RECENTLY, I attended a symposium organised by the International Decade for People of African Descent Assembly- Guyana (IDPADA-G) that zeroes in on the village movement and the development of African communities. While there, Chairman of the Guyana Reparations Committee, Eric Phillips shared that he was currently working with the community of Agricola to craft it into a model ‘green’ village.

“The government is planning a green economy which is going to be funded by the oil money,” he shared. “We need to align with that.”

What this means, he explained, was that the community would be transformed into a space that was environmentally sound and sustainable, but also one whose people would be able to engage in sustainable economic activities, that would be viable for their livelihoods.

With the emphasis being placed nationwide on the green transformation, changes like these should be expected. But what makes the case of Agricola more interesting, is that this community has traditionally been one that has suffered economic woes and had its hindrances to development. During a recent outreach to the community, it was highlighted that unemployment and underemployment are prevalent. Tangibly, within the community, there are few spaces for youth to engage in meaningful leisure activities.

The Agricola Development Association (ADA) was created as part of the efforts to effect positive changes within the community. This is a group of about 12 young persons who have the vision to see the community develop, with the help of Phillips as their consultant.

President of the ADA, Timothy Blair himself shared that Agricola has been seen as a “depressed” community for far too long, and the headstrong young people like himself have taken it upon themselves to change this narrative to one of development.

As a student of Sociology, I learnt that development is a progressive process. It involves changes to the cultural, political, social and economic aspects of people’s lives. Importantly, development isn’t something that follows a linear pattern; there isn’t necessarily an easily identified absolute beginning neither is there an absolutely certain and predictable outcome.

Green development is a much newer concept. When I first heard of it, I thought that it meant maybe cleaning up the environment, planting trees and those kinds of things. But green development is a much broader concept; it assimilates the social and environmental impacts of development and integrates environmental responsiveness, resource efficiency, and community and cultural sensitivity.

It is envisioned that Agricola will be developed in this manner. What these young people are trying to do, is to take whatever they already have in their community and just try to continuously improve it so that a better life can be made for the current set of residents and those who are to come over the years.

The green development model of this community has begun with the cleanup of the environs, and it encourages residents to keep it clean. In so doing, they’ve placed more bins across the community and have begun sensitising persons as to why you should be clean. You can’t be green if you aren’t clean, right?

Following this, it is envisioned that on one plot of land that has been overgrown with vegetation, a recreational park, multipurpose facility and eventually a small cultural centre will be developed to add to the social development of the community. Not only does this foster the development of the community’s social fabric, but it allows for socialisation in very meaningful ways which can only augur well for the entire community.

And finally, the ADA and by extension, all Agricola residents, are hoping that the community becomes self-sustainable and develop economically. This would involve the creation of small and micro enterprises (SMEs) and entrepreneurial ventures which would tap into the skills and talents the people have, to cater for the wants and needs of the community and beyond. To spur this, a certain amount of training must be done, however. Which is why I was pleased to hear that residents will be benefiting from business classes.

In my opinion, it is these small, incremental changes that build up over time and effect change. And I couldn’t be happier to know that this initiative is one which has been birthed from within the community and is being developed- for the most part- by community members. That really is the role of human agency and the communal spirit that is reflective of the birth of Guyana.

Cheers to Agricola, and I can’t wait to see how they progress!