The success of the Made in Guyana show, with more than 6,000 visitors

Wassai concentrate or awara powder for cooking. Creams, oils and other natural cosmetics to take care of yourself. Clothes and gift ideas for Christmas. There is something for everyone at the Made in Guyana show which ends at 7 p.m. this Sunday, November 17, at PROGT in Matoury.

“There you can find all the products that Guyana has to offer to its inhabitants and tourists, remarks a visitor. Madam buys me a natural shaving product!”

After five years of absence, this second edition is a success. The aisles are always full.

Since its opening on Friday, the show has attracted more than 6 000 visitors, according to the mid-day figure. This is as much as during the first edition in 2019.

“The results are positive given the attendance of the public and the feedback we have received from exhibitors in particular,” rejoices Sandrine Labonne, the organizer of the show.

The initial objective was to highlight Guyanese know-how, and it has been more than achieved. The exhibitors played the game, we have magnificent stands.

Sandrine Labonne, organizer

The salon also organized “happy hour” sequences to slash prices.

The initiative appeals to the public who are facing inflation and the decline in their purchasing power. “I discover a lot of beautiful things, soaps, perfumes, natural products, except that we are in the middle of the month, so we have to think about the wallettempers a customer. I try to stay reasonable but it’s difficult.”

“We look at all these beautiful things with our eyes, we can’t do otherwise, the month is not over!”, exclaims another lady in the aisles of the salon. “And there is Christmas coming”, adds Yolande.

The show is also a boon for exhibitors. Some take advantage of this to promote new products. On these stalls, Yana Wassay presents all the variations of awara, wassaï, turmeric and even cupuaçu.

“This show is a launching pad, explains Dave Drelin, president of Yanna Wassai. We were known for the awara concentrate and we were expected for the wassaï, so we took advantage of the show to release a range of products.”

“It’s a commercial strategy to take advantage of the show to communicate,” adds Dave Drelin who says he is delighted “the attendance and the quality of exchanges with visitors” happy to discover Guyanese know-how.

The only downside this year at the show: very few exhibitors from towns in the interior of the country were able to travel due to transport difficulties.

A few steps away, a father and his children, Juyane and Jimsly, offer bags of couac, salty and sweet sispa, cassava chips, banana chips, rice, but also toloman, lampoi and kassav . Promoting local production and the traditions of yesteryear is the objective of this family business from Iracoubo created just a year ago.

“When I was little, I went to cultivate slaughter with my grandmother, says Julyane Bunch, young business leader. We got up at 5 a.m., made our bread, and got ready to go to the abatis. At midday, we tried to find a small cove to swim. We saw the hard work to be able to eat what we had produced ourselves”.

We created this company to market the products that we have eaten and cherished all our lives and to transmit our childhood flavors.

Still in high school, Jimsly helps in the family business. “Sometimes, I dream of us developing internationally”says the young man, smiling. “But by staying in Guyana”adds his sister. “We will always keep our traditions and our artisanal originality”assures Julyane.

Beyond sales strategies, this show also allows exhibitors to make themselves known, and can perhaps create new commercial opportunities.