Recognizing the Past, Looking to the Future; the Sale of Coconut Water
Studies have found that coconut water is a rich source of nutrients. It contains antioxidants, helps to lower blood sugar, and it may even support heart health, among other health benefits. Over two decades ago, one farmer took to the streets of Belize City to sell coconut water to pedestrians. He was the first to do so, but his decision has led many street-side vendors to now venture into the sale of the refreshing, natural liquid on the street side. We have shown you how this business has expanded in Belize City, as well as the bottling process. On tonight’s “Belize On Reel,” we continue to look at the industry from a historical perspective and meet some more vendors operating outside the Old Capital. News Five’s Paul Lopez reports.
Paul Lopez, Reporting
We have shown you the growing number of street-side vendors selling coconut water in Belize City. You’ve also seen how their operations have a symbiotic relationship with companies that sell single-use plastic bottles. Today, we sought to hear from more of those vendors. This time we traveled outside of the city limits into Ladyville, where we met Giovanni Seregni, his wife, and their toddler under a tent selling coconut water. The couple only began selling the product three days ago.
Giovanni Seregni, Coconut Water Vendor
Giovanni Seregni
“We just started like one week ago.”
Paul Lopez
“Tell me why you got into doing this?”
Giovanni Seregni
“Because we prefer to start to sell coconut water because it is a benefit for our family because we have the school close to us.”
Paul Lopez
“And you have your children in the school? “
Giovanni Seregni
“Yes, I have one daughter and ones son, and the baby.”
As history tells it, selling coconut water along highways began over two decades ago in Belize City. The first person to do so is said to be a man who is known by the name of Mr. Roland. Our attempts to track him down proved fruitless, but we did talk to someone who knew him. Hugh Obrien, the Program Manager for Citrus and Diversification in the Ministry of Agriculture, was a close friend of Mr. Roland at the time.
Hugh O’Brien, Program Manager for Citrus and Diversification, Ministry of Agriculture
Hugh O’Brien
“This guy Roland from Georgeville, you would want to say, is the pioneer of the selling of green coconut for water purposes on the street side. He started selling in Belize City. There was nobody selling in San Ignacio, Belmopan, or anywhere else. One of his friends Melvin Mendoza used to sell plants. He was the first person who started selling plants out of the back of a pickup on the highway as well. Melvin Mendoza from United Ville would park in front of Pallotti, and Roland would park in front of Melvin. So they would talk and chat. But, those two guys, coincidentally were the first two people in Belize, one selling plants on the highway side, and one selling coconut water on the highway side.”
And today, we witnessed a similar operation method whereby coconut water vendors and small businesses selling other products, like vegetables, share the same space. This is a much different approach from the vendors in Belize City, which operate in isolation for the most part. Unlike Giovanni, who is only a week into selling coconut water, Braulio Esquivel has been in the business for about two years.
Braulio Esquivel
Braulio Esquivel, Coconut Water Vendor
“I try to do a little business with vegetable first, but business never good. So, another guy that sells coconut water told me ey do a coconut water business. So, I start. Well actually I start first with a small load and I see it start to make good money and I start to work with it nuh. My product is natural. I nuh mix it. Like seh some people mix water. I don’t know. I am not sure. I don’t mix it. If you want mix it, mix it with whiskey, nothing else.”
This small industry has come a long way from its origins over two decades ago, with dozens of street-side vendors now selling coconut water across the country.
Hugh O’Brien
“We do not have to go too far. You guys do a piece of fresh coconuts being sold and in Belize City alone there is at least a dozen. In San Ignacio at the market day you can find people in San Ignacio and you will find them at the speed bumps on the Western highway. You will find them down south at the junction in Belmopan it is very common. There are at least twenty five people around the country who are making an income selling coconut water as a fresh product on the street side.”
And, while you can get coconut water from street-side vendors, a wide variety of bottled coconut water is available in local supermarkets. Big H is credited as the first company in Belize to bottle and sell coconut water on the local market. The Harrison brothers, Richard and Orlando Harrison launched their fresh bottled coconut water at the Agricultural Show in 1998.
Hugh O’Brien
“The Harrison brothers, Richard Harrison and Orland Harrison, started buying coconuts from; they would buy from farmers who would deliver the coconuts by pick up load to the Big H processing plant in San Ignacio, opposite Sacred Heart College and he launched the Big H coconut water, the first coconut water product that was ever on the Belize market, locally produced and sold in the supermarkets.”
In 2014, it was estimated that the local coconut water industry was valued at more than four million dollars, with more than five hundred persons earning a direct income from the industry. Today, hundreds of thousands of acres of coconut trees are planted across the country as large investors seek to grab hold of the increasing global demand for coconut products like oil, milk, and powder. But, these street-side vendors, like Braulio and Giovanni,, are here to stay.
Braulio Esquivel
“Well actually you see the road side and most vehicle pass and I sell front of the college. But, you have more people pass on the road side. This dah wah main road.”
Giovanni Seregni
“Like I say it is my first week, so it is kind of slow right now. We don’t have too much customers. Its kinds slow.”
Paul Lopez
“Will you stay and continue to do this?”
Giovanni Seregni
“Of course, I have my family. So I will fight. I cannot give up.”
Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez
