Growing up in the fertile lands of Kuru Kuru just off the Soesdyke/Linden Highway, Carl Reid often found himself in the farms his father cultivated.
When he grew up, he decided that he would also get into farming.
“I watched my father do this and some of my other friends were doing it too. So instead of going and work with people, I decided to start this on my own,” he told the News Room this week.
The mix of sand, silt and clay was found suitable for an Eddoe plantation and Reid set about the job. Today, he has 40-acres of Eddoe and reaps an average of 100 bags per week and has a ready market.
When he started out in 1996, Reid didn’t exactly know how big the business would grow; but from the year 2000, he could no longer manage on his own. He currently has six employees and is looking to expand the business.
To transport the large amount of chicken litter he uses as manure and to also transport the produce to markets, Reid took the decision to buy a truck with a loan from the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry.
“At first, I thought it was difficult, given the number of documents and so you have to get. But, it was simple, and they help you a lot,” he said.
He plans on taking another loan as part of plans to expand the business.
Reid’s arduous work on the farm is for the four precious children he has – Carese, Immanuel, Malachi and Carima. Their ages range from 6-3 and all are in school, with the youngest, Carima, in pre-school.
“I thought one would have been a problem, then I thought two would have been a problem. But now I have four! But I don’t think I am manging too bad.”
“Sometimes it does feel frustrating, but then when you look at them, you put your frustration aside and do what you have to do.”
And that’s what we found him doing last Friday when we met up with him at the Ptolemy Reid Rehabilitation Centre.
Immanuel had a fall and hurt his left arm. Reid was with him the entire morning for the therapy session, sitting by his side.
Reid’s day usually starts with taking all the children to school. The first three all attend private schools and Carima should get into nursery school this September.
Once they are all in school, he heads out to the farm to make sure the operations are running smoothly.
Having had failed relationships, Reid decided he would take care of his children on his own and he doesn’t discount the challenges involved in raising four young children.
But at the end of the day, he says it is all worth it.
“When you wake up and see them in the morning, you feel nice.
“Sometimes they wake before you and they come and lie on you; some nights you go home, they come and hug you.
“Sometimes you just see them laughing and you feel good; seeing them happy is the most important thing.”
