SHE OPERATES her boat against the calm currents of the Demerara River every morning on her journey to Linden in anticipation of a profitable market day. With a steady grip on the steering mechanism, she exudes the amazing strength left in her from tending to her crops in the farm and getting the children ready for school. A raindrop on her palm is not the only reminder that she needs to go faster but also that it may be another bad day for the crops that are barely surviving the present rainy seasons. As she eyes the bank of the river at Mackenzie, her anticipation heightens; “What will this day bring?” she asked herself
Those are some of the daily challenges of Nanda, a farmer of the little riverine village of Dalawala, located six miles up the Demerara River from Linden. Nanda sits patiently in her boat loaded with the produce that was cultivated by her superb efforts. As the only means of income for her family of five, she greets everyone with a smile and tries to sell at a ‘good price’ being cognizant of her many competitors. “Aunty just $100 for a bag of cocorite,” she tries to persuade a prospective customer who showed interest in the bags hung up on the boat. Her other produce includes cucumbers, bush fruits, pumpkin, citrus fruits, green leafy vegetables and ground provisions.
Like many farmers in Dalawala, Nanda has been farming since she was a little girl growing up in the little rural community and continued even as she ventured of into marriage. Currently she owns a farm a little distance from her home in addition to a subsistence garden in her yard with some livestock that is reared. All things are not bright and beautiful according to Nanda as the current rains are destroying the little produce left from the ever pestering insects. “Right now how the weather deh, we ain’t get nothing really right now because the rain just destroying the little we farm,”she explained.
In addition to the rains and pests, the regular oil spills in the river have not only been a threat to the crops but her family’s life as well. “We does use the water to wash and cook and everything and the oil is very fatiguing. We does gah get nuff soap powder to get rid of that oil,” exclaimed Nanda. Several other farmers had made complaints of the regular oil spills that have affected them drastically.
Nanda makes her way to Mackenzie, docks her boat at a central area and solicits patronage for her produce. In her assessment, the business of farming “only keeps your head above water,” as sometimes the challenges outweigh the benefits. Sometimes she wonders whether her daily one- hour trip down the river suffices for the little that is made throughout the day.
“I does wonder but at least I does get to bring out my children to school in the morning and provide for them,” reasoned Nanda. Despite these various challenges, Nanda is of the opinion that farming was cut out for her as she was doing it all her life. She affirmed, “I don’t see myself doing anything else.”