When Hurricane Beryl slammed into Jamaica last week, entire communities lost electric power. That’s when Cecil Coleman found a way to help his community and make money at the same time.
The upholsterer from Saint Mary Parish remembered he had an old two-panel solar power system that still worked and took it out. “Mi have a solar panel why not use it,” he told The Gleaner.
After using it to charge his own phone, he set up a station outside his upholstery shop with a sign charging $100 Jamaican Dollars ($0.64 U.S. dollars) to charge other people’s phones. As demand for his service grew, he started charging tablets and laptops too.
Coleman said the community is happy with his service because it helps them stay in contact with relatives across the island country who were also hit hard by the Category 4 storm.
“Thank God fi you, mi nuh affi go way round deh suh,” one neighbor told him.
Coleman said he had the solar panels for years but never bothered using them. Now he’s sold on the system, as it’s quieter than a generator, doesn’t require fuel and is great for the environment.
He plans to buy more panels and set them up so he can run his entire upholstery shop on solar power, he said. And whatever power he doesn’t use, he can sell to the Jamaica Public Service Company.
You have to respect the hustle!
Recent Comments