There are quite a few dreamy little villages around Guyana and its astonishing to note that so many people are not yet aware of their merry existence.

Nestled in the nook and cranny of alluring Mahaicony is a mesmerising village called ‘Now-or-Never’ bustling with jovial residents, and a distinct merriment that seem to fuse quite nicely with the thrill of the Christmas

festivities.
Now folks this village is located some 44 km from Georgetown and is flanked by Bushy Park to the west and Sarah to the east. This quaint village has just over twenty households with an estimated population of 133.
Now-or-Never is occupied mostly by persons of Negro origin, but here and there are small percentages of East Indians, Amerindians and a few persons of mixed race.

Touching Down

I was just marvelling at the beauty of the enthrallling ‘double road’ at the neighbouring Perseverance Village, when the driver brought me out of my reverie by announcing loudly that we had arrived at my destination.
I disembarked and three young males seating on a roadside culvert immediately started making silly jokes about the skin fitting jeans I was wearing until I hotly give them a fiery tongue lashing about their callous attitudes. One of them happened to glance at my media identification card and instantly chided the others for their disrespectful behaviour.
From then it was some quivering, “Sorry sir…’ from them all, and in no time we had struck up a lively conversation.
Worren Semple who seemed very fluent did not hesitate to give a detailed speech on the village and its jolly people.
“I am very proud that the Chronicle has taken time out to visit us to put us on the map of places to visit. This village is indeed quite a beauty and the people here are very hospitable and endearing. We normally welcome everyone coming here. I do apologise for the behaviour of myself and friends earlier… You

see boss, we are not really accustomed to the fashion of you people from Georgetown… But I got to say, yuh really rocking dem jeans well pappy…. In Now-or-Never we live as one big happy family, loving each other and sharing with our neighbor, especially at Christmas time. This village is simple but we live here peacefully and with great pride…”
Bidding the youngsters goodbye, I stooped next at the home of Alison Thomas who was very busy ‘sprucing up’ her quaint little ‘Blue Shop’ from which she would sell a little groceries to neighbours for the holidays. She smiled gleefully when I applauded her painting efforts, and paused from the task to chat with me a little.

“It’s nice to have you here sir… As you can see, we at Now-or-Never are not left out of the Christmas celebrations and if you look around you will see that many houses have already been decorated. As you can hear, some of my neighbours are already blasting Christmas carols from their stereos, and this just puts us in the holiday spirit. This village is quite simple and certainly lacks all the big time facilities like in the city, but here we enjoy the bright sunshine, and live in harmony and this beautiful land the Creator has blessed us with. The only little thing that bothers us is the abundant mosquitoes here. We are hoping that the authorities that are responsible for the fogging exercise would visit us. The abundant trees and ponds here allows for rapid breathing of mosquitoes”
Trevon Smith, a mason spoke highly about the hospitality of residents and their simple existence.
“This village is really nice and quiet. There are no criminal elements here and we just live here as a simple people. We are very pleased that we have good water supply and electricity, and we are not really affected by natural disasters. While we do no enjoy the fancy life some other villages, we thrive remarkably on the great hospitality

extended by villagers, and the love and harmony we share with each other. As you can see despite the lack of certain luxuries, the Christmas feeling is here and everyone is preparing for the holidays”
Fifty-two year-old Jean Williams was all smiles when I stopped to chat with her as she sat under a tree in her yard. She explained that life in the village was good and pleasant despite the fact that the village did not possess the facilities to facilitate entertainment development and sports.
“Bai dis village really nice and comfahtable, and real quiet. Me really ah enjy livin hea and me nah want guh nowhea else. Awe dese nah get dem fancy places like dem otha village, but ah we ah live good hea still. Awe ah get clean wata fuh drink, electricity, and we contended with that”.

Mesmerising Beauty

This village does not feature majestic buildings, posh shops, fancy stores or elegant boutiques like many others, but what it may top the list with is its quiet existence, fuelled by the humility and charm of its residents, and dazzling beauty.
The minute I stepped into the village I was swept up in a whirlpool of lush green foliage, surrounded by startling tropical ‘flower plant species’ thriving naturally alongside bubbling drains and small trenches where hassa, patwah and hurry (bush fish) flipped about and somersaulted, their shiny scales glistening in the sunshine.
Pond flies and butterflies seemed to ‘dance meringue’ about my head making pleasant whirring sounds.
The main road was crystal clean with large, towering trees that formed a shady canopy for pedestrians and drivers alike. The dense vegetation and numerous small farms certainly lent a true countryside ambience, infused nicely with sandy dunes and dreamy alleyways that spiraled into the hazy backlands.
Healthy looking coconut palms waved lazily in the wind flowing from the nearby Atlantic Ocean, and in each yard there was a bright fusion of fruit trees. Some trees seemed to be groaning under their weight of ripened mangoes, while the branches of breadfruit trees were almost sweeping the earth with the weight of the large healthy looking

fruits.
Banana trees were in full bloom and genips and dunks was there too in abundance.
I almost swooned in delight and amazement as I passed a few yards where various flower plants bloomed in wild array filling the yard spaces with the striking hues and shades associated with the Caribbean.
Sheep and cattle grazed lazily in open fields, seeming savouring their afternoon meals with relish, assured that there was much to serve around for months to come. In some yards young children dashed about playing marbles and hop-scotch, while on street corner elderly men stood chatting, opening their mouths and throwing back their heads as they bellowed their mirth over jovial jokes and tales of their childhood days.
This village was sure a must visit location.

At many homes, families were relaxing in their verandahs or enjoying spicy midday meals consisting of either meat or fish and fresh vegetables from their own kitchen gardens. Everyone apparently preferred to relax in the comfort of their homes, as opposed to other villages, where residents could be seen briskly going about their chores.
The village has undergone just a few minor changes over the years, and this comes in the form of several new houses that have sprung up overtime. Many years ago, this village was mostly dense foliage and wide open pastures, with a cluster of houses owned mostly by folks of African descent.
Today the pastures are gradually filling up with new buildings, most of which are owned by Afro-Guyanese, who are now taking up residence there.

Peaceful Existence
All seemed to be well in this village, and this fact was affirmed by the peaceful solitude of housewives and daughters. The husbands seemed to be missing in most cases, but investigations revealed that they were out in the fields, either tending to their farmlands or cash crops.
That aside, the few males that were at home were either administering repairs to their trucks and farming equipment, or just adding final touches as they swept and cleaned

their spacious yards. This village is almost about cleanliness, peace and tranquility.
Villagers certainly seemed not too bothered about entertainment, and would listen to music from their homes, or wait for the customary birthday and wedding celebrations. Just a few of the more ‘shine dudes’ as they call themselves, would hook up with their colleagues in nearby villages, and hang out at bars in Central Mahaicony.
What struck me distinctly was that residents in this village were not the complaining type, and they certainly did not make a big fuss and uproar over the few problems that are affecting sections of the community.
We entered the village from the west, and the first group of residents mentioned that there were still a few drains in dire need of cleaning to ensure good drainage. However, they did mention that it takes continuous torrential downpours for their ‘reef areas’ to be flooded.

Entertainment
This village has no possible avenues for any vibrant form of entertainment but that does not seem to bother residents since they can hop into a ‘short-drop car’ and travel to neighbouring villages and have a blast on the weekends.
The elderly folks in most cases are contented to purchase their alcohol and drink it in the confines of their homes. Sports oriented youths would travel to as far as the Central Mahaicony Centre Ground to enjoy sporting games of their preferences. No parties are hosted there since there are no nightclubs or discos, but even this seems not to bother the jolly residents.

Employment

From all accounts, it appears like there is no employment issue in the village, since all appeared to be gainfully occupied. Quite a few prefer to be employed as fishermen, but many villagers are farmers who cultivate cash crops and rice on both a large and small scale. That aside, a minority sells groceries from at least two visible shops, with the smaller in number opting for careers as labourers and mini-bus drivers.
What was strange though was that no one seemed to be engaged in the making of coconut oil, which had been a ‘hit item’ in the village even in the early 1980s. In those days, everyone welcomed the stirring scent of fresh coconut oil as it wafted into the air from the many homes that were producing the must-have kitchen item. All around, you could have heard the sharp crack of coconuts being split open to extract the hard white pulp. The water was stored and given to pigs, who squealed in delight each time their ‘liquid dessert’ was served up by their masters. Those then engaged in the trade would sell the fresh coconut oil to large-scale wholesale buyers and in their shops to over-the-counter customers.

The rice and cash crop farmers there would also sell to wholesale buyers who come to their home with large trucks to remove the purchased items.
Hunting for wild animals is still a thriving sport in the backlands of this village, but today it is done mostly by residents from outside villages, who cannot ignore their never-ending cravings for iguana, agouti, anteaters and other wild animal species.

Transportation
Several years ago, hire cars were indeed the main form of transportation in Now-or-Never. Villagers were more prone and seemed quite more comfortable with the environs of a hire car, than the minibuses which also plied the roads continuously.
Today those cars have disappeared and villagers now depend on the very minibuses they avoided and sometimes the wait can be very lengthy, since most of these buses now ply the Georgetown to Berbice route.
Some villagers would normally use bicycles for short distances and even a few motor cycles are still around. And guess what? Some of the youths are really getting smart and are moving around on roller shoes which they claim is a more exciting form of transport.
A few would move around too on horse drawn cart that are also use to transport large items from one location to another.

Now-or-Never In Times Gone By
Way back in the 1960s this village was a ‘very bushy settlement’ according to the elderly Dorcelle Welcome. And in those days one had to climb a tree to view certain features. The village was separated from other human existence by towering trees and dense foliage.
According to a village elder, Mrs. Welcome, the village was ‘pitch black’ at nights and residents were forced to use ‘lamps made from kerosene in glass bottles to see in the night. No one dared venture outside for fear of snakes and other ‘bush creatures’; and the village was mostly dismal during day time.
Villagers were forced to go to other villages to obtain proper drinking water and they were relieved when ‘Mr. Fraser’ a very old resident got his first stand pipe. The crowds gathered there daily and many times arguments would erupt and even fights as residents bicker and scuffle to obtain the precious liquid.
Mothers then would use water from ponds and trenches for washing of their laundry and of course for bathing.
Today the village has evolved into a cluster of cozy colourful houses, sandy dams and enticing alleys that twist and turn into the backdam areas. There are at least two shops there and one allows for sale of clothing and accessories.
Gradually, this village is taking shape and still holds that special yesteryear aura, even as it slowly comes to grip with the changes of modernisation.
There are no churches there and the Christians who reside there would attend the one of the two churches present in the nearby Perseverance, or those at Central Mahaicony.

Village Camaraderie
Everyone lives as one in this village, and the high level of love and harmony amongst residents is very evident.
It was very apparent in the jolly laughter of school children heading home from school, in the gossip of housewives as they purchased over the counter groceries and other supplies. And there it was again in the raucous guffaws of young men playing cards by the small shops or having a few beers under their houses. This village was bundle of joy showcasing cheerful residents, doing their best to keep abreast with the changing hands of time.
Well folks there are enjoying potable water made possible by the GWI, and there is ab abundance of the precious fluid flowing in the trenches for them to keep their crops and livestock alive.
What is also evident is that villagers do not bear forlorn appearances since ‘things are looking up’ and they are seeing the signs of ongoing development there.

Conclusion
Come prance under moonlight clouds on a starry ‘Now-or-Never Night, or climb into a guava tree and drink in puffs of pure of Atlantic wind. Give heed to adventure and catch ‘bush fish’ in the muddy back dam trains, or savour the ecstasy of pickled country mangoes, made fresh from tress right in the back yard.
Drink your fill of fresh, cool water coconuts, or gather all you can take of genip, mangoes, and tamarind. Whatever you do, it would be a shame not to visit and soak up the bountiful treasures of Now-or Never. Join us next week when we take you on a roller coaster ride to the Indo populated dreamland called ‘Fairfield.’