Oranjestad, St. Eustatius- Carol Cuvalay and her two sons, Ulysesse (29) and Guliano (26) are prominently featured in the May 2021 edition of the Mélange Travel and Lifestyle Magazine, in an article with the headline ‘Building a Family Empire on St. Eustatius’.

In four full-colour pages with nice photographs, readers get the background on Carol herself, her two sons and their family business. The article starts by telling the story of mother Carol Cuvalay, who at a young age moved first to Aruba and then to The Netherlands for her studies, before returning to her native St. Eustatius in the year 2000.

Opulance and FeriBoyz

The article relays the story behind fashion business Opulance, started by eldest son Ulyesse, originally an IT-professional. Their line of products that consists of beauty, fashion and health was introduced to Sint Eustatius with Carol being responsible for the sale of beauty and health products, while her sons concentrate on jewellery and fashion.

Twich Studio

The article also writes about Twich Studio, run by Giuliano better or -as the article notes- better known as ‘Twich’. “He started in the Netherlands filming music videos with his phone. When he was 21 years old, he purchased a camera, taking photos of the family wearing their FERI jewelry and fashion products to have realistic images for promotional
use. His high quality of work caught the eye of people in the community and quite soon, his hobby was transformed into a business as increasingly, paid opportunities became available”, writes Mélange.

Farming

The story also tells about Ulyssese’s venturing into farming, describing him as ’the youngest farmer on Sint Eustatius’, According to Mélange, eating healthy is his passion and he views farming as a way to make quality, organic produce available and affordable to the people on the island. “His mission is centered, not only on growing organic produce, but also on educating people about the benefits of healthy eating. No one else on the island in his age group has
ventured into farming, so many people especially the older folks, have thrown their support behind him”, notes Mélange.

Proud

Carol herself is being quoted in the magazine as a ‘proud mom’. Carol is understandably proud. “As a single mother, she raised her two sons to be respectful, considerate, independent and resourceful. Theirs was a disciplined life with Ulyssese looking after his little brother after school, making sure homework was completed and other chores taken care of while mom was still at work. They knew they were not allowed to have friends visit when she was not at home, and they were also mindful that until all their school work was done, extra-curricular activities should not take place”, according to Mélange.

“I still have many more plans”, says Carol Cuvalay, talking to The BES-Reporter about the article, and her work on St. Eustatius. “I am doing my part in whichever small steps in trying to make a difference for the island, together with my sons”.

The full article can be seen by clicking here.