The recently launched Jamborii mas band is offering people of all walks of life to play mas or J’Ouvert for what the organisers say is a a reasonable price, given the current economic situation. Jamborii is located on Woodford Street, Port of Spain.
Franklyn Mayers, better known as Stryker, is the band's founder and the brain behind the variety of designs offered by this mas band. Mayers is also a radio announcer and DJ on Red Hot 96.7.
Production manager Devika Singh said the production cost of each costume is around $1,000-$1,500, excluding other services – DJs, security, drinks and food for the two days on the road. Mayers’ packages cost $2,995 regardless of what costume design is chosen, no matter how extravagant or low-key.
[caption id="attachment_1000145" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Nostalgia costumes on display at Jamborii’s mas camp. Photo by Roger Jacob[/caption]
He said he was able to offer this price across the board because of Singh’s “expertise” in how to maximise the use of the material so there’s no waste.
“This way, we can save something and you can save something.”
Mayers recalled, “Jamborii was born out of UWI Campus Carnival in 2011. Primarily, we started out as a J’Ouvert band...we maintained a J’Ouvert footprint as well.
"But the intention from day one was to go to mas as well. It is a costly endeavour to get into, so I think it literally had to take this long to build up the resource pool to execute it properly.”
Building a financial pool wasn’t the only aspect of the business that needed to develop, he said. Meeting and establishing a relationship with Singh also took some time. Singh is Mayers’ production manager, or “fairy” as she likes to describe herself, since, she said, she starts work at all hours of the night and within a few hours, she has passed or achieved the target set for her. She has been in the Carnival production realm for over 20 years.
“Devika is now like the engine room, if I could take a line from Olatunji, behind the mass-production side of it. With her wealth of knowledge and guidance, that is how we were actually able to produce and come at a price point that would be affordable.”
Mayers said getting all resources – feathers, jewels, and the different type of clothing necessary for the costume and to create the packages for customers – cost him around $250,000. He said the band can try and cater to the designated amount, but when it arrives at customs, it is “at the mercy of the authorities.”
“This is quite unfortunate. He thinks the government "should look into in terms of subsidising (it),because we would only bring coloured feathers into the country for cultural needs – which is Carnival. There doesn’t seem to be any buffer for the creators when it comes to sourcing.”
[caption id="attachment_1000146" align="alignnone" width="739"] Jambori’s wear for its J’Ouvert band Mischief J’Ouvert. Photo by Roger Jacob[/caption]
He and Singh said the prices of materials fluctuate often: one feather can cost US$10 one day and drastically increase t
