This week the Pepperpot Magazine visited the countryside village of Miss Phoebe, Port Mourant, Corentyne, Berbice to highlight the way of life of the locals and the village.

MISS Phoebe is one of eight constituencies within the Port Mourant district and it is located between Tain and Ankerville villages.

Miss Phoebe is a place with well-preserved colonial-style houses and is a village currently occupied by mostly people of East Indian descent, but lately a few Afro Guyanese have moved in and are blending with the locals.

Miss Phoebe is a breezy roadside village even on a very hot day and has many internal one-vehicle streets and on the roadside there are a lot of butterflies.

The people are friendly and welcoming and have a lot to chat about.

The community has a lot of mandirs, a few churches and a masjid, but no schools or other government facilities.

These services are accessed in nearby villages right in the Port Mourant district and there is a large Saturday Market as well.

The eight constituencies in Port Mourant are: Tain, Clifton, John’s, Portuguese Quarters, Compound, Free Yard and Bound Yard.

Miss Phoebe extends from the foreshore on the north and way down to the backlands on the south and it is a mid-size village with many small shops, a large grocer and beverage depot/shop, wash bays, tyre shops and other small roadside businesses.

The people live simply and work hard and they depend heavily on the nearby Albion/Port Mourant Sugar Estate, since most of the men are sugar workers and construction employees within the public and private sectors.

The population is just about 1500 with more than 360 houses. The architecture of this village is very intriguing, with a mix of large concrete houses and the old colonial-style wooden houses maintained over the years.

There are many farmers in this village and almost every yard space is used for planting cash crops, fruits and flowers.

Some small-scale farmers are cultivating cantaloupe and broccoli in this community.

Most yards of private residences are well-kept, clean and much organised and this community is one of the cleanest.

Miss Phoebe has two large-size fields which were supposed to be converted into recreational playgrounds, but it is overgrown with bushes and there are no facilities there.

The village is home of the Guyana Human Development Multi-Purpose Centre, where skills training is offered for school drop-outs, single parents and others, who are willing to learn a trade to be empowered.

This village was flooded like most along the Corentyne corridor and some farmers are still awaiting the cash grants to re-start planting as their only source of income.

Miss Phoebe Village has electricity, potable water supply, internet, landline and cable services, good roads and infrastructure.

This community is a safe place, but within recent times a gambling agency which has set up business in the community has the youths spellbound and they spend a lot of time and money there, a cause for concern by some.

There have been break-ins by youths, who have been abusing alcohol and drugs and who are not employed.

Most people in this village are religious and they go to the mandirs in the community to worship and participate in services.

Miss Phoebe is a lovely place to raise a family and have a good life.