Where livestock and self-employment abound

THIS week the Pepperpot Magazine visited the quiet and peaceful village of Nismes, West Bank Demerara.

Nismes, a quiet countryside village located on the West Bank of Demerara, can be found about 15 minutes from the Demerara Harbour Bridge (DHB).

This village is sandwiched between Bagotville and Toevlugt and is a farming community where mature residents are self-employed through rice, cash-crop or livestock farming.

This village boasts a primary school, churches, a gas station, roadside stalls, good roads which was paved about a month ago and many shops.

It has about 1,500 residents who reside in three housing schemes– the Old Road, Electra and ‘Raphael’ or ‘Rice Bed’ Housing Schemes.

Nismes is run by 15 councillors, who operate from the Bagotville/Nismes Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) building.

Nazim Khan is one of the many faces you will see while visiting Nismes. Nazim is a pensioner and poultry farmer.

He resides at Old Road, Nismes, and although he is not originally from the village, he has been living there for the past 40 years.

Khan told the Pepperpot Magazine that he has been there since he was 12 years old at the property he inherited from his deceased parents; things, however, have become difficult for him with the establishment of a new housing scheme just behind his property.

“From 100 goats I am down to five, because of thieves and dogs. I am a poultry farmer, I rear chickens and then I pluck them and sell it [sic] to a vendor in the city; but with this scheme, the people complaining of the pungent odour from the waste of the chickens and I had to scale down my business,” he said.

He explained that the new housing scheme is now on land which used to be rice beds back in the days, but they were bought and converted into privately owned land, which was sold and converted into about 40 house lots.

He pointed out that his parents bought the land for farming purposes and he followed in their footsteps, but today, his business is down to 500 chickens and he is trying to change the shaving often so it does not smell but like any other business, it takes time and money.

Despite Khan’s difficulties, the village itself has benefitted from many developments including well-paved roads and it is a good sign since the area once had pot-holed streets, Khan said.

He stated that other than a few hiccups along the way, Nismes is a good place to reside because residents get along with each other and do what they have to do to make a living.