that she, however, re-joined the GPF and spent 10 years and three months as a cop and quit when her son opened his business from their home.
It was then she established her food business and became self-employed on May 1, this year.
“So far, it has been fair, things not buzzing at this end, but I am trying to pay myself and still make a small profit in this business,” she said.
Halley noted she likes the village because it is the quietness for her and the peace it brings; there was absolutely no drama and confusion in Farm Village and it was just what makes living there ideal.
The female relatives in the family would lend support to her by assisting in the kitchen, and for that, she was very grateful since she cannot afford to hire paid help.
Halley said she liked the quiet kind of life because she was a Christian and a member of the Kingdom Advance Ministry.