Background on Goshen Caribbean Food and Beverage Processing Limited

In the 1940’s, the late David Alexander Benjamin (Father of Joscelyn Charles Benjamin) was instrumental in the introduction of watercress to the Braes River Upper Morass Area where he worked and planted his crops. He grew dasheen, pak-choy, bananas, plantains, cocoa and many other crops. To grow watercress, he planted it along the rivers’ edge by digging drains from the main river to gently flow over the watercress plants to form a kind of nursery. He started to sell it along with his other crops similar to how callaloo is sold in bundles.

            In the 1970’s, David’s eldest son (Trevor Benjamin) fell ill and he went to a doctor in Santa Cruz, (St. Elizabeth, Jamaica). The Doctor was a Chinese doctor who diagnosed Trevor (a 16 year old at the time) with a chronic heart problems and he prescribed watercress in the diet as a remedy. The doctor told him to harvest it and then make it into a juice/drink. Then, he told him to drink it every other day for 2 weeks.

            When Trevor went back to the doctor, he found that he fully recovered from his illness and since then it has been a favourite addition to the family’s Sunday meals. Joscelyn Benjamin was 10 years old at the time. Now at age 51, being born into a farming family and growing up knowing about farming all his life from his parents and peers, Joscelyn Benjamin has a lifetime’s wealth of experience in growing all types of crops.