This week the Pepperpot Magazine visited the community of Kuru Kuru which is located on the Soesdyke/Linden Highway.

Kuru Kuru is between Yarrowkabra and Long Creek and is home to about 100 families mainly of Afro, Indo and Indigenous descent.

This village is home to skilled workers such as, masons and carpenters, teachers, farmers, coal miners, woodcutters, nurses, small business operators and other professionals.

Kuru Kuru is about 14 miles from the Soesdyke Junction and is approximately 30 miles from Georgetown.

It is a hilly, sandy area with a lot of trees and other greenery and in almost every yard they have a thriving kitchen garden of fruits and vegetables.

Kuru Kuru has several churches, shops and a creek at the back of the village but to get there one will have to walk a mile.

The village only has the main road which is an all-weather one but it is in a very deplorable state and the internal streets are made of ‘dead sand’.

The community has potable water but residents also depend on rainfall for water or go to the creek to source water for domestic purposes.

There is no landline service in Kuru Kuru but they have both cellular networks and a few people have cable television.

Villagers related that the internet service in the community is very poor.

There is a need for paved roads and an ICT hub with computers and a library in the village since many youths have nothing to do.

Even though the land space is almost as large as Yarrowkabra, the neighbouring village it is not as densely populated.

Kuru Kuru is managed by the Coop Society which consists of villagers and most of the lands have been allocated but not occupied.

The lands are leased not sold and most people have not constructed anything on the land which is overrun by bushes.

Kuru Kuru also has a ball field where the youths and men would play cricket and football.

In this village, the people grow their own fruits and vegetables and would journey outside the community to make other purchases.

The multi-skilled resident
The Pepperpot Magazine first met Kelvin Watson who resides at the first house in the village and operates a small grocery shop.

He was at the time engaged in making cement blocks, a side business which also brings in an income.

Watson reported that his wife would usually manage the shop while he does the block-making and tends to the farm, ducks and chickens.

He has a kitchen garden for domestic use and would go to that farm before the sun rises then start his block-making job.

Conveniently, he works from home and that suits him just fine because he does not have to leave the village for work.

The 35-year-old added that he is making blocks to supply the construction of a building in the village.

He was assisted by a fellow villager at the time to meet the demand for the cement blocks he was making.

Watson pointed out that it was only five years ago they got electricity but some people still don’t have and for the past three years, more people have moved into the village.

“I like this place because you can work with yourself and it is very quiet and you have the leisure to do many things at the same time,” he said.

He explained that some people in the village are related so he is familiar with almost everyone.

Watson told the Pepperpot Magazine that he has lived all his life in the community, a place of peace where he will remain because he has no intention of relocating.

“This place is nice but you have to work hard. It is manual labour to make ends meet and you have to do more than one job, like me,” he said.