By M Margaret Burke

LIVING in a culture of a peaceful disposition is the general way of life of the people of Nooten Zuil. This is a village situated some 18 miles from the capital city of Georgetown. Its members, while mostly of East Indian ancestry, also enjoy a mixture of a wide ethnic composition, living like brothers and sisters on their land.
A very large percentage of the more than 2,000 Nooten Zuil residents have continued to live all of their lives in the village, and have all expressed contentment to continue to live there.

The beauty of the place is quite evident by the floral and other decorative plants in yards, in addition to the many types of mangoes, pomegranate and other fruit trees in every yard.
In addition, the village of Nooten Zuil has no nursery, primary or secondary school; no established church; no health centre, community centre or other institution of public operation. This, therefore, encourages the voluntary and involuntary socialising of the villagers with members of neighbouring villages and other communities, and this they do at all ages.

While the main economic activities, for many years, continue to be rice cultivation, as well as cash-crop farming, many residents of the village have been redirecting their attention to businesses such as grocery shops; vending of fruits, vegetables, fish and poultry; spare parts sales and auto repairs, among others.

OLDEST VILLAGE LADY

Genevieve Machado, 94, is one of the oldest villagers alive today. She was born and grew up in the village of Nooten Zuil. She was married to Thomas Machado and from that marriage, she bore nine children, seven of whom are currently alive and take pleasure in taking care of her. She is also the grandmother of many.
Machado told the Pepperpot Magazine that her mother and father were also born in the village. She also said that she was the youngest and only girl for her parents; having had four older brothers; all of whom we born and bred in the village.

Her daughter, Marilyn Bharrat, who lives at the house, just behind, told of how much of a joyful thing it is to have the opportunity to take care of her mother.
“You know the saying that once a man, twice a child. My mother is a very pleasant lady, but she knows how to give rudeness sometimes. Just like with little children, she would say ‘no’ when you tell her to do things that she does not want to do, or just because she just want to say ‘no’.
“While she has a grandson in the house with her, I come over every day to help her bathe her skin, comb her hair and do other essential things for her. I try my best to make sure that she is always alright,” Bharrat added.
She told the Pepperpot Magazine that she is comfortable to know that her mother, though alone some of the times, is always safe. This, she explained, is because her neighbours are more like family since they all live well, looking out for each other all the time.

WORKING HER HANDS

Machado stated that she does not hear too well on her left ear; also that her left eye is not seeing so well at this time. She explained that she used to sew a lot of clothing for villagers and this lasted for a long time.
Her daughter added, “Mummy used to sew really nice clothes for people. She was the seamstress for the village at one time, where she used to sew clothing for children and adults. She used to sew all sorts of uniforms, working clothes and also nice clothes for weddings and such things.”

EXHAUST WORKSHOP

“I have been living in this village for the past 84 years – I born and grow here. I moved from one part of the village to where I am now, and here I started to run an exhaust workshop,” declared another resident, Mr. Ramdat.

He explained that now that he is getting old, he has somewhat retired from the business, even though he still do some things. However, he told the Pepperpot Magazine that his sons are now doing more of the work, which gives him relief.
Ramdat said that while business is somewhat slow at the moment, he is still able to live a comfortable life, adding: “In this village, we live in peace and unity; we do not have problems because we are like family. Then I was always a farmer and so I live on what I have, plus I get my pension, so I have no problem.”
He, however, stated that he would like to see the road, especially where he is living done over. At the same time, he would be happy to see the drains in the village dug and cleaned, especially in the areas going down to the back. Nonetheless, as older folks in the village they have no regrets since they are comfortable and at peace in the village of Nooten Zuil, he noted.

THE CHAIRMAN’S DESK

Meanwhile, in an exclusive interview with Maureen Philadelphia, Chairman of the National Democratic Council (NDC) within the Grove/Haslington district, she informed the Pepperpot Magazine that the Nooten Zuil façade is cleaned by the National Drainage and Irrigation Association (NDIA) through the water users. The contractor for that project was contacted, and he advised that the excess water from the rice field is released into that main drainage and that causes the vegetation to be growing rapidly, due to the fertilizer.

She added that the Minister within the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, Hon Annette Ferguson visited the Nooten Zuil community in November last year and had made a commitment to assist in getting the work done. Because of the amount of money needed to get the road done, the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) and the central ministry, will be contracted in order to get these things done. She added that the street drains were however desilted last month.

Philadelphia pointed out that she visited the area, along with the councillor representing the area, who also made representation which was dealt with at the level of the council.
“As a matter of fact, we have embarked on a visit to constituencies and have established public days for each constituency, starting from this month. The first Monday will be for Ann’s Grove at 15:00hrs; the second Wednesday for Victoria at 15:30hrs and the third Thursday visits will be made to Nabaclis at 15:30hrs,” she stated.