Dressed appropriately in gear, 14-year-old Richaydo Farquharson shows us the tiny, but aggressive makers of his Jamaica Gold honey at his home in Porus, Manchester. Richaydo, who has been a bee farmer since age nine, was the recipient of the Best Business Plan award at the recent Young Entrepreneurs “I am the Change” camp, organised by the Mutual Building Societies Foundation (MBSF) and its partner Digicel Foundation, held two weeks ago at The University of the West Indies. The MBSF- formed by Jamaica National Building Society and The Victoria Mutual Building Society- has been operating the entrepreneurship programme under its Centres of Excellence school transformation initiative. The initiative involves six rural non-traditional high schools across Jamaica.

Guava, mango, star apple and ackee trees create a thick hedge, hiding the buzz of activity at the home of the little “Honey Man,” Richaydo Farquharson in Porus, Manchester, where he lives with his mother, Charmaine Stobbs and nine-year-old brother, Addwyn Richards.

At age 14, the young Rastafarian is already operating his own business, producing approximately 126 gallons of his branded Jamaica Gold honey, three times per year, from the 14 colonies in his apiary.

Richaydo’s main customers are residents in his community, as well as members of staff and students at Porus High School, which he attends just a few metres from his home.

Bee farming is a “stinging,” but profitable operation for the youngster, who balances his time carefully between high school and his occupation. He wakes up long before sunrise consistently to tend to his apiary and attends to the bees when he returns from school. Then he completes his school work.

To Richaydo, honey production is not a simple teenage preoccupation, he means business. And, like a determined spider dedicated to its task, the teenager has woven an intricate business plan, outlining the heights to which he intends to take his operation.

“Sometimes I’m stressed. I get too many stings,” he says jovially. “But it’s very profitable,” he admits, underscoring the heavy demand for his home-grown product.

Much of the intended expansion has already started, as the teenager has created a sample of natural lotions, hair food and lip balm items from the honeycomb with help from a family friend, and he is now testing the demand for those products. He is also set to produce a “honey straw,” a tasty and nutritious sweet, which he will introduce to the school’s tuck shop in the next school year. This will require a larger apiary and Richaydo has factored in a few more colonies to grow the operation, which he hopes to increase to 50 by 2016.

The display of such thoughtfulness led to Richaydo’s business plan being awarded the Best Business Plan trophy at the recent Young Entrepreneurs “I am the Change” camp, organised by the Mutual Building Societies Foundation and its partner Digicel Foundation, which was held two weeks ago at The University of the West Indies. Richaydo also walked away with a cash prize to assist with the capital for the expansion of his business.

“Richaydo has always been interested in marketing and talks about developing his own business,” his doting mother, Charmaine Stobbs says. A farmer by profession, she introduced her son to beekeeping at age nine.

“I believe that this programme has really helped him. He is more interested in his operation,” Miss Stobbs added, praising the recently ended camp for the values and skills it encourages the students to develop.

Richaydo sells his Jamaica Gold honey in three sizes: a small 250 millilitre size; a 550 millilitre medium bottle and the largest volume of the golden treat is sold in a litre bottle.

“Honey is very nutritious,” he affirms, emphasising that his bees are exposed to a variety of fruit trees and other flowering plants available on his mother’s one acre property. “Honey is a natural product and it helps to boost the immune system and is good for many illnesses,” Richaydo expounds.

He plans to register the business during the first phase of the expansion, which begins in August.

“He is an enterprising youngster and an excellent student,” comments Michael Stewart, Principal, Porus High School and a pleased Jamaica Gold customer. “His product is excellent and he is just so excited about what he does. We are very proud of him and will continue to support his venture as a school family.”

“It’s exciting when our students are allowed to explore their talents and find a niche in which they can shine,” says Kimala Bennett, Managing Director of The Business Lab, which manages the entrepreneurship programme on behalf of MBSF and Digicel Foundation.

“Richaydo was the youngest student at the inaugural entrepreneurial camp in 2011,” she recanted, “therefore, like proud parents, we have watched his growth, and, indeed it makes us confident and reaffirms our Vision 2030 goals. We only need to provide the right foundation and sustained support to encourage our young people to explore their creative potential,” she says.

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