By Damion Mitchell, Staff Reporter
Lesia Farquharson-Davis stands under the banner with the photograph of her late sister, KC Farquharson, the founder of KC Enterprises a beekeeping entity. The business is now operated by K.C.'s family.
- Ian Allen/Staff Photographer
LAST YEAR, K.C. Farquharson, a four-time beekeeping exhibitor at the Denbigh Agri-Industrial Show, was noticeably missing from the event.
The 30-year-old entrepreneur, who operated KC's Bee Keeping Enterprise, had died in a traffic accident in Negril, Westmoreland just two days before the show while returning from a delivery trip to some hotels on the north coast.
But two of her siblings, Lesia and Benroy, mounted a small exhibition of honey and its by-products in her memory, with a framed photograph of the 'queen' perched above the exhibits.
Exactly one year since the passing of their sister, Lesia Farquharson-Davis, then secretary of KC Enterprises the 2002 Inter-American Institute for Co-operation on Agriculture (IAIA) Agri-Business award recipient and her brother have expanded the business; producing 155 gallons of honey each week, increasing their markets to hotels, and introducing several new products such as honey vinegar, honey wine, honey jerk and honey glaze sauces.
APIARIES
In addition, they have almost doubled the number of apiaries to 50. "We did it because it meant so much to her (KC)," said Mrs. Farquaharson-Davis. "It was her effort to get the business out there... We could not have made it stay at a standstill."
She said, however, that there was one major challenge last year, when a significant portion of their hive had to be destroyed to contain the foul brood disease, which had affected it.
But even with expansion of their business, the demand for honey and its by-products continues to out-strip the amount being produced by KC Enterprises, according to Mrs. Farquharson-Davis. However she could not quantify the demand.
'POTION PACK'
She said there was an especially large demand in the hotels for the 'potion pack' the one-ounce container of the golden liquid and that the export market was also beckoning for more honey. "But we are working on selling our products overseas," she said.
Josel and Albert Farquharson, Lesia's parents, are the directors of the company, with her husband Devon and her sister Narda playing intergral roles in its success.
Noting that she was pleased with the growth of the business in memory of her sister, Mrs. Farquharson-Davis said, "I hope it brings a smile across her face as it does across my heart."
