The European Union has a strong presence here in Jamaica. They have funded a number of NGOs and infrastructure projects and they are currently soliciting bids for several smaller grants. Youth Opportunities Unlimited is going for a couple of them, and yesterday we visited five entrepreneurs in Allman Town. This area of Kingston is close to the impoverished “downtown” area, but it seems relatively prosperous. It is a small area of narrow roads on which houses and colourfully painted businesses that front right onto the street. It has been plagued by violence over the past decade or so, but in the past couple of years, the situation appears to be improving.

But back to YOU. The grant we are going for targets poverty reduction, so we are talking to business owners who need some support, financial and otherwise, to take their endeavours to the next level. They need training in terms of business plan-writing, budgeting, marketing, staffing and quality control. What they do not need, however, and yesterday reaffirmed this for me, is a sense of entrepreneurialism. Despite many odds against them, these people maintain some core values necessary to run a successful business: risk-aversion, dedication and creativity. Here are a few quick portraits of people we met yesterday (names have been changed).

Ray is a young man who was recently laid off from a full-time job. He was shirtless when we walked in, but quickly pulled on a paint-covered white t-shirt over some blue track shorts. Somehow, he has picked up the skill of crafting caskets. We visited him in a small, unfinished building with concrete walls and a leaking zinc fence roof. A casket under construction sat in the middle of the room on a stand. Judging by its size, it might be meant for a child. It was painted white and gold on the corners and edges. Ray told us he has enough business and that everyone in the neighbourhood knows him. He does not really want to move from his current location, nor does he want any training in terms of marketing or budgeting, and he has an apprentice to train (a young man sitting in the corner who was rolling a joint and then lit up as we spoke). He just needs materials, and if he is on track, he can construct five caskets per day. They cost about $40 (Canadian) each. Ray told us he plans to “go as far as I can.”

Mary has been running a cook shop out of her home for a decade. It is a shadow of what it used to be since violence made the “business run down”. Mary makes fried chicken, chips and dumplings out of the annex to her home. The walls are painted a bright seafoam green. A poster advertising a March 2011 dance is partially ripped off the wall. The ceiling is literally sagging, the foamcore boards falling to reveal pipes and wires. The floors are layers upon layers of laminate in various states of peeling off. There is a sheet, acting as a curtain, hanging, and behind it is a table covered with newspapers, where Mary fries the food. There is a table at the front, where Mary puts all the food and utensils when it is ready to be delivered. Mary’s daughter delivers the food on foot, or students from nearby schools and government workers drop in. She works every night until about ten or eleven o’clock. Mary wants to get back to cooking the full spectrum of food she used to offer, because the neighbourhood is becoming more safe.

Sonita and her family run four separate businesses that offer the following: chemicals (like bleach), condiments (coconut drops, greater cake, tamarind balls, saltfish and crackers, peanuts), stationary and medical supplies. Everything is cooked, assembled and sold out of the family home to people in the neighbourhood. Originally, they sold their wares out of a small, rented space nearby, but the rent was increased to a prohibitive amount. Sonita gave us samples of her food and welcomed us into her home, which was one room crammed with two dressers, two beds, a flat-screen TV playing a Hallmark movie and a fridge. Sonita, who had chin length braids and wore a grey tank dress, insisted we sit down and get out of the rain. Her sister came by, wearing a neon-pink skirt and striped tank top, and gave us labels for the lime juice drink they make as samples of their work.

Evan is a young man who runs a car-detailing business. It operates unofficially from a car-sized spot of concrete outside the Ministry of Finance. Evan has written Car Wash in red marker on a piece of cardboard and propped it on a chair. It was soaked when we visited since it was raining. Evan showed us two cars he had recently finished. One was a grey cube van and it was gleaming and clean. Evan wore a green G-star t-shirt, camouflage pants and had the perfectly manicured brows so popular amongst young men here. He is a member of the Police Youth Club, which are a popular mechanism in communities for encouraging positive relations between police and community members.

Each of these business owners gave us a list of what they need in terms of resources to take commerce to the next level. We will take the next few days to determine who will be included in our grant application.