Livern Barrett, Gleaner Writer

At 14 years old, Richaydo Farquharson is rounding into a shrewd businessman.

Not satisfied with producing 126 gallons of his branded Jamaica Gold honey three times a year, the teenager is now taking steps to expand his thriving bee farm.

Farquharson operates 14 bee colonies from his home in Porus, Manchester, with help from his mother and nine-year-old sibling.

As part of his diversification plan, Farquharson is now looking to begin the production of honey straw that will be marketed in schools and in his parish next year.

In addition, he plans to use honeycombs to create a sampling of natural lotions, hair food and lip balm that could soon be added to his range of products.

NOT AN EASY ROAD

But for Farquharson, who is this year's Musgrave Youth Medal awardee for his entrepreneurship, it has not been easy.

"Sometimes it is stressful, but I just have to go with the flow," said the teenager, one of the 14 individuals and groups that were presented with their Musgrave Medals yesterday.

Farquharson, who has received much-needed guidance and assistance from the Mutual Building Societies Foundation and the Digicel Foundation through their 'Young Entrepreneur: I am the Change' initiative, said he drew inspiration from his aunt.

"I see how I can make this better, so I went to the entrepreneur camp and that's where it all started," he explained.

The Musgrave Medals, named after former Governor of Jamaica Sir Anthony Musgrave, are awarded each year in gold, silver and bronze to persons who have made significant contributions to the development of literature, science and the arts in Jamaica and the West Indies.

Professors Horace Fletcher and Edward Baugh were this year's gold-medal awardees for their work in the fields of medical science and literature, respectively.

The silver-medal awardees were Dr Pauline Christie for her work in the field of linguistics, Professor Bryan McFarlane for the arts, Emmanuel 'Rico' Rodriquez for music, John Henry Thompson for science, the Calabash International Literacy Festival for literature, and the Herbert Morrison Technical High School band for the training and development of music.

The bronze-medal awardees were Dr Ellen Campbell-Grizzle for her work in the field of science, Arlene Patricia Ononaiwu for library development, Ebony Patterson for the arts, Dr Donald Shirley for music and the Poetry Society of Jamaica for its work in the field of literature.

livern.barrett@gleanerjm.com