By Naomi Marshall

OUR journey to the Albion Estate in East Berbice-Corentyne started at around 07:00hrs from the Le Bonne Intention Estate on the East Coast of Demerara. It was a two-hour drive that took us across the magnificent Berbice Bridge and 11 miles east of New Amsterdam.
Though the journey appeared longer than it really was, the thought of economic prospects driven by a budding tourism heritage hot spot filled the air with excitement, as the tour operators on board were eagerly waiting to see what the Albion Estate had to offer.

At 09:00hrs we had arrived at the Albion Estate where we were welcomed by our tour guides for the day. We were then escorted to the mess hall where we were all treated to finger licking creole dishes for breakfast, which is a huge part of the ‘country experience.’
After, we were given an overview of what the trip would entail. This was also one way to prepare us mentally for the day’s adventures we were going to endeavour.

Our first stop was at the Estate’s Field Laboratory. There, we were given a synopsis of the Pest Control Mechanism. At the Albion Estate, insecticide is not used to control pests. However, the insect control mechanism used is Biological control. Biological control is the introduction of a natural enemy or predator that is able to suppress pests.

The advantages of using this method of pest control are that the natural enemy can become established and this will produce long-term results. The risk of resistance is also much lower since pests cannot build up resistance to being eaten. Natural pest control is very targeted and therefore an effective way to control particular pests.
During this period, we were also given the chance to go into the nursery where we viewed the different varieties of sugar cane.

The second stage of the tour was the cultivation visit. At this phase we got involved in the Lorry experience, where we drove in a Lorry, on the longest straight road in the Caribbean Region, while getting to see the community of Rose Hall. From the Lorry, we then embarked Labour punts that were drawn by two oxen along the cultivation canal. This was an experience of a lifetime, and the fresh coconut water and jelly we were treated to made it even better.

Next, some would say was the most exciting part of the tour, a visit to the GuySuCo Training Centre. Here we were greeted by dancers dressed in clothing of different ethnic groups within Guyana, as they performed a cultural dance that made us all want to join in. Music plus dancing? Best welcome ever!

At the Centre, we encountered even more excitement, as we got the opportunity to view and even go into the world’s only working 1924 Rolls-Royce Goshawk.

The 1924 Rolls-Royce Goshawk built between 1922 and 1929 was Rolls-Royce’s “small car” for the 1920s and was produced alongside the 40/50 Silver Ghost and Phantom. The car has 20 Horse Power, a 3 or 4-speed manual transmission, a wheelbase of 3,275 meters, a 3127 cubic centimetre engine and was designed by Sir Henry Royce.

There was also an ancient sugar mill which was located in the Essequibo region. It was first operated by the slaves during the 18th century. The mill was reconstructed using scrap materials available in the Training Centre by the students and staff of the school.

The GuySuCo Training Centre is the premier technical vocational training school in the Caribbean and specialises in apprentice and technical training in the following competencies: fitting and machining; industrial electrical installation; automotive electrical; agricultural mechanic; instrumentation, amongst others.

The GuySuCo Apprenticeship Training was established in 1957 to provide formal residential training for young persons wishing to pursue a career in engineering skills in the Sugar Industry.

At this point, you would think that we had enough excitement for one day, but the tour was not over just yet.

Dressed in safety helmets and vests, we visited the Albion Factory where we were told of the history of the Factory and even got a tour of it. In school, I was taught of the sugar making process but on the Familiarisation Tour (FAM TOUR) I got firsthand experience of the sugar making process, which I thought was very sweet.
As the tour wined down we were taken back to the estate’s mess hall for lunch before we left for home.

Albion Estate was established in the second half of the 19th century. The Estate lost its singleness and became known as Albion-Port Mourant Estate, following the closure of the Port Mourant Factory in 1953. This amalgamation formed the largest operating unit within the local sugar industry.

The Estate has a reputation for being ‘different’ from the other Estates owned by GuySuCo. It appears and is seen as an ‘oasis of untypical sophisticated charm and beauty’ of the community of Rose Hall.

Earlier this month the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), in its quest to tap into the country’s second largest export sector – Tourism– hosted its inaugural ‘FAM TOUR’ to the Albion-Port Mourant Estate in Berbice; an initiative that forms part of its ‘Cultural and Sugar Heritage Tourism’ programme.

Tour operators and media operatives from across Guyana were given the opportunity to experience the aesthetics-rich heritage that exists within Guyana’s biggest sugar estate.
Salvador De Caires, Representative of the Wilderness Explorers, said that the initiative is what his entity has been searching for year after year.

“I think this tour is wonderful. I think it was something we had been looking for years and years because, throughout the Caribbean, everybody has rum tours and sugar tours. It is one of the important parts of Caribbean tourism and we never use to do it here,” he said.
De Caires added that the tour would be a great weekend trip “for locals, the diaspora and the international market which is something unusual.”