Bag juice vendor invests in custom-made cart

OCHO RIOS, St Ann:HE GIVES his name only as Merrick, but the cart he pushes along the streets of Ocho Rios, St Ann, has generated more interest than whatever his surname is could.

After struggling on the streets with a bucket filled with bag drinks and juices, and feeling his muscles ache from the strain, Merrick decided enough was enough, that he had to do something about it.

So the man, originally from St Catherine, but now living in Union, St Mary, put his creative skills to work. It cost him approximately $30,000, but in the end, Merrick came up with a cart that immediately elicited unsolicited requests from others who wanted one for themselves.

"This is a supermarket trolley converted into a cart," Merrick told The Gleaner recently.

To upgrade the design, redesigning the cart himself, Merrick bought steel to create additional storage space. He also bought bicycle and scooter parts including sprockets, forks, and wheels, along with mesh wire.

He obtained a rack that is normally used in a store to hang clothes, which he cut in two pieces, using a section for the new cart.

After creating the design, he paid a welder to put the pieces together.

"I just sit down and designed it. I just measure it in my mind and then start to work," Merrick explained.

cost

In terms of time spent on the project, he explained: "Well, this could take you approximately two weeks to build, it depends. I could also say a week, but according to how I had the money at the time, it took me a little bit more than a week. It cost me 30 grand."

The same day he hit the streets with his machine, he began getting requests from persons who wanted a similar cart.

The cart has made Merrick's vending less strenuous and has afforded him more space to stock additional items. So, in time, he will be selling much more than bag drinks and juices.

rural@gleanerjm.com