The people of East Canje, Berbice enjoy a quiet countryside life of farming
Munesh Narinedat at work (Delano Williams photos)
Munesh Narinedat at work (Delano Williams photos)

Munesh Narinedat, his wife and two children were residing in Suriname but returned to their home country, Guyana and settled as caretakers of a farm/house in New Forest Village.

It has been seven months, the couple is living in that community, and they tend to the crops of cantaloupe, tomatoes, peppers and bora.

They live rent-free but are tasked with keeping the place clean and tidy and the general upkeep of the farm which belongs to a resident of Betsy Ground, also East Canje, Berbice.

Home of Munesh Narinedat

Narinedat stated that he likes the simple life of being a farmer/caretaker there and they do not have any facilities but make do with what they have, such as flambeau and lamps at night.

When the team caught up with him, he was on his way to wash down a muddy tractor and do other chores while his wife was bathing the children by the creek.

“I am hoping that my daughter, who is five years old, will be able to go to school soon and that is one of the main reasons we came here,” he said.

The housewife
Vavewattie Mathura is a homemaker of New Forest Village and a mom of three children, who basically is the boss of the home and takes care of the chores and meals.

She is the wife of the village Pump Station attendant and all her children are employed except for one.

The 41-year-old told the Pepperpot Magazine that she just has one neighbour, an elderly man, who is not well.

Vavewattie Mathura with her garden-picked squashes

She likes the quietness of the place and the breezy atmosphere.

She is originally from Geod Banana Land, East Canje, Berbice, but when she married, she relocated to Volkr’s Lust Village.

They plant their own vegetables and fruits and they have poultry.

For electricity, they have some solar panels which illuminate the place at night and they would buy drinking water or fill up at Adelphi Village.

The Canje Creek water is used for household chores.

“I would get up early to prepare meals for the men in the family and have a start of the day but this is a nice place to live despite not having any facilities or the basic necessities for a good life,” she said.

Sookram Singh
Sookram Singh is a very simple man who resides in an extended family setting with some of his children, grandchildren, son-in-law and his mother-in-law.

The 56-year-old told the Pepperpot Magazine that he is a farmer and is originally from Cotton Tree, West Coast Berbice.

He has been living in New Forest Village for the past 30 years.

Sookram Singh

He relocated after marriage and went to reside at his wife’s place, where there are only five other houses in that part of the village.

The houses are far apart, but the people are neighbourly, and they co-exist in relative harmony.

Singh has some cash crops, some cows and goats, most of which he lost to the flood last year. A filly, 13 goats, four calves and some ducks all perished.

Apart from being a farmer, Singh is a construction worker in New Amsterdam and gets around on his motorcycle.

Home of Sookram Singh

His mother-in-law is the village elder. She is Chandranie Ramu, 80 years old, and who is from Lochaber Village, West Bank Berbice.

She has been in that community for a long time and you can tell she likes it there where she enjoys a hassle-free life, far away from a populated place and has lots of space.

That day, when the team visited, Singh’s son-in-law was about to prepare some hassar curry via an outdoor fireside. It was freshly caught hassar.

They grow their own greens and fruits.

Seema Bharat
For Seema Bharrat, 43, a mother of four, life is quiet and care-free at Volkr’s Lust Village, East Canje, Berbice.

She oversees the preparation of all meals with the assistance of her daughter-in-law and has two school-aged children.

She is the wife of the village ‘milkman’ who would go from village to village via his motorcycle to sell their fresh cow’s milk from their own herd of cows.

Chandranie Ramu

Her eldest son is also a ‘milk man’, who also sells milk in several villages daily.

The men of this house do more than one job to have a comfortable life and they too, are farmers.

They have rice cultivation, poultry, cattle and cash crops farms.

The 45-year-old told the Pepperpot Magazine that she is originally from Adelphi Village but moved to Volkr’s Lust Village after marriage 24 years ago.

“Life here is very quiet since I only have two neighbours, all related so I am accustomed to this kind of countryside lifestyle where things happen in slow-motion and things are simple,” she said.

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