Broomie sweeps traditional craft into modern business

Long before the Broomie™ brand became a growing Jamaican business, Oshane Mamby was a boy in Clarendon watching his family transform palm thatch and sticks into something simple but indispensable: a broom.

Broom-making was part of everyday life. His uncles, aunts and other elders worked with their hands, producing brooms that helped put food on the table, even though the craft often brought little recognition or financial reward.

For Mamby, however, those humble brooms represented something much bigger.

They were part of his upbringing, his family’s history and, ultimately, the foundation of an entrepreneurial journey that would take a traditional Jamaican craft from rural Clarendon to customers across Jamaica and the diaspora seeking a tangible connection to home.

“I grew up in Canaan Heights, Clarendon, where broom-making was all around me. It was second nature,” Mamby said.

He recalls watching family members work tirelessly for little reward or recognition. Yet, he developed a deep respect for the craft because it helped sustain his family.

As a young man, broom-making also provided a measure of independence.

“It helped send me to school, buy my clothes, and even finance my early demo recordings,” he recalled.

Today, Mamby sees that tradition as something worth preserving. Many of the master broom-makers who helped keep the craft alive for generations are ageing, and some are no longer able to manage its physical demands. Through Broomie™ , he hopes not only to build a business but also to ensure that valuable skills and knowledge are passed on.

That connection between broom-making and music would prove pivotal. Known professionally as the artiste Jahdon, Mamby was building a career in music when the COVID-19 pandemic prompted him to revisit an old family tradition.

BRAND EMERGENCE

The idea for the Broomie™ brand emerged in 2020 while he was in South Florida promoting his debut album, 369. He arrived just days before COVID-19 shutdowns brought much of the world to a standstill, turning what was meant to be a promotional trip into an extended period of isolation.

Like many creatives during the pandemic, he turned to social media to stay connected with his audience. In the process, he discovered something familiar. The same silver palm thatch used in Jamaica to make traditional brooms was readily available in the area.

Mamby began making a few brooms for Jamaicans living in Florida, initially without formally selling them. When people requested one, he simply asked them to cover shipping costs and contribute whatever they felt was fair.

The response surprised him.

A Rastafari acquaintance who owns Painting Hue, a painting business, purchased red, gold and green paint for the broom handles.

After photographs of the colourful brooms were shared online, Mamby began to realise that what he had once regarded as an ordinary household item carried a much deeper emotional and cultural value.

“I realised just how much people appreciated this part of our heritage and culture,” he said.

Requests continued to grow, particularly from Jamaicans in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. For many, the brooms evoked memories of home and of the broom man making his rounds through communities on weekend mornings.

MODERN BRANDING

Realising he was selling nostalgia, craftsmanship and a piece of Jamaica, Mamby transformed the idea into the Broomie™ brand, combining traditional broom-making with modern branding, design and presentation.

The company produces traditional yard, house and hand cobweb brooms, alongside a souvenir collection that includes Broomie™ magnets, keyrings and Queen Sweep Earrings. The brand’s souvenir products have found their way into major hotel and airport gift shops, helping position the broom as a cultural tourism product.

The difference, Mamby believes, lies in the details. Handles are sanded and varnished for comfort, while each broom is tagged with product and care information. The company also produces culturally themed coloured brooms that have found a place in Caribbean-inspired home décor.

“We believe the Jamaican broom is naturally a premium product that can compete globally as an eco-friendly household item,” he said.

Behind every broom is a labour-intensive production process rooted in generations of traditional knowledge.

Raw materials are harvested from different locations over several days. One day may be devoted to collecting silver palm thatch for house brooms, another to gathering bull palm thatch for yard brooms and a third to harvesting sticks.

The materials are then dried and prepared. The thatch is teased, the sticks are scraped and the broom is assembled by folding the thatch and binding it securely to the handle.

At Broomie™, the process is completed with premium finishing touches and packaging before the product reaches the customer.

The family tradition remains central to the business. Mamby’s wife, Francine Mamby, helps operate the brand, while bulk orders are sourced directly from broom-makers in Canaan Heights, including his uncles, whom he describes as master craftsmen.

WIDER RECOGNITION

That growing commercial appeal has also brought wider recognition.

The company won the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce Business Roadshow Pitch Competition in January 2025 and was runner-up for Best Innovative Product at the Tourism Product Development Company’s Craft with a Difference Expo at Harmony Beach in December 2024.

Today, traditional house and yard brooms are sold at Fontana Pharmacy Waterloo, while the souvenir collection is available through Things Jamaican stores at Norman Manley International Airport and Devon House. Products are also sold at Gift Shop No. 4 at Devon House, while Queen Sweep Earrings are available at Kamila’s Kitchen in Drax Hall.

In an increasingly competitive marketplace, Mamby sees sustainability and authenticity as key advantages. Jamaican brooms are biodegradable, and their traditional appeal continues to resonate with environmentally conscious consumers.

Mamby views Broomie™ as a bridge between ageing craftsmen and a new generation of consumers.

“Traditional crafts become sustainable when they are properly packaged, marketed and presented to the right audience,” he said.

keisha.hill@gleanerjm.com