The kind of place to settle down

This week the Pepperpot Magazine journeyed to Upper Corentyne, Berbice and visited the quiet, countryside village of Line Path, Corriverton. It is located in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) and the village is 28 square miles large and is home to about 15,000 people of mixed ethnicities. Line Path Village is divided into several sections which stretch from the boundaries of the foreshore, Corentyne River, to way down to the back dam area. On the Public Road, there are several small to medium-size businesses, making it the ideal spot for business, in terms of convenience.

Some of the colonial-style houses in Line Path Village.

Most people depended heavily on the sugar estate, that is, Skeldon Sugar Estate but when it closed they had to seek alternative jobs in and around the community. Line Path is an agriculture-based village with some cash crops farmers, some rice farmers, and poultry and livestock farmers, as well. The people of this village are very friendly and welcoming and did not hesitate to sit and have a chat. Line Path is a breezy, quiet place with well-preserved colonial-style houses which its owners have maintained over the years by doing rehabilitation works.

This township is very clean and in almost every yard there are flower gardens and a well-kept environment. This village comprises of many large houses with some rather impressive designs and buildings. Line Path community has well-paved roads and one-vehicle streets, all-weather and good infrastructure such as electricity, potable water, landline and cell phone services, internet and cable television.

This village overlooks the Corentyne River and it is a good place to live, according to locals, most of whom have lived all their lives there and have no desire to relocate. Line Path is a place where the villagers take pride in keeping their surroundings clean and has invested a lot of time and energy in their flower plants/gardens, where some are decorated with the empty tins of an energy drink.

Almost every yard is well-kept and the flowers are such a beauty to look at, the air is fresh and clean and the atmosphere gives off a feeling of sheer serenity, a quiet place to sit and reflect on life. This village is unique in many ways which reminds one of the colonial days, some of those houses are still standing and preserved through generations upon generations. The village has some shops, a mandir, a nursery school, a secondary school, several businesses and the people are self-sufficient.

The Mayor

Line Path comes under the Mayor and City Council (M&CC), that office is located at Skeldon and its Mayor, Winston Robertson entertained the team during their visit to the township. He explained that Line Path Village has nothing whatsoever to do with Skeldon and the village is divided into sections. Robertson added that Line Path has sections 81, 80 and Section C which is called Dainty City but is also referred to as ‘Donkey City’ it also has Sections A, B, D, F which is called Concrete Scheme and Section E where the Secondary School is located.

The Mayor reported that a section of that village was given to junior staffers of the then Booker Sugar Estate where house lots were allocated and loans were granted to build houses for employees, back then, the Field Foreman had a lot of privileges. He disclosed that a lot of people in the community depended on the sugar industry for their ‘daily bread’ and when it closed they were jobless and had to resort to fishing and other forms of labourer work in and outside the village.

Robertson told the Pepperpot Magazine that the M&CC oversees the villages form Number 75 to Blackwater and the Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) has the responsibility for the villages from Number 52 to Number 74.