By Michel Outridge

THIS week the Pepperpot Magazine visited the small, quiet, countryside village of Shieldstown, West Bank Berbice.

The community is nestled between Rosignol and Blairmont and is home to mostly sugar workers, who are employed at the nearby Blairmont Sugar Estate.

Shieldstown has a kindergarten, a nursery and a primary school, a community centre ground with a wooden pavilion, several small businesses, a private school, a mandir, a mosque and a church.

Villagers are also fishermen, both public and private sector employees, cash crops, rice and cattle farmers.

It is home to about 1,000 people of mixed ethnicities and its main business hub is in Rosignol, where most people do their shopping and other economic activities.

The Blairmont Police Station and Post Office are nearby and they are surrounded by lush canefields, which belong to the nearby Blairmont Sugar Estate.

The people of Shieldstown live simply and they depend on their farms for vegetables and fruits and meats are sourced from the market or their backyards.

Shieldstown is a place where you can get a fresh cup of cow’s milk to go with freshly baked bread– a very tasty combination.

The Village elder
The Pepperpot Magazine upon entry into the village met Mohamed Nazool, the Chairman of the Shieldstown Community Policing Group.

The 68-year-old reported that he is also a rural constable and a councillor, who is very much interested in the development of the community.

He related that there is a need for the re-paving of the internal streets and the installation of street lights since the place is very dark at nights.

Nazool added that Shieldstown is a close-knit community where people have their own kitchen gardens and livestock.

The father of two stated that he is retired and is taking his old age easy with doing just household chores, tend to his garden and he has a few chickens as well.

“I worked hard in my younger days, so now it is time for me to relax a bit and bask in my old age,” he said.

Nazool disclosed that he is originally from Rampoor Village, which is located about three miles from Shieldstown through trails and he relocated in 1974.

He explained that Rampoor was a settlement bought by slaves and his family originated from there but when the government relocated them to Shieldstown which was only cane fields, he had to move.

Nazool was once a rice farmer and only goes out when it is necessary due to the pandemic and his age.

“I really don’t have to leave this village to go out because vehicles does pass with things selling, so we make purchases and then Rosignol is close by, so we do our business there where they have the bank and so on,” he said.

The senior citizen related that life in Shieldstown is good because he uses the greens and fruits in his garden for the kitchen and they do not need much.

“This place is home and I cannot see myself elsewhere, because after residing here for so long I like the ordinary life here,” he said.