“It’s good to dream but you have to wake up and work,” says Nicholas Ariston Chesney. Success is a dream for many, however, most people do not consider the struggles or hard work and effort it requires. Success always comes at a cost but not many are keen to pay the price. Nicholas Chesney like any other young person had at first baulked at the thought of selling plantain chips for an income. However, he knew that pride can’t feed a hungry belly nor would it help him complete his studies at the University of Guyana. In 2018, he began selling plantain, cassava, sweet potato chips and chicken foot to supplement his income; as a result, he earned the nickname, “Chipsman” at the University of Guyana. With his parents’ support and his perseverance, Nicholas Chesney successfully graduated from the University of Guyana with a Degree in Mechanical Engineering in early 2021.
Childhood and Education
Nicholas Chesney has had his share of struggles while growing up. However, both financial and academic struggles have only served to motivate the businessman to do better and to become better. A born entrepreneur, Chesney first began selling guineps at his secondary school to get extra money.
I had many financial struggles, my parents provided the money for the most important things, I didn’t get much to do the things like buying a cellphone, going out, saving and buying my favorite things so I was always finding other ways to get an income. I made money by using my talents. Being a camera man and video editor, cutting grass, washing cars, cleaning windows, bee removal, buying and selling fruits and vegetables, construction, handy man.
Chesney spent his childhood in Melanie Damishana on the East Coast and 56 Stanleytown New Amsterdam Berbice, Guyana-most of which was spent at the latter. He attended Paradise Primary School, Overwinning Primary School, and Berbice High School. In 2007, Chesney and his family moved to the Bahamas where he completed his secondary education at the R.M.Bailey Senior High.
I spent two extra years in high school because of poor performance. I was very playful. The first time I repeated was because I failed to meet the requirements for promotion to form 2. I failed in third form but this time it wasn’t my fault. After spending another year something happened and we had to add up my grades, only to get the shocking results showing that I had passed, but it was too late.
After he graduated from secondary school, the Chesney family returned to Guyana so Nicolas could pursue tertiary education. He attended the Guyana School of Agriculture where he graduated with a Diploma in Agriculture in 2015. He recently graduated from the University of Guyana with a Degree in Mechanical Engineering. According to Chesney, he was motivated by a family friend, Runaldo Elias to pursue studies in the field of engineering at the University of Guyana.
I decided to study engineering because that was the only thing that came to mind when I thought about going to a university. As a teen I would disassemble my bicycles and put them back together, I was always curious to how things work, I damaged most of my toys as a child because of this very curiosity.
While his parents paid for this tuition, Nicholas realized that attending UG came with many other expenses such as transportation and printing assignments. To help him complete his university studies, Chesney began helping a friend sell chips. However, he soon realized it was too little profit for the amount of work he had to put. With support from his friend, he made contact with a supplier and this was the birth of his plantain chip business.
I am a born entrepreneur selling chips for my friend reminded me of my gift. I saw the potential of the business, it was a business that required minimum preparation that resulted in significant profits. I sold juice for a short time but this was not feasible. I had to keep the juice on ice, I also couldn’t move around as easily as I did with the chips in my suitcase. So I stopped and focused on the chips alone.
Due to his poor secondary foundation, Chesney also faced many academic challenges during his time at the Guyana School of Agriculture and the University of Guyana. Additionally, the Covid-19 Pandemic placed a damper on both his studies and his small business.
The pandemic made my final semester at the university a very challenging one, we went home for semester break and never returned. I had to quickly adapt to online learning, thankfully the university was very lenient with deadlines and our courses were converted to continuous assement, hadn’t it been for that I probably would’ve graduated with a lower GPA.
The pandemic was a real damper to my business because my target market are students, without them the business cannot survive. I eventually had to stop selling chips.
Eco-Tropical Farms
Nicholas Chesney is also the CEO of Eco-Tropical Farm, a local, registered small business. Eco-Tropical Farms currently offers several products including moringa seeds and organic potting soil and bee removal services. He also aims to make “Eco-Tropical Farms the number one organic farm in Guyana”.
Contact Information of Eco-Tropical Farms
- Facebook Page: Eco-Tropical Farms
- Instagram: Eco-Tropical Farms
- Email: [email protected]
- Telephone #: 592- 646-8656
The R.E.A.C.H Foundation
Nicholas Chesney is also a founding member of the non-profit organization called Raising and Extending Arms to Care and Help (R.E.A.C.H). Even though Chesney was struggling himself, he had the urge to give back to his community. He along with some of his classmates at the Guyana School of Agriculture (GSA) created R.E.A.C.H with this purpose. R.E.A.C.H aims to improve the living conditions of the underprivileged. Some future plans including building a shelter for persons in need, a farm to help feed and fund their organization.
We lived on campus and were provided meals every day, however, some students would go home on weekends to visit their families. When they go home the cafeteria would not cater for them when cooking. I saw this as an opportunity to feed the homeless. At the time I was the president of the student’s council so I asked the students to stay back on Saturdays or Sundays if they can and give up “their lunch”. We took the food, packed them in boxes put them in duffle bags and took the bus to Georgetown and distributed the food to the homeless.
It is my passion to do good for others, and I came to find out that my friends at GSA felt the same. So the movement continued for many weeks until we got into trouble. The security saw us going off campus every week but had no idea what we were doing so he reported it. I was called into a meeting and told to stop and that I should have informed the school of what I was doing. Allegedly, some students would go back for more food after giving up their food, this added to the problem. I was told, “If you want to help someone, do it on you own don’t include anyone”, but I knew my one box of food couldn’t feed the more than 50 homeless persons living on the streets of Georgetown.
I stopped asking students to give up their lunch and we started cooking our own food. By this time we had already came up with the name R.E.A.C.H, which literal meaning is “to stretch out.” Some more thought and brainstorming led us to Raising and Extending Arms to Care and Help because this is exactly what we wanted to do.
Contact Information of The R.E.A.C.H Foundation
- Facebook Page: R.E.A.C.H
- Instagram: R.E.A.C.H
- Email: [email protected]
Nicholas Chesney aspires to one day become the President of Guyana. He also hopes to collaborate with the government, businesses and communities to make the country a better place. If you’re in need of organic potting soil, moringa seeds or bee removal feel free to make contact with Chesney or Eco-Tropical Farms. Persons looking to donate to R.E.A.C.H can reach the non-profit organization via social media.
