‘Chief’: An experiment with wines turns into viable business venture in Mainstay Community

Nov 13, 2022 News

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By Romario Blair

Kaieteur News – The origin of the word ‘chief’ can be traced all the way back to the 14^th century. Since then, it has been associated with leadership within indigenous tribes. Centuries later, and the word ‘Chief’ is now associated with natural, yet exotic and refreshing wines, produced locally here in Guyana.

The establishment of the ‘Chief’ label started with a few simple experiments conducted by an individual driven by a sense of discovery, Mr. Lascels Pearson. What may sound impossible at first, became a reality with Pearson’s production of wine, which included watermelon, pumpkin wine, jamoon, cashew, mango, guava, banana, cherry, capadulla, sorrel and purple potato wine.

Mr. Pearson grew up in the indigenous community of Mainstay on the Essequibo Coast. Amongst the most prevalent activities within that community is farming. With an oversupply of fruits within the community, however, wastage was a dominant issue.

ON A MISSION TO TACKLE WASTAGE

It was on a quest to address the issue of wastage, that the idea of naturally bottled wine became a reality. We’re often told that great things must be achieved during our early youth. Mr. Pearson, who is now sixty-seven-years-old, told this Magazine that he was forty-years-old when he embarked on his bottling mission.

He further said, “It’s very normal to see a lot of fruits within Mainstay, sadly it’s also normal to see a lot of wastage because of a lack of demand for those same fruits. One of the things I grew up seeing was lots of fruits being wasted. The people there don’t put it to use, because there’s no other known way to use the fruits like jamoon and the cashew, and so they were all going to waste. So, one day I decided to pick up some fruits and start some experiments… I picked some fruits and I decided to ferment them”

He added, “The first fruit I started with was jamoon [Java Plum], because jamoon was so plentiful… after that I started with cashew, and then I rolled over to different fruits.” Mr. Pearson revealed that at one point, he had thirty-five varieties of fruits for fermentation. Due to availability issues for some fruits that number was eventually reduced to twenty.

A LENGTHY YET REWARDING PROCESS

Fermentation is defined as, ‘the extraction of energy from carbohydrates in the absence of oxygen.’ This process plays a key role in the production of alcoholic beverages. Mr. Pearson told Kaieteur News that the fermentation process can be tricky, as it works differently on various varieties of fruits.

As he went on to explain the process he employs, he said, “The process takes a lengthy time. The first step is like a preparatory stage that begins with gathering the fruits. Then there’s the process where you have to wash them and put them in sterilized containers.” He explained further saying, “I then remove them from the sterilized containers and place them into another container where they would remain for eight days.”

Pearson said that after eight days, the fruits are strained before being stored in a final container for fermentation. This final process he says can take months.

LEARNING FROM TRIAL AND ERROR

The truth about any new initiative is that there are bound to be some moments that result in failure. When asked how he has learnt from his past mistakes, Pearson revealed that there were issues in fermentation during his testing phases. “I tried all fruits to test which will ferment best. One day out of curiosity I tested the cucumber, and it did not end well. Because the cucumber is already high in water concentration, the result was a very slimy pulp at the end of the day, so I had to end that test.”  He added, “I tried the watermelon and the pumpkin though, they came out exactly as they should.”

THE FIRST BATCH

This magazine learnt that Pearson completed his first batch of wine in 2010, which was distributed locally within his community. “The first batch of wine I made, I sold it locally in the area in 2010 and to my surprise the response I got was really positive. Since the response was positive, I started developing more and more, because I found that people were especially fond of the jamoon, cashew and mango.”

From 2010 to now, the ‘Chief’ brand has significantly improved its capacity in production and presentation. Amongst the varieties of wine presently being produced are cashew, mango, guava, banana, cherry, capadulla, sorrel and the purple potato. Lascels said that his wife, Evon Pears Fredricks and sons Alex Pearson, Emroy Pearson and Cortis Fredricks, all play an active role in bottling and labelling the product at their Mainstay residence.

ESTABLISHING ‘CHIEF’ AS A BRAND

‘Chief’ officially became a brand in 2015 and now carries its own bottle and label. When asked how he arrived with the name ‘Chief’ for a brand, Pearson revealed that it’s simply because his family has seen a number of Toshaos in his time. “So, I was the Toshao for Mainstay at one time, and the Toshao is sometimes called the Chief. Then my wife became the Toshao, then one of my sons became a Toshao, and now my wife is a Toshao again. So, since we are a family of Toshaos and it’s a family business now, the brand ‘Chief’ was the best choice.

TAKING THE ‘CHIEF’ WELL INTO THE FUTURE

Mr. Lascels Pearson told Kaieteur News that a part of his plans for the near future is to introduce his brand to the local supermarkets with the support of the Guyana Marketing Corporation [GMC]. This goal, he says, will be embarked on by next year.

Pearson pointed out that at the moment there are still a few challenges, which include sourcing adequate bottles and fruits for his business. He pointed out, however, that he has devised a plan that will tackle these shortcomings in the near future. One these issues are ‘ironed out,’ said Pearson, he will be fully prepared to take on the international market with naturally made exotic wine under the brand ‘Chief.’

 

 

 

 

 

 

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