providing tasty, wholesome foods at #8 Village

By Michel Outridge

CARLENE Pluck is a self-employed small busi - owner who is well- in her community for the delicious foods and snacks she makes daily for her customers via her roadside snackette at #8 Village, West Coast Berbice.

The 33-year-old told the

Pepperpot Magazine that she did not like the thought of having to work for people, and after some planning and hard work to save up some money, she embarked on her business venture of establishing her own snackette.

Since the could cook well, it was a well-thoughtout concept. She started eight years ago, and her small business is still growing, because she provides a reliable customer service.

The mother of three related that when she went out and saw how people were treated by their employers, she knew right away she had to have her own small business.

Pluck stated that she began preparing homecooked meals for sale daily, which was immediately a hit among the locals and schoolchildren.

It encouraged her to con- tinue operating her small snackette, strategically located at a corner on the first street in the village.

Pluck noted that she would wake up from 03:30hrs to start preparing the foods for her shop.

Her daily menu includes fried chicken with fries, channa, phulourie, egg ball, pastries, macaroni and cheese, burgers, saltfish and bake, puri and chicken curry with locally-made fruit juices and coconut water.

The resident of #8 reported that the people in the community fully support her small business, as do the dozens of learners attending both the primary and secondary schools within the village. The mother of three told the Pepperpot Magazine that she was born and raised in the village, and for her, it is not just her place of birth, but it is home; a community that is safe and ideal for a good country life.

Pluck reported that her shop is located in front of her mother’s house, and within the same yard she has her own house. They are a close-knit family and community, she said, adding that her prices are pocket-friendly, and she would try to keep the cost within a certain range to accommodate the children attending school.

“I am accustomed to cooking and preparing all the ingredients for the eatables. And waking up early to do it is no bother for me at all,” she said.

The snackette is clean, and it has a wooden bench for customers, and also outfitted with refuse disposal bins. The surroundings are tidy as well.

Pluck’s snackette would be opened for 06:30hrs daily, which caters for breakfast for people who are working and have to leave the village early.

“This is a good place to live; the people are good-natured, and almost everybody here is related by blood, so we cooperate to get things done. It is a quiet, peaceful village,” she said.

Pluck would close for the day when her glass case is empty, and all her foods are sold out just about midday or a bit later to accommodate schoolchildren.