Features

MAKYN THE NEWS ... at Lowe River

( left )Little Natisha Palmer looks on as vendors in Lowe River prepare their goods to go off to market. ( right ) Earl Deer with his faithful donkey Jack making their way with baskets filled with yam in Lowe River, Trelawny on Friday.

Photographer's final comments

IF YOUR ARE a lover of yam then the community of Lowe River in Trelawny would be like heaven for you. There are acres upon acres of yam stretching across a number of fields in the community.

I got a brief look at the hard work it takes to get these yams to the markets. Firstly there is the reaping process early in the morning; then it has to be transported to a dispatching area in the community where the vendors come to purchase and select their loads. After all of that comes the long trip from Trelawny to Coronation Market in Kingston.

The last trip usually begins between 9 or 10 p.m. every Friday night and finishes at about 2 a.m. You would think that the vendors would get a little nap after the journey but surprising to me one vendor Marjorie Fullerton told me she has to unload and start setting up for some very early buyers who usually arrive between 4 and 5 a.m. At the end of the day the satisfaction in knowing that they are able to support their families makes it worth the hassle.