by Melissa Wickham MOST BUSINESSES in Grenada are still reeling from Hurricane Ivan, but there is at least one that is reaping the sweets. It is not unusual to see a large steel contraption with canes going through one end and cool, refreshing cane juice coming out the other, when walking through Grand Anse. It’s the invention of Lennon Mapson, who runs the small operation known as Nature Man’s Cane Juice. The machine, one of two on the island, grinds from 500 to 600 pounds of canes a day – the equivalent of 300 glasses of the popular beverage which comes straight from the stalk. With a small glass going for as much as EC$3 (BD$2.24) and a large for EC$4, Mapson’s business is one of the few on the island, that is thriving. While Ivan destroyed many of the crops, the versatility of the sugar cane has kept Mapson and his operation going. “Business is good. It is the only crop which can withstand all the different weather, whether it is fire, flood or hurricane. You name it, this will stand up, this is cane. If it lay down it good, if it stand up it good, this is cane. It is the best crop on the planet,” said a beaming Mapson. It’s interesting, but if the 41-year-old former construction worker was not unemployed, he probably would never have invented the machine. The Cane Juice Machine, as Mapson calls it, has three prototypes. The first was relatively cheap and cost only EC$4 000 to construct, now it costs in the region of EC$45 000 to build one of the machines. The first model was powered by a lawn mower engine and a gear box to control the speed, and it did the basic job of just grinding the canes. With the second model, the one he now uses, the cane goes through a receptacle, the grinding goes on inside with stainless steel rollers and it filters and cleans the juice. This one is powered by a generator. The third machine, which he only recently completed, will not only do all that the second one does but, in addition, will wash the canes, getting rid of any bacteria or insects which might be attached to the cane stalk. A task which he now has to perform manually. This latest model can also grind at least 600 pounds of canes in an hour – as much as the present model does in one day. It carries its own generator, water tank and a special washer. Mapson thinks he’s sitting on a gold mine with his inventions. He’s already leased two to operators in Trinidad and Tobago. Though he hasn’t sold any yet. One of them can go for as much as EC$100 000. “I’ve been thinking about sending some of these machines to Barbados. I think it has the market because of the size of the population; it is bigger than Grenada,” said Mapson, who noted that the machines were low maintenance. He boasts that he has built a “huge” house from the profits of operating the business for the past 13 years. “It is the most profitable business in the Caribbean!” he exclaimed. And he’s no fool. He’s already filed to have the machine patented. Mapson’s market consists mostly of locals as well as visitors who are fascinated by the machine. But although the canes stood up to Ivan, some of them were “wind burned” said Mapson, who might have a little difficulty meeting the demand for his product. “Since Ivan I can’t supply the market that well, but I’m trying. Some of the canes got a little damaged but it’s not a big problem,” he said. Reprinted from Nationnews.com