Round robins, serious economic activities

... could provide good monetary returns

There’s no round robin without the popular beers and rums. EVER HEAR someone say they’re having a round robin and invite you to come by and support?

If you’ve ever been to one, you know it’s a ‘drink-up’ (or ‘drink out’), which usually has some good music and maybe some food (soup is always a sure winner). But there’s a bit more to it than that. It is part of the informal economy, and participants regard it as serious economic activity, saying it can provide good monetary returns.

Now, any true Jamaican knows what a partner draw is. Well, a round robin is essentially the same thing, except for one major addition.

“Is like a partner draw, but when you throw your money, some a it yuh use fi drinks,” explained Mickesha Gibbs. So for instance, if the draw is $5,000, and $1,000 is set aside for drinks, you collect your $1,000 of liquor at the next drink-up. The drink-ups take place during the round robin’s cycle.

“Each person in the round robin keeps one event once a week,” explained Diamond Ying. “How long they go for depends on how many persons are in it.” Gibbs noted that while there is no set number, most persons go for, between 15 and 20 people. A round robin master as she calls it, has a ‘launch’, which usually serves as the first