In 1998, when Jane Ann Laffitte was seven years old and her brother Lucius was 10, the siblings created CRABCO; two years later, they kicked off a marketing campaign for their crab-catching kit at a children’s gathering in Saint Simons, Ga. They have operated their business for profit and charity ever since. Their idea of transforming the most-simple method of catching crabs, the chicken neck-on-a-string, into a fun, artistic project and an outdoor adventure has been extremely successful. Their kit includes all a child needs to catch crabs, plus a paint kit to personalize their crab line handle.
With her brother now away at college, the bulk of the work has fallen on Jane Ann, who initially designed the unique crab-claw shape of the handle with a span that doubles as a 5-inch measure of the legal width for blue crabs. She said that the venture is personally profitable, helping her brother and her pay for college, but it also benefits society.
The crab kit is manufactured and packaged by men and women with disabilities at the Beaufort Vocational Rehabilitation Center as part of their work-training program. Participants there learn skills that allow them to transition to productive jobs in the private sector. In fact, the woman who first wrapped the balls of string for the kits was blind and learned skills through the program that later allowed her to become gainfully employed. Additionally, some of CRABCO’s profits are donated to charities: they have sponsored a child in Kenya and make regular contributions to Smile Train.
The kits contain a claw-shaped, red, wooden handle, six tubs of paint and a paint brush for customizing the handle, a length of string and a sinker, plus an instruction booklet, all in a specially designed box suitable for shipping. The kit retails for $15.95 and is available from many seaside resort shops and the internet at http://www.crabline.com/.
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