This week the Pepperpot Magazine visited the village of Coghlan Dam which is located within the Pouderoyen district, West Bank Demerara, to highlight the way of life of the people.

The village is set deep within the rice fields, down a long, winding all-weather road which was recently upgraded and it is five miles long up to the housing area and another six miles to the Windsor Forest’s vast rice lands which can be accessed from there.

Coghlan Dam has about 1600 residents of Indo and Afro Guyanese ethnicities with 163 house lots and it is a quiet, breezy place which is just perfect for family life.

This village is between Vreed-en-Hoop and Versailles and it is one of those villages that runs very deep into the backlands and it is a rice cultivation/agricultural village.

Most of the locals have been there all their lives, while some married into the village and there are hardly any newcomers.

The villagers are mostly related and it is a community where the people live without fear of being robbed and would leave their doors unlocked.

Almost every adult is gainfully employed in both the private and public sectors or they are self-employed and work from home.

Coghlan Dam has three shops and several bars including the Infinity Bar and other ‘bottom house’ ‘watering holes’ and hideouts, just perfect for that quick getaway hang.

The people lead simple lives and most have small kitchen gardens, plant their own food and catch their own fish in the canal that runs through the village.

Coghlan Dam is a place with large shady trees by the roadside and wooden chairs and benches for that afternoon ‘sit-down’ and chat kind of thing, to which the locals are accustomed.

It is a place where everybody knows each other, it is a safe neighbourhood and is minutes away from the Demerara Harbour Bridge and Vreed-en-Hoop, a central hub for many businesses, a shopping centre.

Residents are self-sufficient and have their own vehicles, while others use the taxi services that are located on the main access road.

There are houses of all sizes and shapes one side of Coghlan Dam and the other side are mainly privately owned rice fields and the rest of the backlands is used for large-scale rice farming by both villagers and others, who reside out of the village.

Coghlan Dam has one mandir and all other government services are accessed out of the village, at Vreed-en-Hoop and other neighbouring villages.

This village is unique because it is strategically located and cushioned deep into the farmlands and has a good countryside setting.

The village comes under the Best/Klein/Pouderoyen Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) and is managed by Chairman Umesh Balram.

The Livestock Officer/ villager
Meanwhile, Prakash Mahadeo, is the Livestock Officer for Vreed-en-Hoop to Stewartville and he is based at Den Amstel.

He is also a councillor and a resident of Coghlan Dam and has been a Livestock Officer for the past 36 years and has a great love for animals.

His joy comes from working with farmers and animals and likes to connect with people of all walks of life.

Mahadeo told the Pepperpot Magazine that he came from humble beginnings and walked bare-feet with thick mud and water at Coghlan Dam as a boy to get to school.

He added that he used to get on the tractor to get out to the public road for school and attended Patentia Secondary School, before going to the Guyana School of Agriculture and later upgrading his studies in Trinidad and Tobago.

He used to live at Lot 161, his parents’ place and later when he got married and established himself after he had acquired a plot of land and moved to Lot 163, where he is currently residing.

However, in 2002 they benefitted from a paved road and other amenities that enhanced the locals’ lives.

Mahadeo stated that the only issue is the rice farmers’ need to practise water conservation because they would release wastewater and it causes flooding when the koker is closed.

He reported that Coghlan Dam isn’t a place that is prone to flooding, but the actions of the rice farmers has caused flooding in the village within recent times.