By Michel Outridge

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

It is between Loo Creek and Silver Hill and it is home to 420 residents, most of whom are Amerindians.

The locals of Kairuni Village came from Region One (Barima-Waini) and settled there more than 50 years ago when the highway was being built.

One of the two first settlers, Mary Bowry, still resides in the community. She and her sister were the first people to live there.

However, her sister has since passed away and Bowry is 83 years old; most of her family and relatives reside in the hillside village.

The people of Kairuni Village are coal-miners, art and craft makers, labourers, farmers, woodcutters, poultry farmers and self-employed folk with small and budding businesses.

The village runs deep from the highway way down to the Demerara River, and it has a natural feel of calm and serenity.

There is a trail that leads through the village and in the centre of the community, on a hill, there is the ballfield which serves as a space for sports activities and other social events.

The village gives the feel of a sanctuary with trees that are plentiful and plants which complement the environment. It is also punctuated with benabs, small, well-kept shops and houses that make the village quite picturesque.

There is a creek in Kairuni village that sits below a hill which is known for the coolest water and it is quite a scenic place to visit.

The community is one of the cleanest and the structures are well-painted and things are organised.

There is no electricity or potable water supply in this community, but residents make do with small solar panels and generators.

The people depend on rainfall for cooking and drinking and when it doesn’t rain, they buy drinking water or use the creek water for household purposes.

They don’t have any internet connection except for data usage on their cellphones.

The village has a nursery school, while the nearest secondary school is in Linden and there is no health facility.

The closest health post is a village away in Silver Hill. There are two churches in the village.

The people do their bulk shopping in Linden and sometimes in the city since transportation is costly.

The farmer of Kairuni

The Pepperpot Magazine met Kevin Williams, a farmer who was with his fellow villagers by the highway at a shop enjoying some refreshments on a humid day.

The 50-year-old, a mild-mannered man, disclosed that life is rather good if you work and with yourself.

He added that he has been a villager for the past four years and the plot he occupies, he utilises it to plant ground provisions and vegetables and rear some ducks which he would sell to offset personal expenses.

Williams hails from the North West District, but spent most of his time in the city and on the East Bank of Demerara.

He is self-employed and is quite happy he is not working for others and does so on his own time.

“I was a captain on a fishing trawler for 17 years, so I spent a lot of time in the Atlantic Ocean and as I became more mature I wanted to work for myself, so I quit that job and retired as a farmer,” he said.

Williams would also cut wood and burn coals to sell, but described life as quiet and simple.

“Things not easy here, but you have to make it work for you; you have to do something to earn, because there are no real jobs here, you have to generate your income with a small business or farm,” he said.

At that time, he was with his dog, Katy, which he takes with him everywhere because of the wild animals that would prey on livestock and dogs.