Roxroy McLean, Gleaner Intern

What's the cost of an idea?

Nadine Hamilton's idea ran her a whopping $6 million; and she has no regrets.

Hamilton, who is the managing director of her month-old St Andrew home-based company, Jamaica's First Mobile Home (JFMH), said that she still beams when she sees her massive masterpiece: a 40-foot container converted into a fully furnished home on wheels.

"It's just crazy ... . I have goose pimples whenever I am going on the road. I never knew that there are so many cameras in Jamaica," said Hamilton, who is a certified scrap-metal exporter.

The 34-year-old said the project took her and her team 10 months to complete and was born out of necessity. The entrepreneur said that she could not afford accommodation for the staff and herself when they had to travel on rural trips to collect scrap metal, so this was the most affordable way of keeping the team together.

Amenities in the home

The home boasts eight bunk beds, each with its own television set, a bathroom, a living room, a kitchen, is fully air-conditioned and possesses all the amenities one would expect to see in a fully furnished apartment.

"With this, you have everything at your disposal," Hamilton said of the home which sits on an 18-wheel trailer.

"I invested in it because of my staff and I must commend them for their hard work," she said.

At present, Hamilton has 10 full-time employees on her payroll but this may grow to as many as 18, depending on the volume of work she has been contracted to move.

The JFMH managing director, who said that she has been in the scrap-metal business for two years, said that she has considered renting the home as it would be suitable for tourists who would want to see Jamaica close up.

"We are planning to rent and lease ... so far we have been getting a lot of calls from tourists and (other) interested persons," she said.

Booked by JUTA

Hamilton said that the Jamaica Union of Travellers Association (JUTA) had the 'heads up' on the competition as they booked the home last month.

"It was booked to JUTA tours since February," she said. "And, they are using it for doing their own promotion."

Hamilton said that she has no immediate plans for building similar recreational vehicles for sale.

"That would be three years from now," she said. "And it would be a lease and then sale agreement."

Despite the vehicle's size, Hamilton thinks it gives you the freedom to keep on moving.

"You don't have to be in anybody's way," she said.