It is revered as one of the most idyllic places in Guyana, and its annual Fish festival once attracted thousands. But interest has waned over the years, and the village must find new ways of generating income, as Alva Solomon explains. Story and photos by Alva Solomon

Rockstone has featured on the tourism calendar annually over the past 10 years because of its Fish Festival, but with dwindling interest from outsiders, the community is now seek alternative sources of employment and funding.
Rockstone is located just an hour away from the town of Linden. So, if you’re travelling from the capital, Georgetown, it will take you about three hours to get there overland.
The community is governed by an Amerindian village council, but there is also a Community Development Council (CDC) which, though not active, remains part of the everyday life of residents.
Of course, fish as a means of livelihood has not been abandoned, but the village leader – Toshao Rudolph Simon – says there are now other initiatives such as craft making and agriculture.

He admits that the Fish Festival has lost its appeal and part of the reason may be because it has not stayed true to the original intent and is now just a “big sport” of revellers with no real interest in the community or the various species of fish.
The timing of the festival too could be another reason why many have lost interest, since when they do show up for the Festival, they could hardly bring in a catch from the winding river around Rockstone.
The villagers have even resorted to catching the fish before the Festival so as to ensure persons have the delight of fishing.
“…we had meetings and we discussed that if we could get some ponds and we place this Arawanna and Lukananni (fishes); so that when you get your wheel rod and you catch , you pay”, he said in an interview with the Guyana Chronicle.
“A lot of people come here and they catch no fish.

“So you could catch the fish and you pay and it (money) comes into the community”, Simon said.
But many go to the area for the Festival in order to fish in the river, not artificial ponds.
Ao with no fish around at the time of the Festival and with its new reputation of being just a regular “sport” the interest is dying away.
“That’s why we encouraging the people to do other things.
“We have a craft centre which we built recently and that is among the projects we are using to market this place,” Simon said.
Several years ago, the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) through its GENCAPD project had assisted the residents in developing an ornamental fish project which saw the species of fish, usually found in aquariums, being exported.
The intent was that the funds would assist in the development of Rockstone. Simon said, the project, which involved mostly women, fell by the wayside.

Today however, there are several projects which are being pursued by the community. This includes a cassava-mill project, which is being funded through a programme of the Ministry of Indigenous People Affairs.
Many households depend on logging as a means of income, and according to Simon, in the past 11 years residents have utilised the community’s State Forest Permit (SFP) in order to do so.
Rockstone can only cut 11 meter cube of logs per year under this permit regulated by the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC).The logs are sold locally as well as through exports to other areas in Region 10.
Recently residents have benefited from a potable water project which is in its developmental stage.
The project, which is being managed by the community in conjunction with the Guyana Water Inc (GWI) provides for water being pumped from a natural spring 500m in depth to a reservoir which is powered by four solar panels connected to three batteries. A water pump carries the water to six tanks at the top of a hill and using gravity feed, water enters the pipes at 15 households.
To complete the project, Simon said that the area is in need of water mains to connect other households to the grid and he plans to approach the authorities to get this done. This project, he noted, will work in tandem with others, such as the cassava mill project to the benefit of Rockstone.
But political problems have threatened to stymie the growth of Rockstone.
Deputy Toshao Keeron Williams told this newspaper recently that Rockstone was predominantly occupied by Hinterland residents who relocated there from regions all across Guyana. In addition, it was populated by other persons from the Coastland and at the time a Community Development Committee (CDC) was established to overlook the affairs of the community.
“To my observation, it is that everybody wants to rule …this is the main problem”, she said.
However, Simon claimed that the CDC was not doing the work it set out to do and so it was decided that an Amerindian village council be formed. This resulted in a split in the village whereby some persons remained and encouraged the CDC as the community’s regulatory body while the Amerindian council had its own mandate.
Having led the village council for some three years to date, Simon said that this rift has affected Rockstone’s development as some persons have not been cooperating in pushing developmental projects.
“We have our vision plan that we are carrying out but not everyone is cooperating”, he said.
Williams on the other hand, believes that with a new government in place, the community can work together in future.
“It is a new leader (President David Granger), so let us follow the new leader and develop this community “, an optimistic Williams said.
“To me, I think is that we have to come together to get this place developed. But we have to also be accountable while doing that.”
About 350 persons live in Rockstone.
Williams said that Rockstone is one of the “nicest places” in Guyana, made up of different people, but its development depends on the people themselves.