This week we decided to visit a quaint little village that’s beginning to show great signs of development despite its size and geographic location. Perusing a map and the layout of our beautiful Guyana, we just could not resist the makings of Bushlot Village on the West Coast of Berbice.” Mentioning to a few media operatives of our intention to visit this village we were surprisingly met with negative remarks that it was a location that had a history of ethnic differences. Nevertheless, we threw those comments aside and decided we were going to enjoy the rush of the wind in our hair as we journeyed there with great anticipation.Like my grandmother would normally say…. “Don’t listen to hear say…. Check out the facts for yourself.” That’s exactly what we did, and lo and behold….. We indeed found out that Bushlot was the total opposite of the rumours that were thrown our way. As a matter of fact, since our trips to several other villages, Bushlot is by far the village that exudes ‘ethnic harmony’ to such a high degree that it left us greatly amazed.

History

Bush Lot is a medium to large community in Region 5 (Mahaica/Berbic), approximately 56 miles from Georgetown.. Rice production is the main business of the population of over 4,000 residents. Bush Lot is a largely ethnically East Indian village; residents are mainly Hindus, Muslim and Christians. Bush Lot has a Health Centre, Bush Lot Government Secondary, Latchman Singh Primary and Bush Lot Nursery Schools. Its location reads 6°12?16?N 57°15?48?W / 6.2044°N 57.2632°W / 6.2044; -57.2632.

Clarification
There is also a Bush Lot in Region 6 (East Berbice/Corentyne) which exhibits some of the main characteristics of Bush Lot in Region 5. The population is mainly Indian. In the past rice production was the main crop. It has a secondary school, a health centre and a horse race track. Their location reading is 6°22?41?N 57°40?03?W/ 6.37808°N 57.66744°W.

Our arrival
We wanted to enter the village from the East ‘like wise men would do’ and so we travelled to the bordering Hopetown village for refreshments to boost our energy and revive our spirits. Grabbing umbrellas from relatives for protection from the scorching sun, we made our way on foot to Bush Lot, enjoying the rush of the seemingly fresh wind rushing in from the Atlantic Ocean.
We were still some distance away from the village but were enthralled with its startling close resemblance of the capital city Georgetown. The layout of strikingly posh stores, houses, pharmacies, internet café and numerous variety stores just made us think we were still in the city.

But like they say, every beautiful experience can always be marred by the tiniest of aspects left forgotten, or intentionally ignored.
Today many villages are enjoying the luxuries of good infrastructure, proper drainage, excellent lighting and of course security for residents. But one might want to take into consideration that such positive growth would have been acclaimed with time, government interventions, and definitely with the efforts of residents.
Bush Lot is now a very bustling village with many thriving businesses, and entertainment hot spots, a distinct opposite of what it used to be many years ago.
To tell us the tale of the village’s evolvement was Mr. Sookdeo Pertab, a rice farmer who has resided in the village almost half of his 62 years.
According to Mr. Pertab, Bush Lot village in years gone by was a very remote area with not so many houses as today.
With an almost boyish grin he continued that Bush Lot has evolved in that the village has seen the coming of many much larger buildings and a many businesses, thus lending to its improvement in infrastructure and commercialised layout.

According to Mr. Pertab, Bush Lot was a very under developed settlement in the early 1980s, and it was not until after the 1992 election and after the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) came to office that things began to change for the better in the village.
Before that era, according to villagers, the village was lacking established businesses, access roads and small streets were unpaved. The village at that time had featured muddy dams, which created a problem for farmers in the rainy season, as they tried to access their rice and cash crop cultivation in the back lands.
Back in the days there were many hire car and taxi drivers from this village but with the constant escalating of ‘modern transportation’ the village has seen a distinct reduction in persons involved in this practice.
A few persons are also employed at vehicular workshops outside the village while others are content with professions as fishermen.
And almost everyone seems to be employed in this village, either functioning as carpenters, rice and cash crop farmers, fishermen or shop owners. Of course there are poultry farmers. Some residents also own fishing boats with which they ply their trade in the nearby Atlantic Ocean.
The culture of the village seemed to have become more sophisticated with the passing of time. Residents still practice the East Indian customs and beliefs but hardly can one hear the reverberating sound of tassa drums like in years gone by.

Today villagers are more taken with listening to their favourite songs from stereo sounds or other music sets, but one can safely say that the Indian culture is steadfast as is evident in their wedding and birthday celebrations.
Religious beliefs are still the same, but the festivity and jubilant demeanour of residents has receded with the passing years. Many have attributed this to the changes of modern times and that persons are more taken up with making ends meet or otherwise earning a living.
Over the years, things have changed, and Bush Lot has shed its ‘old world feathers’ and has transformed like a beautiful swan into a quite sophisticated settlement, showcasing posh buildings and businesses, well paved streets, and an infrastructure that dictated that this once little ‘yesteryear village’ is now a well established location with vibrant signs of ongoing economic and agricultural development.
From its well paved streets, to its appealing scenery, from its rapidly transcending modern sophistication, to its economic possibilities, Bush Lot is really headed for ultimate economic evolution.
As we trudged along we could not help be amazed at the warm welcome we received from villagers who either waved pleasantly from their windows, or was ready with a pleasant greeting if you passed them on the roadside.
Though this village was more predominantly inhabitant by East Indians, there existed a strong bond of apparent love, harmony and ‘buddy like connection’ between them and the relative small Negro population and other races living there too.

What also struck us was the simplicity and contentment of residents and they certainly possessed also the ‘get up and fix it attitude’ like what we encountered in a few other villages. In some instances residents were seen mixing cement and building their own concrete fences, and one truck driver, Tularam Persaud related that this was the normal trend among villagers.
“Bush Lot is a really nice village. I have been living here for over eight years and I have truly enjoyed my stay so far. Here we would hardly contract outside persons do cement work and building duties. There are quite a few masons and carpenters in the village, so if you come around often you would observe that most times we engage in well let’s say self help exercises”.

Garbage
Farmer and businessman Tulac Singh was ready to answer our questions about the garbage and he readily noted that the garbage problem in Bush Lot has been an ongoing issue. He noted however that that while villagers to a very small extent may have been ‘throwing a few stuff here and there’ it was however outsiders from other villages who would come in the still of the night and dump garbage on the road shoulders and the exact location in question.
However, he mentioned that several business owners in Bush Lot are very carefree and would dump their garbage wherever they seemed pleased, much to the annoyance of other villagers.
The businessman said that the villagers and related authorities take pride in the village and would work hard to keep it in tip-top shape. He however noted that it was quite a battle to keep out the keep out the ‘culprits’ as he chose to call them, who would sneak around in the night and dispose of their garbage in areas in Bush Lot.
That aside, most of the other areas in the village was ‘spic and span’ except for the drainage canal outside of the Bush Lot Secondary and Latchman Singh Primary Schools.

Tulac Singh explained that the large amount of garbage (mostly plastic bottles, bags and other containers) were thrown into the trench by students of both schools while some of it would have also been washed up into that specific area after being thrown into the trench by residents around the village.

Challenges
Life in Bush Lot Village is quite ‘easy going’ and villagers manage to get by quite nicely on a daily basis. But its several rice farmers whom we spoke with that were faced with challenges that either infuriates them or affected maximum produce of their rice and other cash crops.
Dhanraj Balram who has been a farmer for over five years noted that himself and other farmers have suffered greatly because they are unable to have proper access to water and also because of poor drainage. He noted that a main irrigation trench close to their farms is in great need of cleaning to allow the proper flow of much needed water into their farms.

Some of the farmers related that just recently Minister in the Ministry of Finance, Juan Edghill, had visited the village and this issue was raised with him. Some of the farmers explained that the minister had also visited the popular Middle Dam in the village and had promised to look into the issue of having it asphalted since it accounts for much transport around the village.
Mr. Balram related that the Mahaica, Mahaicony, Abary-Agricultural Development Authority (MMA/ADA) a while ago had provided a short-boom excavator to dig the drains but it was not adequate. This farmer thinks that a long-boom excavator would properly do the job.

A commercial haven
Bush Lot is indeed a ‘commercial haven’ that is at its busiest throughout the entire day and even into the late hours of the night. One might want to agree that this little village appears to be even busier than the Garden City of Georgetown, since some of Georgetown’s sectors ‘go dormant’ after certain time periods.
As we walked through the village residents and citizens from outlying villages were busily engaged in ‘endless shopping’, in the garment stores, boutiques, dry goods shops, and even in the two Chinese restaurants. Young girls were trekking in and out of the ‘J Mobile’ shop, purchasing head phones, cell phone cases, and the latest brands of cellular handsets.

J S Trading Internet Shop and the Cell Phone Wizz were other businesses that seemed to attract a lot of customers. And it seemed like Bush Lot was running parallel with Georgetown since the Chinese seemed to be contributing to ‘business development’ too. Housewives were rushing in and out of the Lai Li Clothing Store, whooping in delight as they cashed in on the cheap bargains and numerous price slashes.
Sexily clad young females from Bush Lot and Hopetown were popping into the Video and Photo Works Gift Shoppe every now and then to ‘strike a pose for the cameras.’
Some persons could be overheard, loudly making arrangements to visit the Regency Houses Waterside Park to access the vacant lots and new houses available for sale. This entity is offering a ‘no down payment arrangement’ or allowing clients to pay for lots and houses with monthly, quarterly, or half yearly installments.
And these people are highly religious too, since several house had small mandirs in the yards, while others preferred to worship at the Guyana Presbyterian Church branch located on the Bush Lot Public Road.
Bush Lot also has its own health centre and for a building that is standing for over six years, one has to agree that villagers have kept it in perfect shape.
The School View Ice-Cream Parlour located a few yards from the Bush Lot Secondary, Primary and Nursery Schools offers the perfect opportunity for students and

villagers to indulge in their ‘ice-cream fantasies’ since it sells all shades and flavous in ice-cream and related products.
The J&S Furniture Store, Danny’s Internet Café, Chandra Prashad & Son’s General Store and a Money Gram Transfer Branch Office all afforded Bush Lot villagers the opportunity to appease all their commercial needs in their own backyard.
B&R Baljit Business Enterprise, a Bill Direct Outlet, the ‘Night Eyes’ CD and DVD Shop, and the A. Goberdan General Store & Agri. Centre all combined, allows villagers to satisfy their every need without having to venture outside of the village. And of course they can stock up on their kitchen and household needs at the N&N Supermarket, or at the many stalls manned by mostly female vendors along the roadside. This village is almost the perfect reflection of Guyana’s capital city.
A DOCOL Representative supplies the entire village with cooking gas.

Entertainment
Seeking word on their entertainment status we were directed to Jerome Ramkissoon who owns the popular ‘Night Eyes CD & DVD Shoppe’ located just a few yards from the Bushlot School Entrance.
He explained that entertainment in the village is most times ‘home produced’ as he chose to put it over. He said that many times groups of friends would come together and host entrainment activities at their homes or sometimes step out of the village to other mega activities.

That aside, villagers eagerly anticipate the celebration of a birthday and most times wedding which allows them to have several days of ‘non-stop sporting’ until they are ‘drop dead intoxicated’.
Presently however, the entire village is greatly anticipating the coming of the annual Bush Lot United season opening horserace meet that is slated for Bush Lot Sea View Park. February 03, 2013 is the date set for this event this event showcases a whopping $6M up for grabs in cash and prizes.
As related by Jerome the venue, which has been considered the most improved over the past year and has been gaining in prominence since the club returned to competitive racing two years ago, and has been a hive of activity over the past few weeks.
The businessman related that authorities were busy putting in finishing touches on the track, stands, paddocks and lavatory facilities and with this being the opening act for year.
Some of the hotties (horses) competing are – Sleeping in Town, Diamond Illusion, Majestic Windy Killer, Red and Lovely, Silent Flight, Flying Baby, Diamond Dazzling, Spice and Obama. They will be joined by Score’s Even, California Strike, The Message, Technology, Grande Roja, Got to Go, Home Bush Baby, Settle In Seattle, Third World, Top Of the Line, Captain Crook, Windy War, Serenity, Storm In a Tea Cup, It my Turn, Silent Lizzy, and Another Jet.
Carded to compete also are I want Revenge, Who is on The Case, Wild Grinder, Rosanna, Wonder Flower, Gold Rush, The Girl Them Sugar, Indian King, Fresh Again, Ameera’s Joy, Karina, De Gump, Alana, Secretariat, Mr. Kool, Flying Object, Pixie Fire and Mona Lisa among others.
Bush Lot for several years has been the ‘pinnacle of excitement’ with regards to horse racing and have drawn in huge numbers from almost every bend and corner in Guyana.

Livelihood of villagers

With the exception of the few that would have left the village to seek employment elsewhere, residents of Bush Lot depend mostly on the cultivation of rice on a large scale, and several other cash crops as a means of income.
In the back lands one can find great expanses of rice fields, and in many cases several reasonably sized vegetable gardens. A few farmers grow ground provision while others make a profit on eschallot, celery, and varying thymes used for seasoning purposes. Some of their produce is sold in the village but most farmers take their produce to the city to obtain better prices.
On the other side of the coin a large number of persons are engaged either manning their own businesses or working in the businesses of others. Many villagers have sought occupation in manning their own food and grocery stalls along the public road to ensure a steady and sure income.

Ethnic Harmony
All rumours of ethnic differences existing in Bush Lot should be treated as nonsense and be crushed under foot. If there is any truth to such tales, that may have been what existed many years ago, but with time would have disappeared. If there is any truth to such stories, I am guessing that such a plight would have now been replaced with a ‘racial harmony’ so rich in its intensity that it awakened my very being and sent joyful tremors up my spine.

We had not properly braced ourselves for the impact of such ‘indulgences of the races’ and it just left us with our jaws wide open. Affirming the fact again, that one should not listen to ‘hearsay and fabrications’ but instead get to the ‘bottom of things’ for themselves.

Let’s begin with the schools …
The Bush Lot Secondary and Latchman Singh Primary Schools were just closing shop for the day and the noisy chatter of students could be heard from a distance away as they conversed on the ‘happenings of the day’ or on possible methods of effectively completing assignments. Of course the bigger girls were giving and getting ‘goo goo eyes’ from some males hot in pursuit, or chomping noisily on chewing gum.
A few school girls ganged up in groups mouthing the latest gossip in hushed tones for fear of the teachers overhearing.
It was a ‘pleasant ethnic fusion’ to feast upon as they spilled into the streets, both Indo and Afro buddies and school chums, laughing their heads of at the comical joke of another. They were indeed a picture of what we would want our beautiful Guyana to be.
It was the same pleasant picture with men liming in the streets, and with housewives catching up on the latest news before jumping into buses and heading to different villages.

Of course the bigger girls were giving and getting ‘goo goo eyes’ from some males hot in pursuit, or chomping noisily on chewing gum.
Ever so often peals of laughter will ring out as they slap each other on the back mouth “Gal you know yuh able, yeah”, or murmuring between gleeful giggles, “Gal you full ah stupidness…. Me nah able lie”.
It was so soothing to the soul to see young Leandra Blackman who said she journeys from Hopetown Village at least three times per week to chat and have a good laugh with her elderly male friend Dhanraj Balram whom she said she encountered while purchasing snow cone from a vendor in the village.
“He is such a sweet old man. About two years ago I was purchasing a snow cone on the public road and it totally amazed me how the seemingly merry man greeted me and struck up a pleasant conversation. Since then we meet up from time to time to ‘gaff’, and trust me I have learnt a lot from him. He has never disrespected me.”
Leandra said her friend had helped her greatly when having difficulties with agriculture projects while she was in school, and now that she is an adult she visits him for the comfort of his friendship and positive conversations.
When boarding the minibuses to get home, it’s a merry bunch of Indo and Afro students all giggling and tumbling over each other. There no angry shouting, or scratching or pulling of hair. It’s just pure love and harmony. It almost reduced me to tears.

Bush Lot in times gone by
Bush Lot it appears in years gone by has always been plagued with drainage and irrigation problems, and as a result farmers would have been victims of major losses to their rice and cash crops as a result of this factor.
However in 2010 they were expected to see a boost in their land preparation following the handing over of a new two-inch irrigation pump by the then Minister of Agriculture, Robert Persaud.
This gesture had followed a commitment made by Minister Persaud on July 8, 2010 while in Regions 5 and 6 for two farmers’ meetings. At the sessions, farmers were invited to express their concerns and one farmer Linden Henry requested assistance in the form of an irrigation pump for himself and several other farmers.
This piece this of equipment was expected to bring ease in land preparation and protection measures, especially in instances of unstable weather. And it helped them a lot, but today, there is still much room for improvement since farmers are still complaining of clogged irrigation trenches and poor drainage.

Development
The very well established village we see today was not always there. Several areas were over grown with bushes and vegetation, but by the early 1980s development in the business sector was rapidly becoming visible. More shops and other business sprung up as person invested their hard earned dollars. The ‘evolvement of Bush Lot’ never paused, hence promoting the very developed and attractive ‘commercial haven’ we see today.
As dictated by villagers, many farmers through bank loans, savings, and overseas assistance from relatives, rebuilt their other small and disintegrating buildings with sophisticated concrete structure. With agriculture being the main form of employment, some persons invested in the sale of ‘agricultural machinery and spare parts’, tires for vehicles etc. Then came the birth of businesses in the communication and commercial sector and all that visited saw a new Bush Lot that continues to spiral upwards in terms of economic and social mobility.

Education
Bush Lot over time has become quite popular for its excellent educative achievements as could be seen in the passes netted at the CXC and GCE examinations. According to reports from the Ministry of Education last year, Bush Lot Secondary School because of its high academic achievements was among several other schools that were targeted in 2012 for a special pilot project that was aimed at improving passes in Mathematics and English.
This project was geared providing students and teachers with teaching and learning resources, inclusive of calculators, text books, solutions for Mathematics and English, learning DVDs, and teaching guides.
Bush Lot Secondary and Lacthman Singh Primary Schools are indeed the homes of students from as far as Rosignol, Mahaicony and several areas in Berbice because of the schools’ reputation to produce many scholars with excellent grades.
In 2010 it was the Bush Lot Secondary students who won the Aditya Kids Trust Foundation’s Essay Competition for secondary schools. In that year Alana Husain and Gangadai Mathadin emerged winners of the competition and put the school on the map as a force to be reckoned with in the ‘educative arena’.
The essay competition was open to all fifth formers at secondary institutions between Mahaicony and Rosignol.
The Aditya Kids Trust Fund Foundation is based at Bath Settlement, West Coast Berbice. It was established in December 2007 after the death of seven-year old Aditya Ramdhan, of Bath Settlement. The Waterloo Nursery School student was sponsored to undergo cardiac surgery in India but died after the procedure.
The foundation was conceptualised by Canada-born Lorraine Kissoon and formed by Canadian businessmen. It is managed by a board of directors who are based in Canada.
The non-profit body is registered with the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports with its objectives being to provide assistance mainly to less fortunate children in the form of medical attention, social assistance, educational grants and the development of sports.
Come join hands with me and let’s skip about in the sandy streets, let’s jump over the bubbling ponds as shiny little silver fishes frolic and prance about in gurgling water. Relax under an umbrella in wide open peaceful pastures, or take a stroll in the busy streets bustling with commercial activity.
Whatever‘s your take or exploration fantasies Bush Lot Village will definitely ignite your adventurous interests. Why not drop in and give folks there a surprise visit. They will be more than happy to receive you. And when you are planning pack a basket with goodies and enjoy an open air countryside picnic. Hit me up if you may…. I will gladly come along. Join us next week as we journey to the exciting village of Den Amstel.
By Alex Wayne