Accompong resident hopes for sweet success in new business

Cornell Wright is outraged by the fact that there are few or no job opportunities in Accompong, St Elizabeth, for residents to make a living. Wright, 38, told THE CENTRAL STAR that it has been like that all his life.

"I've been here all my life, and right now, me just siddung a cut up some bamboo fi do some cotton candy. Me afi walk through di community and sell cotton candy. One and two kids and people will buy. People might think seh money a make up inna dem place here because a tourist hotspot, but a no so it go."

The Accompong native said that he has been playing drums to make a little money but recently decided to pick up something else.

"A drum me play ina a group, enuh ... . It is a part of a culture group. I'm doing it for four years now. It nuh 100 per cent pay, enuh, cause me nah really make much. Only way it pay a if somebody seh, 'Yow, how much fi play a one likkle party dung deh suh?' Den again, yuh know yah fi pay di dancer dem and dem ting deh. And most money go back to di bus cause most work we get a inna Negril and Ochi and dem place deh," he said.

"When we pay out everybody now, it come like nothing nah too lef back fi di group. So me just find a way. Me see me sister wid di cotton candy machine, and me tell har seh me ago wah di machine fi gwan do two likkle hustling."

Just as the machine came easy, he didn't have to look too far for the bamboo to hold the cotton candy.

"Like how me know seh me have bamboo a grow inna our place, me nuh really go buy nuh stick or nothing. So me jus cut di top part a di bamboo, and yuh know seh di top part a up ina di tree. When me use di top now, dat cleaner. From deh so now, me split it up to di size weh me want and scrape dem so dem caa cut nobody or stick ina nobody finga. So me shave it up and neat it up, and a it dat."