Anybody who knows Josveek Huligar well enough will describe him as a hard-working, self-made and passionate Anguillian entrepreneur, with an outstanding creative talent. And it is this that is propelling him through an exciting and contributory life while still a very young man.
Several years ago, he catapulted himself into the social media limelight through his Anguilla Access company. He has been, at his own expense and volition, promoting the island as a must-see tourism destination through varied attractive scenes, entertainment and a myriad of other offerings.
He blazed a trail in which other persons quickly followed. But his work, as an excellent photographer and videographer, has stood the test of time – and has served Anguilla, its people and its hospitality industry exceedingly well.
Josveek, with his winsome personality, keen perception and patriotism, now has a new enterprise baby called Anguilla Sands and Salts. The signage, a recently conspicuously-placed billboard, at Blowing Point, has now been replaced by a beautifully-
constructed boutique shop at the corner of the South Hill main road. Just down from his father Johnny’s premises, the shop is nestled among an exquisite array of floral growth and other exotic plant-life.
The shop boasts an assortment of sand textures from some of Anguilla’s best beaches; souvenirs of collected sea salt extracted from the island’s azure waters; hand-crafted jewellery including pendants, keychains, necklaces, bottle openers and other predominantly sand-made creations – all carefully designed for the discerning visitor. The Anguilla sea salt, contained in specially-designed miniature glass jars, is produced in tiny crystals and infused with tasty and popular flavours found in grocery stores, and kitchen cabinets, on the island.
“This is Anguilla sea salt – not pond salt,” Josveek stressed. “This has not come from anyone of our many ponds. It actually comes from the sea water surrounding Anguilla. We actually grow our own salt. As you can see, there are in different colours, textures – but not white as one might expect. We do, however, have a pure white sea salt, and a citrus sea salt, that are not here with us on this visit to The Anguillian newspaper.”
He continued: “We have with us garlic-infused salt, thyme-infused salt, curry-infused salt, red pepper-infused salt, onion-infused salt and rosemary-infused salt. All these flavours are Caribbean-based and stuff that we cook with for just about every dish. Now, I just want you to taste each of them – you only need one crystal. Everything here is done on the island by Anguillians. Only the glass jars and the cork are imported. The only thing I would take credit for is that we designed the sizes of the jars so you can say they are Anguillian-engineered and labelled.”
It was a finger-licking gourmet-flavour experience for the taste buds, while Josveek smiled broadly with an apparent manufacturing sense of ingenuity, satisfaction and accomplishment. About his magnificent salt souvenirs, his rallying appeal is “Own a piece of Anguilla. We offer unique keepsakes made on, and from, the island of Anguilla.”
Established since December 1, 2017, the Anguilla Sands and Salts enterprise is destined to go places with the innovative Josveek at the helm. He will certainly be broadening the scope and prospects of his indigenous manufacturing business through flavoured crystals of sea salt for tables, souvenirs and, perhaps later on, sea salt baths. He also has the social media platforms, experience and imagination at his finger-tips, to undertake his own publicity and marketing strategies.
Well done and good luck, Josveek!
Nat Hodge
