Buxtonian Farmers have said that through challenges and setbacks over the past 10 years, they have discovered permanent blessings and are taking rightful ownership of their community for a development for which they cannot depend on anyone else to help them

accomplish.

Chairman of the ‘Buxton Friendship Grantees’ Leroy Hamer said although the co-operative society, which has ownership of over 2,000 acres of land in the area, has celebrated 108 years of existence on Tuesday February 22, citizens of Buxton/Friendship have only discovered the secret of their wealth in 2009, 100 years after which it was handed down.
Hamer in 2009 received in hand a legal document from the Land Registry allotting the land binding the two communities, making only the generations of their ancestry the real owners of Buxton/Friendship.

“The grant states “absolute forever” which means that nobody can take that from you. And that is over two thousand and something acres of land,” Hamer told the Guyana Chronicle in an interview.
Had Buxtonians known earlier of their legal rights to the lands, the

community would have been much more developed and many struggles and negative tales never would have existed in the literature of the Buxton/Friendship twin community. He said the grant was approved in 1909 but only entered the registry on February 22, 2009.

“The children of the ancestors are called the ‘Grantees’. I will say that something was hidden from us because we didn’t know until the destruction passed in 2008. When we go and uplift the grant, the grant was a hundred years lay down there. And based on the Land Registry Act it direct us what to do, which we did,” Hamer said.
At the beginning of the area where the grant controls, there is now a label of ownership at a gate giving entrance into the backlands on Brusche Dam, Friendship.

Now Buxtonians must be made aware of what belong to them and regulations regarding its control and operations.

The society has begun planning programs for the area and several farmers have occupied sections of lands for farming, with some farms for years being beautifully developed.
“Even to the people in Buxton will say ‘Who is the Grantees’,” he said.
Individuals who would have written books about the community made mention about the grant but never a word of the Grantees.
“That is like you hide the people there. After I go at Lands and Surveys and I pick up the document that is how I know about the Grantees. The plan that attached to the grant never state well Harry own here, Tom own here or whoever.”

Hamer said in times past individuals and even governments had invaded the community and destroyed crops belonging to them, even redesigning the drainage system within the farm lands and creating opportunities for easy flooding.
In 2008 also during a crime spree, the PPP/Civic government had an invasion destroying acres of farms in an effort to “flush out criminals”. This operation affected severely the livelihood of the people in the backdam area as almost every home there depended on the farms for a living.

“Based on the Land Registry Act the document state that any land that you cannot prove ownership by document belongs to the state. And the same Act says that you must do a declaration of ownership. So when the government did come and grade the land we didn’t have nothing, so that is when we go and uplift the grant and do a declaration “Buxton Friendship Grantees” Coop Society,” Hamer explained to Pepperpot Magazine.

The grant was uplifted in June 2008 and from that day Buxton/Friendship residents secured the right to defend and develop their claim. With some citizens still crying out for help Hamer said help is already there as the real Buxtonians begin to take charge. He said without much support from the Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) they are moving on.
But with inspiration from the President’s Initiative for a green economy, planters are planting on a large scale again.

“We follow the act based on what it state and that is how everything worked. I would say that we make a lot of progress from that time to now. The authorities, NDC members, are supposed to visit the farmers… they don’t come there. NARI visit us and take information.”
He personally had the largest farm at the time of the last destruction but he started anew with a thriving farm. As long as there is land Hamer said, there will be his farm.
“I had the biggest farm at the time when it was grade down and that farm was three years… and the other farm started in 2008. I have bearing coconut trees that I put back, I have bearing mango trees that I put back, I have bearing cherry trees that I put back, I have bearing soursop trees that I put back.”

“We are also on that (President’s) initiative where we plant close to 500 trees already in the same area,” Hamer stated and added that while no other president has ever recognized the Coop Society, they are grateful that President David Granger has acknowledged the organization even in writing.
“We must offer congratulations to him for giving us recognition because the other Presidents before they never recognize us. The only body mention about Grantees in writing was Mr. Granger … I feel that we now gat a President because that is the duty of a President to recognize the people. And if you know that something is in writing and you is the person that supposed to ensure that the people get it and you fail, that mean that you fail,” Hamer said.
He said he has planted on the new farm, over 70 Buxton Spice trees, of which 30 are currently of bearing age.

“I didn’t lose much Buxton Spice in that operation, what I lose I lose plenty katahar, soursop and cherry.”
Field Manager of the Grantees Ronald Roberts said the group has major plans.
The Grantees group said their only setback for massive production is that of not having enough market for their produce. They said as long as they have market they will produce on a major scale.