A scenic paradise of simple living

THIS week the Pepperpot Magazine visited the small highway village of Camp Alpha and the associated village called Omega, which is located on the Soesdyke/Linden Highway.

Omega Village is between the Kuru Kuru and Long Creek communities. This village consists of members of one extended family, who came from Region One (Barima-Waini) and settled in that village more than two decades ago.

When they came, it was to take care of the Assembly of God (AOG) Camp Alpha on the Soesdyke/Linden Highway and the couple later gave birth to children, all of whom are grown and have families of their own. Camp Alpha is a church camping site with nine dormitories, a large benab and a kitchen; the grounds are spacious and it has the caretaker’s house and the place is well-kept and maintained by the Jeffreys.

Since the pandemic, there have been no large gatherings at this camp and recently church members had a one-day prayer service with limited persons in attendance. Across the highway is the village which has 10 houses and not more than 40 residents, all descendants of the Jeffreys, their spouses and children.

John Jeffrey is the head of this small village and is the caretaker of Camp Alpha and runs the church in the village and generally keeps things in order. Omega Village is a quaint place with 10 houses of a large family, who peacefully co-exist and are trying to become self-sufficient.

The soil is mostly sand and the people are planting cucumber, passion fruit, pumpkins, corn, sweet cassava, limes, coconuts, soursop, pears and pineapples. They eat what they plant and they rear some creole fowls, most of which are eaten by wild animals at nights, so just a few are left.

This is a very clean village and it is maintained to that standard by the people who reside here and they are environmentally conscious and hardly use plastics. Omega has nine families which comprise of residents, including children and there are no schools, health centre or any other facilities in this village.

Camp Alpha (Carl Croker photos)

The villagers utilise the services provided in neighbouring villages and the children either go to Dora Secondary School and Kuru Kuru Primary and Nursery schools. Most of the women in this village are homemakers and housewives, while the men work as carpenters, labourers on farms and poultry farms, masons, wood cutters, coal burners and any other work that is available outside the village and at sawmills along the highway.

The men in the village also use their free time to cultivate and clear the land and all the houses in this community were made by the men of the village. The people are multi-talented, religious and are doing their best to preserve their culture and to earn an honest living.

Omega Village has a church at the front of the community just as you enter and the houses are scattered on the land, which runs deep and it has a creek a few miles in the village and it takes about an hour and a half to get there via a small trail. There are no roads, no electricity, no potable water supply, no internet or landline phones in this village, but the people use cellphones and they have small, solar-powered lights.

Omega Village

Canter trucks carry goods, fish and meats would pass through the village weekly and the people would make necessary purchases or go to small shops in other villages. The children of this village enjoy wide, open spaces to play and have fun and are very friendly.

The villagers are very welcoming and would take the time to show you around the village and even make a cool beverage for you to enjoy as they talk about their way of life, which is very simple. Most of the residents are locals and it is the only place they know and call home and they are very comfortable and do not wish to relocate.