If you go to Palmar from Quatre-Cocos, you will discover the industry of a young man of 36 by the main road. He is like any young national but with an edge he has cultivated since childhood. He has discovered the world of work just on the termination of his primary schooling. This young entrepreneur is Jason Labelle. His parents, particularly his mother, late Julienne, had previously discovered in him a level of resourcefulness that could gain him a lifetime job if he took to training in a profession right from there.

Jason had some time to breathe though, during which he offered his services as a handy boy collecting dry grass, uprooting undesired herbs with some smattering of landscaping in the yards of the village inhabitants. A year over, Jason was apprenticed at the workshop of Mr. Aslam Mohamedally, his mentor and trainer of whom he speaks elogiously After five years, he felt he could fly against odds or better, all conditions being favourable. He made a realistic business plan and opened a shop.

Jason makes window and door openings, frames to hold large glass panes, furniture and decoratives as well. Furniture ranges from cupboard to wardrobe, window and door frames are kind of stand-alone parts of a house with the colour of the glasses producing a cool effect in the psyche of the house occupants. Jason innovates all with discussion and only after approval of the clients. They admire the surgical precision he applies cutting the metal bar at his mercy. The number of orders he receives from as far as BelOmbre in the far south indicates his managerial performance mixed with patience, courage, ambition, discipline and creativity. These are acumens that tertiary students learn in theory contrary to Jason whose best teaching and guidance were obtained from his trainer and parents.

Times of apprenticeship were hard. When asked about how much lamone he was obtaining, Jason smilingly revealed that was enough a piece of soap to wash hands for a week. He has no regrets and he is all praise for his parents. But he does more than aluminium materials can offer. When orders are in wait, Jason wears another pair of gloves in the literal sense. He is a mason specialized in hewing coloured stones to shape and size to make decorative walls easily classified as the most demanding wherever he has been working. He says all parts of a construction are pieces of art for a life-long destination as metal model structures can be made to spouse the surface or height of a wall and vice versa. He advises his clients as to the quality of the material, the shape, size and volume which should be aesthetically presentable and practically useful. After all, aluminium materials vary in prices and forcibly in quality.

As a home-based business owner, Jason is conscious he has to keep pace with development and an ever-demanding clientele. Prominent in his paraphernalia are his grinder, cutting machine, clamps and measurement tape. His workshop is spacious and so the visitor does not feel they are squeezed which is a barrier to communication.

Jason is a family man. Father of three, two of whom are at school, he takes the family to the sea. “Mo kontan lapes,” he says. Else, he plays the djembe and is easily invited to join a musical party to which he adds liveliness. Jason is a young man of his time sharing it with his family, his passion for his profession and his love for djembe hitting and beating. He assumes his role and responsibility.