By Michel Outridge

RAJISH Kadarnauth is Chairman of the Nouvelle Flanders/La Jalousie Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC); he is also a pandit and operates a pharmacy, a grocery and general store at his premises.

Kadarnauth wears many hats and he is also a Justice of the Peace, a licensed marriage officer and a pharmacist, who has a Diploma in Pharmacy from the University of Guyana (UG).

The pandit is also a rice farmer who reported that Windsor Forest, West Coast Demerara, is an agriculture-based community, where there is large-scale rice-farming.

The NDC Chairman stated that he has been in this position for the past four years.

He, however, advocates for the establishment of trades that the youth can become involved in and infrastructural help for the rice farmers.

Kadarnauth told the Pepperpot Magazine that since the rise of COVID-19 they have seen the reduction of payment for rates and taxes in that community.

He related that there aren’t many social difficulties in Windsor Forest since they have mandirs, churches and a huge mosque.

The rice farmer also reported that they have a community centre, but they need some assistance in terms of the fencing of the place since the cows would damage the field and fence.

He is also calling for the development of 200 acres of land they have in the backlands, which can be used as a cow pasture since the place is overgrown with thick bushes and is inaccessible to cattle owners. As such, the cows roam the village damaging infrastructure and property.

“This village has a landmark which they preserved over the years, that is the old Railway Embankment Station which was the ticketing office for the trains some 40 years ago. The building was renovated and is used as the office for the Water Users Association. The Railway Embankment is still there as a reminder of the yesteryear trains,” he said.

Rice-farming at age 69
M.S. Haniff is a large-scale rice farmer, who has lived all his life in Windsor Forest, West Coast Demerara.

At 69 years old, he has never been married, has no children and is a self-taught rice farmer, who has in his employ a few workers.

This gentleman does everything for himself, including cooking and other household chores.

“We had a rice factory which was managed by my father; he is deceased but my mother, who resides overseas, is 87 years old. It’s just me here, all my siblings and relatives are abroad. I go for a vacation when I feel like it but Guyana is home and a paradise and there is no country like Guyana,” he said.

Back in the days, the Haniffs had a thriving rice factory where they processed their own paddy and rice, but today the old building and bond still stand, a stark reminder of those days.

Haniff told the Pepperpot Magazine that he has 40 acres of rice lands at the back of the village and only cultivates one species of rice from all the varieties.

“The 40 acres of rice lands are too much for me alone to handle, so I rented out some acres because rice-farming is a high-risk investment and often leads to unrecoverable losses, due to the changing weather patterns,” he said.

He had just returned home from his rice field after “throwing,” then had to take in and out water via the drainage system which he said is the hardest part of rice-farming.

Haniff added that throwing rice takes about two days, an uphill task that requires some skill and the drainage of the water in and out of the rice fields are also tedious.

His tractor, which he said has some more good years and because of the good maintenance it gets, it is in tip-top condition, being one of the cleanest tractors of its kind in the village.

Haniff told the Pepperpot Magazine that if you take care of things they last and that is exactly what he is doing to his prized tractor; the same one he bought two years ago from a migrating resident.

“Rice-farming isn’t a day’s job, it is continuous back-breaking hard labour and you have to tend to the crops in the mornings and afternoons to ensure the rice is irrigated adequately,” he said.

Haniff added that he once had his own combine as well, but he has scaled down rice-farming for valid good reasons and he would sell his rice to Hack’s Rice Mill located at Harlem, also on the West Coast of Demerara.