In April 2021, Naresh Nandlall left a densely populated village and his once thriving spray-paint vehicle workshop at Independence Street, La Grange, West Bank Demerara and relocated to Nottinghamshire Village, Linden, Region Ten (Upper Demerara-Berbice).

He has more than 40 years of work experience in his field so walking away from a good location and a thriving small business was not easy.

In this small village he has a lovely wooden ranch-style house which was newly built and is slowly re-starting his small business as a vehicle spray-paint mechanic.

“I did two cars from town already so people are now learning I am here and I have no doubt they will come for the service,” he said.

Nandlall stated that he had been constructing his house for some time and became familiar with the village after he brought a neighbour home in his car.

He explained that he had dropped her home a few times and he became enchanted with the village and decided to relocate there.

“I just like this place and I applied for a plot and got through, so I started to build and I moved in in April this year and I feel so at peace and safe,” he said.

Nandlall added that he his small business is gradually picking up because a lot of people do not know he relocated to Nottinghamshire Village.

He added that the best part about living in the community is you can leave everything unattended and nothing would go missing because the people do not engage in pilfering.

The 51-year-old pointed out that he is trying to fill his yard and bring it to an acceptable standard because it is swampy and it needs to be upgraded to prevent flooding.

He has some cash crops, most of which was under flood water due to heavy rainfall that day.

Nandlall told the Pepperpot Magazine that the people are struggling because there are no real jobs except for farming and it needs some attention since there isn’t much to do.

“This place quiet and nice but the road is a mess and we need internet and landline phone because the cell phone service is very unreliable, other than that we good,” he said.

Meanwhile, his wife, Rosaline Charles, who hails from Potaro disclosed that she is adjusting to the place and feels safe so far because the people have been very cooperative and nothing but good to them since they moved.

A few houses away is Taramattie Fredericks, the neighbour who Naresh Nandlall dropped home when he first found out about the community.

Better known as “Tara”, she is a humble and very conservative woman who keeps her yard well planted with flowers and plants of all colours, which she has lining the walkway to her house.

She relocated form home village of La Grange, West Bank Demerara 20 years ago to Nottinghamshire, Linden.

“I didn’t have my own place and I came to Linden because my husband is from here and that’s how I ended up living here and because the place is quiet and there is a lot of space too,” she said.

The mother of 10, eight of whom are still alive, told the Pepperpot Magazine that her husband is from Old England and she got to like the village a lot and saw herself living a good life in that section of the mining town.

She reported that because it is a very bushy place, it is hard to maintain the yard because the grass would grow very quickly, but she would have it weeded regularly and it is a place where the rain doesn’t miss.

Fredericks has the company of some grandchildren with her to keep her busy and she would only leave her home for work. She would go to the city or La Grange to do some cleaning for relatives and she would earn, a few times per week.

She has a daughter who resides nearby and the grandchildren are always around to assist her. Fredricks has 24 grandchildren.

She has her yard well-maintained and has shady trees under which she has a wooden bench in front of her yard and she has converted her yard into a kitchen garden.

Fredericks added that life is good, except she needs a job within the village because commuting is tiresome and there aren’t any job opportunities in Nottinghamshire Village.

She related that for the lives of the people to be enhanced, they need a better road, internet and landline services and an ICT hub for the many children that reside there.

“We trying but we need facilities and a bit of help to have a better life here,” she said.