Through our partner, Dr Ashley John, leader of Constructive Solutions Inc, as we continue to celebrate entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial people in the Caribbean for Caribbean Entrepreneurship Week (CEW) 2019, we would like to introduce you to SVG’s entrepreneur and teacher, Ms Michker N. Edwards.
Agriculture is my passion! This love has taken me to the classroom to disseminate information in a meaningful way. I am currently employed at the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Community College Division of Technical and Vocation Education as a Lecturer in the Department of Hospitality and Agriculture. I have some twelve (12) years of teaching experience in Agriculture Science.
I am also a young and very enthusiastic farmer and an ambitious agripreneur who wish to contribute holistically to the development of the agricultural sector of St. Vincent and the Grenadines – from the “faculty to the fields” and from the “effort to the enterprise”!
I hold a Bachelor of Science degree in General Agriculture from the University of the West Indies St. Augustine.
I am actively involved in the delivery of Agriculture Extension Education to several groups of Farmers Cooperatives, Youth and Women groups in the rural St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Areas include Agro-processing and Value Addition, this is, in my opinion, my way of contributing to the nation’s food security, and it’s nutrition as well as creating gainful employment for the benefit of citizens of SVG.
I started product development five (5) years ago when the program at the Division of Technical and Vocational Education changed from Agriculture Science to Agriculture Science and Entrepreneurship. I began my small business with the production of flavoured rums because as a lecturer in Agriculture Science and Entrepreneur I believe in sharing real-life experiences with her students where possible “walk the talk” and not “chalk and talk” thus the initiative of an indigenous cottage industry merged with a modern entrepreneurial effort.
With the passion for Agriculture and in conjunction with creativity and a tasting for exotic alcohol, the dedicated of skills in producing flavoured rum, and hence Quraqu J Flavoured Rum was born. This product that expresses the personality and taste of island Rum.
Quraqu J flavoured rums are an exciting, aromatic and delightful infusion of the calypso-sweet tropical fruits and sense-tingling spices abundant in the unique volcanic landscaped, lush-rain-forested and hassle-free, beach laden archipelago of islands called St. Vincent and the Grenadines; the Gem of the Antilles, with the effervescent ‘Vincy’ white spirits as its base.
Variants of the flavours include the iconic Soufriere water and the fearsome fiery flare of the enigmatic Soufriere Lava.
Subtle variants for the less adventurous palate include the exotic sweet-tart tasting Passion fruit, the unique Sorrel, and the famous tropical hint of Coconut. Further complements include the pleasant floral tasting Cocoa, the smooth eye-opener flavour of Coffee, the therapeutic Lemongrass, Rosemary, the aromatic and savoury Cinnamon and the smoothing elegance of‘Jengribre gold’ aged to perfection.
A multiplicity of other rum flavourings is in the works to add to the colourful range of infusions on the palette of Quraqu J rums.
The business was registered in 2017 followed by a soft launch in October 2018.
A visit to Yurumein (the indigenous Garifuna name for St. Vincent and the Grenadines) is incomplete without a sampling of the refreshingly delectable and
My plan in the near future is to pursue a master’s degree in Agriculture and Rural Development, Entrepreneurship and advanced training in Product Development. This will further improve my work with my students, the rural farmer’s cooperative groups and youth groups in St.Vincent and the Grenadines.
It is my belief that when the livelihood of our farmers and the youths improves, so does the economic gains of our Country.