Home to the famed Curry Festival and historic Manning's School, Sav is sprinkled with job opportunities in medicine, retail and restaurant services in and around its active downtown square. Perhaps the most prominent career venture for most Sav residents, inclusive of agricultural workers and fishermen, is the entrepreneurial sector, suggests Bluefields Bay Fishermen's Friendly Society founder, Wolde Kristos.

"Sav has spawned a wealth of entrepreneurs who own and operate successful businesses," Kristos said.

Some of those ventures include Sav's first and only call centre, hardware stores, an ice-cream outlet, and an array of family-owned restaurants," he said.

Kristos, also a tour operator and board member of the Bluefields People's Community Association, believes Sav offers several opportunities for people interested in traditional and entrepreneurial fields, but that those residents located on the outskirts of the booming capital have fewer options.

Most recently, Kristos' efforts, in conjunction with Food For the Poor, have brought hope to one needy community which saw little opportunity in either the entrepreneurial or agricultural circuits.

The community of lower Auldayr, a congested area within minutes of the thriving parish capital, suffers from the effects of job shortages, mostly due to a lack of education, and its hilly, remote location.

direct lineage to indentured africans

Until last year, the lower Auldayr district had no running water and the shacklike, wooden structures they called home were on the brink of collapse. Children roam the community during the day with deerlike innocence in torn clothes and do not attend school. Mothers cook by campfire on the ground and in an outdoor setting. They have retained few of the traditions of their lineage, which is said by researchers to have direct traces to a group of indentured African ancestors that were brought to the area many years ago.

"These people need assistance," said Kristos. "The community is in crucial need of the modern world essence that many places throughout the island possess."

The people from lower Auldayr have a drawl in their accent, more prominent than most areas with distinct Patois inflections. Most women in the area do not work, several more have children or are impregnated by age 13. Inbreeding still exists. The chief elder, Ephraim Myrie, for example, is related to nearly everyone in the lower Auldayr area.

means of income

Some of the women in the community who work, often perform domestic tasks, as most cannot read or write. Men sometimes cut property, fish or collect fruits and vegetables grown in the hills in order to sell them at the Sav market. One man, Leonard Myrie, eldest son of Ephraim, started a trend by participating in the export of one of the island's most expensive products.

Leonard works hard at his pimento factory to provide for his family, extracting oil from the leaves through an intense steaming process.

According to Leonard, many Auldayr occupants are unaware they are sitting on a gold mine that could possibly provide a steady flow of running water, clean clothes and education for members of their community.

Kristos intends to make community members aware of the opportunities and fuse the skills people in the community already have with the services his company provides. Members of the community can receive training from his offices, then develop a plan that fits into their way of life, and eventually venture out on their own with a feasible business design.

On Thursday, The Gleaner introduced readers to Kristos and two other interesting entrepreneurs. This week, we'll introduce you to the other two we know.

Children walk along the rugged Auldayr trails with bare feet.