By Michel Outridge
PEARL Village, East Bank Demerara, is unique because it is a small community that is residential, but is also a good place with a lot of greenery and its quiet nature lures people there.
Ramlake Persaud, also known as ‘Bruckup,’ is the village milkman and he is also a cattle farmer, who has a flourishing garden.
In his yard, there are many trees including fruits and vegetables and he has 11 cows, from which he gets a few gallons of milk daily to sell in and around the neighbourhood.
The 66-year-old related that he moved to the village in 1976 when they had only one concrete road leading into the community, which had only a few houses back then and it was very bushy.

Persaud stated that he was living on a five-acre plot at the back of the village with his wife and a child then.
He had moved from his hometown of Leguan Island in the Essequibo River after things became difficult financially and he had to relocate in search of a job.
Back in Leguan, he used to plant rice and had a few cattle. Persaud told the Pepperpot Magazine that he was employed with the then GUYWA now renamed Guyana Water Inc., where he worked for 19 years before retiring.

The father of seven disclosed that he did not want to leave his home village, but he had to to make a better life for himself and family.
He bought the land at Pearl for $5,000 and constructed a small house where the rest of his children were born.
Persaud recalled that most of the people who were already living in the village were senior government employees and they were elderly; most of them passed away many years ago.
“When I came here it had 10 houses and a poultry farm at the back of the village, but the owner sold it to a Chinese family and we used to go there to buy plucked chicken at 75 cents per pound,” he said.

From then to now, Persaud added that the village has developed and it has about 50 houses now with some empty plots.
He pointed out that he would milk his cows every morning around 09:00hrs or thereabout and then go and sell the milk in Pearl and up to the Land of Canaan sluice, which is a few villages away.

Persaud noted that depending on how much milk he gets he would sell it at $150 per pint, or whatever people can afford.
“Back in the days when I had plenty cows I used to get a lot of milk and with the help of the children, I use to go till up the highway to sell milk,” he said.
After the children grew up and left to pursue their own lives, he had to scale down on his small business and sold some of his cows and kept a few he can manage.
Persaud stated that life in Pearl Village is good, because he is self-employed in his old age and he gets by with his milk business and he uses the fruits and vegetables from his yard in the kitchen.

“I like to plant because that’s how we grow up, making use of the land to earn and I will continue to grow my own greens and fruits, because you always have something to eat that way,” he said.

The NDC Councillor

Leon Bowlin is a Guyanese who lived overseas for some time; however, he returned to Guyana and is residing in Pearl Village.

He told the Pepperpot Magazine that he had a friend in the village and he used to visit him and got to like the quiet ambience of the place.
He then bought a plot of land and constructed a lovely two-storey concrete house and moved in 2014 with his wife.
“Apart from the quiet which I like, the village is located on the East Bank of Demerara which I wanted, because if the need arises and I need to leave the country I can do so to the airport quickly,” he said.

Bowlin is originally from Brighton, Corentyne, Berbice and worked with the government for many years before he retired and went overseas.
He is also a councillor with the Good Success/Caledonia Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) under which Pearl Village falls and 12 other villages on that corridor.
He disclosed that he went into NDC work when he was invited by a friend to one of the meetings and when he realised that Pearl had no representation, he volunteered his services to develop the village.

Bowlin added that he has tried twice to get people to volunteer and bring the ballfield and park to a habitable condition, but it did not happen.
“I am going to try one more time because I know the people need a place to go for recreational activities and so on,” he said.

He revealed that working with the NDC is a bit frustrating and challenging at times, but he does his part to ensure that Pearl is free of garbage and the drains are cleaned.
“I do my part to keep this village clean and maintained, then I assist with the other villages on the NDC level,” he said.