Village Focus: YEOVIL – a small West Berbice village of quietude and soothing serenity – with a population of less than 1,000
Welcome to Yeovil
Welcome to Yeovil

RENOWNED for its many exotic villages, many of which are pristine though little known locations usually not regarded with deserved importance, or just missed altogether because of their geographical locations, Guyana can deservedly boast of Yeovil, a quaint little West Coast Berbice village that reeks of pleasant serenity which seemingly soothes the senses and makes the village exude an unmistakably comforting awe at its quiet existence.Located a little over 50 miles from Guyana’s capital city of Georgetown, Yeovil is a very small village with a population of less than one thousand, according to residents. With no more than thirty households, this village is a brilliant fusion of lush green pastures; vast, open, healthy looking rice and other fields; abundant fruit trees, and a cluster of colourful houses lending a pleasant, picturesque aura to the location.

Predominantly inhabited by people of African descent, this village is comfortable home to a sprinkling of East Indians and people of mixed races, all living together in genuine love and quiet harmony, filling the sunny skies with their mirthful laughter and cheery chatter, especially as the sun fades majestically in the evenings.

Yeovil is reputed to be a commercialised agricultural landholding with associated buildings and other facilities in Guyana. Its centre lies at a latitude of 6.4488600 and longitude of -57.6421100, and it has an elevation of one metre above sea level.

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JOURNEY TO YEOVIL

As the minibus danced its way amongst heavy morning traffic along the West Berbice Public Road, I exulted in the rush of fresh country breeze that assailed my face and chest, and smiled lazily as a green blur of lush rice fields, foliage, and idly grazing animals rushed by.

In every village we passed during our journey, there was the appealing and pleasant spectacle of residents rushing about on daily errands. In the roadside shops, there were gathered considerable numbers of persons, intent on accessing their daily kitchen supplies, while young men were either liming by the roadside or chatting joyously at the small shops that seemed to be a highpoint along the journey.

OUR ARRIVAL

Upon visiting some places, you eventually leave with a sense of reluctance, after enjoying blissful hours of being all wrapped up in either its mirthful people, it’s sometimes crazy and remorseful issues, or simply lost and captivated by the conviviality of it all.

At other times, you may just welcome the rush of its hilarious gossip, or the fascination of watching its inhabitants tussle and disagree over sometimes frivolous issues.

And sometimes it’s quite a thrill to be showered with welcoming smiles and the often cocky stares of villagers. All these I enjoyed, coupled with that certain intriguing, ancient aura of Yeovil when I visited the area recently. But, like they say, amidst the beauty and mysteries of every village there is always a forlorn tale to tell, and this will unfurl, mingled with its tremendous positivity, as we tell the tale of our visit to Yeovil.

We arrived in the village at just about 11:00 hrs, and were somewhat taken aback by the almost eerie silence that seemed to envelop the village. Though there was a definite brilliance and ‘country shine’ to the location, it was very disappointing to note that there hardly seemed to be anyone moving around.

The unnerving stillness was broken occasionally by the passing of a few vehicles or the sudden roar of motor cycles as they coughed and chugged along the roadside, spewing foul smelling smoke in all directions.

Just a sprinkling of youths passed occasionally on bicycles, while in two areas of the village men were seen relaxing lazily under plum trees, shielding themselves from the blistering rays of the sun.

All around, cows and sheep were gleefully enjoying the juicy looking grass and other vegetation while a few horses galloped freely in an open field, causing some ‘stray pigs’ to dash off squealing in shock and surprise at the sudden intrusion.

I was lost as to where to turn, until a smiling young man got off of his motor cycle and curiously asked my reason for visiting. We struck up a conversation and in no time were both laughing our heads off like old pals.
Winston Murray, as he is called, led me to a makeshift stool under a mango tree, and even pelted down two of the juicy fruit, which he offered to me with a smile.

When I enquired about the almost solemn ambience of the village, he related that the village was maybe one of the quietest in Berbice. He explained that residents existed by ‘humble means’.

“Yeovil is the land of the forgotten (giggles)…. Nothing really goes on here, and no one seems to remember us. As a matter of fact, many people are unaware that this small village exists. We do not have any facilities here to keep us properly entertained, and as such we have learnt to make do with what we have, and we most certainly have to be contented…

“This village is a really nice place, and we are okay with our little farming and other odd jobs that we engage in to survive,” he told this reporter.

“This village is very quiet, and is certainly suited for persons who desire the softer side of life or love the mysteries of Mother Nature….” he said.

Exploring the very breezy village, we encountered the aged and very cheery farmer William Thomas, who took us into his backyard as he narrated his tales on issues surrounding the village.

His lush looking kitchen garden a short distance from the roadside was thriving with various vegetables and plantain suckers. He told a stirring story of toiling in the broiling sun to develop and level his land to have it fit for gardening purposes. He said that since drainage still bothers villagers from time to time, his feat of raising the land above flood level was not easy.

He cultivates a wide variety of vegetables and ground provisions for home consumption and sale in the village.

One who has traversed the area will certainly remember the days when most of Yeovil featured wide pastures, dense foliage, and the many farms and gardens owned by the few settlers and persons from around the village.

SELF HELP INDULGENCE
What struck me and was very pleasing to the eyes is the manner in which villagers exuded a ‘ready to go attitude’, and seemed ready to ‘fix things’ in the village and not wait on the relevant authorities, whom they claimed sometimes dragged their feet on issues.

As we walked about the village, a few young men could be seen cleaning up their yards that were overgrown with bushes, while others were observed executing alterations to their homes.
We were very surprised when we were told that some of the more outstanding buildings in the village were built by villagers. Some villagers noted that instead of waiting for ages for the relevant authorities to ‘fix things in the village’, they would often join forces to clean up and beautify their surroundings.

We were indeed amazed at the contentment and simplicity of almost every villager. Throughout our entire visit, there was no unnecessary fuss and bitter complaint like we had experienced in several other villages which we had visited. Residents seemed more disposed to ‘fixing things’ in their village than on waiting on relevant authorities, or for miracles to happen.

Chatting with Sherman James, we learnt that persons there are quite contented with their ‘self-created professions.’ Yonette Graham, for example, has been selling at the food stall situated within her yard for the past seventeen years, and her ‘countryside delicacies’ are greatly anticipated by persons traversing the area.

“I have been doing this job for over 17 years, and trust me, I do enjoy it. I mean, sales can be up and down at times, but I know ‘every day is not Christmas.’ This is what I do and it pays me also.
“Our entire country has an unemployment problem, and if everyone comes up with simple ways of earning an honest dollar, then it would not impact on them so significantly,” she reasoned.

Rice farmer Philip Nedd was almost equally assertive of James’s statements. “This has been my profession for over eight years, and I am content with what it brings me. It doesn’t get me a big fortune or anything like that, but it keeps my head above the water. I mean, all over the world people have to work to earn, and it would be a stupid thing to sit and frown about the unemployment crisis in one’s country when there are so many things an individual could do to earn legally,” Nedd declared.

LIVELIHOOD AND ENTERTAINMENT
With a very small population, the residents of Yeovil seem not to be too interested in much intensified leisure time entertainment. There are just a few youths and grown men in the village, and those that are more adventurous would settle for having ‘a little tups’ in the rum shops, or would venture to hotspots outside the village to relax and unwind on weekends.

The majority of the people are more concerned with hanging out, catching their favourite television soaps or series, and would lock themselves in quite early at some intervals to enjoy those.

Of course, a few birthday and wedding celebrations would spring up every now and then; but that aside, residents confine themselves to the comfort of their homes, and listen to music or watch television.
The rice farmers that still occupy the village are desperately trying to keep their trade alive. A few still actively engage themselves in cultivating kitchen gardens, while others would sell food items from small stalls erected close to their homes.

CHALLENGES
Well, what can I say? This is one village that seems to be completely contented with things just the way they are. A few persons, however, think that funding should be plugged into the village to improve the areas of infrastructure, street lighting and sanitary maintenance. That aside, all is well as residents would have indicated.

ETHNIC HARMONY
Any rumours of ethnic differences existing in this village should be treated as nonsense and be crushed under foot. If there is any truth to such tales, that maybe had obtained years ago, when we had not properly braced ourselves for the impact of such indulgences of the races’ that it just left us with our jaws open. I wish to reaffirm the fact that one should not listen to ‘hearsay and fabrications’.

As the soothing cool of the evening approached, things changed a bit and the village became a bustle of activity. Fathers arrived home from their various jobs, and the younger males ganged up at the street corner to engage in loud and boisterous conversation.

Of course the bigger girls were giving and getting ‘goo goo eyes’ from some males hot in pursuit, as they swung their hips saucily…and as they chewed noisily on gum.
A few school girls ganged up in groups mouthing the latest gossip in hushed tones for fear of being overheard by the elders.

It was a pleasing ethnic fusion as they chatted in the streets, both Indo and Afro buddies, laughing their heads off at the comical jokes of one another.

It was the same pleasant picture with men ‘gaffing’ in the streets and with housewives catching up on the latest news before hurrying off to their nearby houses.

Ever-so often, peals of laughter would ring out as they slapped each other on the backs, mouthing how much they were enjoying each other’s company.

When boarding the minibuses to get home, it’s a merry bunch of Indo and Afro students all giggling and tumbling over each other to get the best seats. There was no angry shouting, or scratching or pulling of hair. It was just pure love and harmony….

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 were affecting sections of the community.

YEOVIL OF OLD
People in the western Somerset town in England are familiar with their location, which is also dubbed ‘Yeovil’, but many do not know that 10,000 miles away in Guyana, South America, lies another small village of exactly the same name.

As history would dictate, the existence of Yeovil in Guyana was brought to light not so long ago by a foreigner, Michael Clark, who spent time working in the country several years ago. As he would have mentioned, many people have no idea about our country’s colonial history – that the British Empire once included Guyana, where the people speak English, and that there are towns here named after English places.

He had also noted that the history of Guyana is greatly linked to that of Mother Africa.

Villages such as Yeovil are now traditionally based on sugar plantation names given at the time the plantations were set up. The Berbice area of what is now Guyana was formally part of British Guiana in 1831. And history suggests that the original British migrant owners were either from Yeovil in Somerset, or had some connection to those areas.

Dorset, Somerset, Wiltshire and Bath are similar examples of plantation names in Berbice, one of the three Counties of Guyana – the other two being Essequibo and Demerara.

The very camera-shy and elderly Mrs Dorsette Gibbons was ready to shed light on the makings of Yeovil before its gradual transformation, which is still taking place today.

“Just after the days of slavery, Yeovil was just a scatter of houses in the centre of vast pastures. We had no lights really, and some areas were really muddy. The roads and dams were really bad. It was quite difficult for farmers to get to their rice fields and provision farms. Often times we were flooded when rain fell heavily, and we had no proper drainage here. In my time as a little girl we would use trench water sometimes for cooking and washing, since the few stand pipes would only give water when the pressure is good. The bottle lamps were quite popular then, and we would even use them to catch crabs at night or to pick up mangoes in the wee hours of the morning during mango season,” Mrs. Gibbons said.

Mrs. Gibbons explained that the donkey- and horse-drawn carts were popular forms of transport, but that the train was also a main feature. She noted that many lived in logies (thatched roof houses) for many years before the arrival of the many impressive buildings that are there today.

Today, the village has a nursery school, a single church for worship, and a lone shop that sells groceries and other necessities. Despite the lack of entertainment facilities and other amenities, Yeovil boasts a distinct pleasant ambience that relaxes the mind of the visitor upon his/her very first visit

INTERACTING WITH RESIDENTS
Yeovil does not enjoy the many luxuries present in other villages we have visited, and residents were more than ready to expound on this issue.

Yonette Williams, for instance, was adamant that there is absolute need for improvement in the areas of sports and entertainment.

“This is a very quiet village with very simple people. But it appears as if the world has forgotten about us. We have so much wide open land spaces, yet we do not have a proper playground for our youths to engage in leisure time activities. The children are more than bored because there is really nothing here to entertain them. We have no nightclubs, hardly any shops, or boutiques…

“There is really nothing here when you come to think of it. To get proper entertainment, we have to travel as far as Hopetown or those distant villages. Why can’t we have at least a few facilities of our own? There is really nothing for our youths here in this village; while there may be at least one area set up for playing of basketball, we definitely need a large play ground where we can have sporting events, horse races and other stuff like some other villages”, she declared.

Bumping into a group of young men feasting on mangoes by the roadside, we learnt that the lack of a health centre or hospital in the village was also an issue of great concern.

They noted that it was quite gruelling for pregnant mothers and persons with other ailments to have to travel a great distance for medical attention. They also issued an appeal to the relevant authorities to make available sporting gear for talented, sports-oriented youths, since there is no scope for development in the areas of sports and entertainment.

EMPLOYMENT
While there seems not to be an employment problem in this village, some residents are actually hoping that an industrial entity of some sort can be erected to offer ‘long-term employment’ for persons living in this and surrounding areas.

As it is right now, many villagers are rice farmers and are engaged in the cultivation of rice. There are just a few farmers remaining in the village, and a sprinkling of poultry farmers are engaged in the rearing of chickens for meat and eggs.

That aside, a few have gotten jobs as teachers at the nursery school in the village, while others have taken up jobs in stores and administrative offices outside the village. Everyone in Yeovil is industrious, and as such, residents are engaged in jobs of every imaginable nature to sustain their survival.

CONCLUSION
Yeovil may not have much to offer in terms of entertainment and economic boost, or may not be a village bustling with activity. But after visiting this location, you will admit that the love and bonhomie that exist among residents has surely added a dazzle and certain ‘countryside sparkle’ to the otherwise almost dismal village.

And while we are at it and may debate the fact that Yeovil is a village forgotten by many, my own opinion is that with a little sprucing up and alteration, it can become one of the most exotic spots in the lineup of very impressive villages on the West Coast of Berbice.

Do pay them a visit, folks; you will love the peace and serenity that exists there!

(By Alex Wayne)

 

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