There is a saying: “Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder,” with which I totally agree. But after my visit to the appealing village of Harmony Hall (also called High Dam), I am sorely tempted to add to that saying that beauty is further accentuated when associated with humble acceptance of its radiance.

I also learnt after visiting this village that beauty can almost become magical when contented beings place great value to its presence with intense appreciation, merriment and simple acceptance.
Now folks, this little village has only fourteen households with a population not yet one hundred, and certainly lacks the luxuries of life shared by many lucky individuals, but the degree of humility, joy and harmony shared among residents have certainly taught me to accept the gifts of Mother Nature and the Creator, and even made me a little envious of those existing in this almost heavenly abode.
With its sprawling pastures, gurgling waterways, golden rice fields and lush foliage, and surrounding rambling cottage houses, Harmony Hall is the ideal location for retiring elders who desire continuous peace and tranquility.
Harmony Hall (High Dam) is a large commercialised agricultural landholding with associated buildings and other facilities in the country of Guyana. Its centre lies at a latitude of 6.65 and longitude of -57.86667, and has an elevation of one metre above sea level.
Sunrise in most cases commences around 05:41 hours, while the sunsets with blazing, scarlet allure 17:40 hours, adding a rare glitzy edge to the settlement.
This village is nestled nicely between the slightly larger village of Glazier’s Lust to the west and the very sparse Carlton Hall to the east on the East Coast of Demerara. Harmony Hall is located some 46 kilometres from Georgetown.

My Arrival
“Oh goodness; gracious me! The ride to this village aboard a very ‘rikity car’ from the Mahaica Market Square was certainly hilarious. I silently cursed the vendor who advised that I board this vehicle since it seemed to cough and chug its way along the East Coast Demerara Highway, spewing billowing clouds of acrid smoke in its trail igniting the wrath of other drivers and pedestrians.
The almost toothless driver was not to be undone and hurled insults and obscenities at practically anyone who shouted their disapproval of him using the roadways in his ‘contraption’ as they called his car.
It was with great relief that I disembarked the vehicle with eyes burning and gulped in the refreshing air blowing in from the Atlantic Ocean.
But my disgust and discomfort was soon replaced with awe and pleasure as I stood on the edge of this striking village, Harmony Hall.
The winding main road was certainly in good condition as it twisted like a monstrous anaconda among swaying coconut palms and lush, green foliage. Most of the houses were definitely old fashioned, with wide open yard spaces in which hens cackled without a care in the world and sheep dozed in the shade, chewing proudly on their cuds (grass meals they regurgitated and chewed to perfection)
Healthy looking dogs yelped and pranced about as horses munched happily on the assortment of juicy shrubs and many grass species in the open pastures. Housewives sat in hammocks humming merry lullabies or tracing patterns in the soil as they awaited their husbands to arrive from the rice fields, all soiled and sweaty from their hard toiling.
Old men sat under swaying tamarind trees, eyes half closed as if in a daze with smiles like ‘merry half-moons,’ plastered on their wrinkly faces. The fusion of coconut palms and abundant fruit trees cast a certain ‘tropical tranquility’ on the village that ignited an urge to just roll out a blanket and ‘throw down’ under the shady tress for a good breezy, afternoon nap.
This village was definitely quiet, with a comforting, woozy blanket of pleasurable peace about it.

Mingling With Villagers
Well there hardly seemed to be much people stirring about so I walked into a yard where a pretty woman was seated in a hammock, obviously lost in her mind’s musings.

She looked up sharply at my entrance and her puppy which she later told me was called ‘Mustapha’ lunged at me with fierce barking causing me to back up in fear. Calming him by speaking to him softly and stroking his neck, the dog soon settled down, protesting softly in its own animal language, eyeing me suspiciously from the corner of its shiny eyes.
After warm introductions we were soon chatting like old friends and we both discovered that we had actually crossed paths a few times when I was employed a few years ago at another media house, and would often visit the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC)
Samantha Farina, a retired nurse revealed that she was actually home alone with the kids as they awaited the return of her husband who was tending to his rice plots in the ‘backdam area’ of the village.
She explained upon promptings that the village was very quiet and peaceful and most suited for retiring elders or Guyanese returning from abroad to settle down in peace and quiet.
“This village is always calm and peaceful and it’s actually a privilege to be living here. We do not enjoy the excitement and modern facilities like some other villages, but we are a humble and contented people and we normally make do with whatever little we have. We enjoy the clean fresh air, lots of fruits as you can see, and we spend much time on our farms, rice field or in our kitchen gardens. That aside, from time to time we would venture outside the village to Carlton Hall nearby where a few entertainment ventures are normally hosted.”
The retired nurse explained that the village was inhabited mostly by Negroes with a sprinkling of the mixed races and that their main source of income is generated through farming, rice cultivation, and the rearing of cattle and poultry.
Some housewives try to make an extra dollar from the sale of eggs or from the fat and healthy chickens they pluck for sale periodically.
Mrs. Farina explained that there are no grocery shops in the village or no scope for entertainment or recreational opportunities.
“This is a very small village and it just a pleasant little alcove where the elderly can retire in calm and comfort. There are no shops here and to get our groceries we would travel to outlying village or purchase on a wholesale bases at the Mahaica Market which is about five miles from the village. She explained that there were no discos or nightclubs in the village so villagers were content to listen to music from their own stereo systems, watch television, while the grown men would trek to a lone run shop in the center of the village to consume alcohol and listen to ‘yester-year music’ on weekends.
My next stop was to chat with 71-year-old Kingsal Gilgeous who sat humming merrily on a makeshift wooden bench beneath a roadside tamarind tree.
He shared the sentiment that the village was actually a quite ‘comfy location’ but expressed concern that there was never any street lights there.
“This is a very sweet place to live. It is quiet and so peaceful, that visitors refer to it as the fairyland. That may be so, but there is definite need for street lights here because when night falls the place is pitch dark, save for the areas that are illuminated by the lights from buildings. But as you can see the houses are far apart in many cases…. We get good water supply at all times, but in some cases it is almost rusty and unfit for drinking. I am hoping that the GWI can look into that”
Mr. Gilgeous expressed the need for a playfield for the youths in the village whom he said were talented in the fields of cricket and football. “We have quite a number of gifted cricketers and footballers here, but there is really no suitable location in which they can practice because we do not have a playfield here. In most cases they have to travel to Carlton Hall or even to Mahaica, or rig up little cricket pitches in their back yards that are often not spacious enough”.
Janita Singh, a security guard at a communications network outside the village lauded the Government for ensuring that the drainage system in the village was almost excellent, if not perfect.
“We do not have everything in this village but we are contented with what we have. We know everything cannot happen overnight since there is so much to do in Guyana, but our drainage system here is fairly good. We do not really have floods here and the water drains off in reasonable time after heavy rainfall. There are still a few trenches that need to be cleaned but we have no threat of flooding in this area. However, we need activities here so that our youths can be gainfully engaged during there spare time. I am hoping that the relevant authorities can form a youth group or some organisation here in which our youths can learn new trades and utilise their talents.”
Dale Nobrega, a carpenter affirmed that the village was indeed a calm and attractive location but raised concerns about the lack of scope for employment for youths there.
“This village really nice bass man and I enjoy living hea…. But I am a bit concerned about some qualified youths who are still unemployed in this village. Yuh see bass, de oldah folks would do lil carpentry, farming, rice planting and suh lie we accustom tuh, but dem youths wid subjects looking fuh something bettah, and we ain get nutting fuh dem hea”

Harmony Hall of Yesteryear
Harmony Hall has not changed much from its appearance ‘donkey years ago,’ and to tell the story was village elder Philip Nedd.
“I have lived here almost all my life and not much has changed since I was a young boy. In my time when ah used to run around ‘shut tail’ as ah little boy this place was mostly bushes and swampy wastelands. There were hardly any houses here and when yuh find wan house, yuh gat fuh walk lang, lang before yuh finad anatha wan. In dem those days it was flambough lamps and old time wax candles, and we used tuh fetch wata frum one stand pipe in the village. At that time we used go-carts and donkey cart tuh move about, since we had no hire cars, or sometime we would use de train.”
According to Mr. Nedd the level of harmony and unity amongst the race was always present in the village, and neighbours would share meals, vegetables and ground provisions with each other.
Today there are paved streets in some areas, but there is still some room for improvement.
The village is equipped with a health centre, but according to residents very little can be benefited from this institution since in many occasions the staff there are never present to attend to patients and very often persons seeking medical help are told that the institution does not have drugs or medications to tend to illnesses.
The bottom flat of this building was once used as a temporary library according to villagers but even that seemed to have been left to waste.
Some mothers said that the bottom flat is closed up now with barrels of books which have been left to become infested with wood ants and insects. There are no schools in this village and as such the youths attend academic institutions in the nearby Carlton Hall, which has a primary and nursery school or the multilateral facility at Bygeval/ Mahaica.
In the olden times villagers worshipped in their homes or in their ‘bottom house churches.’ Today there is a single Methodist Church there where residents would congregate, save for the few who choose to worship outside the village.

Conclusion
Let’s not focus on the negatives of this village. And come to think of it, there aren’t really a lot of them associated with this location.
But stop for a moment and ponder on the beauty of this small settlement and how more wondrous it can become as time evolves. One thing that I can assure you is that with the right moulding minds put together, Harmony Hall can become a next big hit on our priority list of places to visit.
Why not hop in a bus and drop in on the villagers. You certainly will have the time of your lives. But mark well… Take a mini-bus and avoid the ‘smoky old cars.’ They can be so uncomfortable at times. Bye now folks… Join me next week when we visit the arresting village of Supply on the East Bank of Demerara.