Carmeleta wants to teach youth how to crochet

Carmeleta McKnuff has been living in the Bull Bay community for many years and she takes pride in selling her handmade, crocheted bags and hats.

She also sells food items, but as you traverse through the community, you cannot miss the products dangling from the rafters of her stall.

The St Andrew native, who has been crocheting from a young age, said that her crocheted items are one of her greatest passions, and crocheting is a skill she is willing to share with others.

“Mi a work pan a hat right now weh very hard to do. It may look simple, but it hard. Right now mi woulda want a school weh mi can teach the youth dem how to make them things yah. Mi nah hide this from no one. Mi like Black people have them own likkle sup’m a gwaan,” she said.

According to her, there are days when she gets good sales and other days that are not so fruitful.

But she give thanks to all those who have supported her throughout the years. She said she acknowledges that her business is not a craft shop, and thus she tries her best to give customers the best prices.

She told THE STAR that she has expanded her crochet skills by making clothes, but she is yet to reveal them to the public.

“Mi a do this from mi a likkle pickney and more time me mek clothes for myself, but I don’t sell it, I wear it to any likkle stage show weh a keep. When two likkle tourist come raft pan the beach, dem wi stop and buy a likkle thing from me. People pass and dem stop and seh dem a carry a tour bus come and dem spend a likkle five dollar wid me,” she said.

McKnuff said that she has big dreams for her community and would like to see the government take interest in developing the area. She said that people in her area would welcome jobs as many are unemployed.

“Mi wah mi thing large. But the place wah set up, it wah more development. But the Government need to come and set up something down here so that the youth them in the community can get a job because some of the tourist them, when they come, they want a guest house and thing,” she said.