This week the Pepperpot Magazine visited the sleepy, traditional village of Reliance Settlement, East Canje, Berbice, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) to highlight the way of life of the locals.

It is one of those places where it is still set in the olden days in terms of the architecture with the shingle walls buildings and colonial-style houses that are well-preserved and maintained.

The locals of Reliance Settlement depend heavily on the sugar industry for their daily bread.

As such, most of the villagers are either employed at the sugar estates, but there is a handful of small business folk, some rear livestock, chickens and cattle.

There are a few shops in the village, a nursery and a primary school, a mandir and a mosque.

The people are friendly and welcoming, but most are camera-shy and do not want to be photographed or videotaped.

Reliance Settlement is sandwiched between Rose Hall and Adelphi villages and it is a small village with just a few internal streets.

It is a quiet, breezy place where things seem to be moving in slow-motion, people are not in a rush as in the city, and they do things at their own pace without any fuss and in relative calm.

The village comes under the Canefield/Enterprise Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) and it has potable water supply, electricity, internet and the basic facilities are accessed in neighbouring villages.

Reliance Settlement has a population of 150 adults and just about 95 schoolchildren.

It has four cross streets, it is divided into two sections and it has 58 house lots.

It was made known that Reliance Settlement and the village next door, Reliance Abandon, are two separate villages, divided by a canal and a bridge.

Reliance Settlement was an estate bought by sugar workers from the then Booker Tate owners and it was converted into a village and today, it still has a few mud dams.

Also in this village, there are a few drivers of buses and cars and self-starter persons who work right out of their homes as entrepreneurs.

The people are somewhat self-reliant and crave development to boost their lives in a meaningful way.

Eleiasa Majid
The Pepperpot Magazine met a spritely elder/councillor, Eleiasa Majid, who took some time out of his busy day to interact with the team,

Majid is a tailor in the village, an acquired skill handed down to him through generations, a family tradition he is keeping alive today.

The 64-year-old related that although he is a resident of Reliance Abandon, East Canje, Berbice and he has the interest of the community at heart.

He is a leader and volunteers his time in community-based projects to enhance the lives of the people.

Majid told the Pepperpot Magazine that in his village, he is seeking to upgrade the internal streets which are in deplorable condition and has engaged the central government through the Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC), as a councillor.

And it is not only for his village but the neighbouring community of Reliance Settlement, as well.

He was instrumental in getting 11 wooden boxes for the drainage in his village replaced with concrete ones after they approached SIMAP for a $500,000 loan and embarked on other projects for the benefit of the people.

Majid added that when the current administration took office in 1992, the Canefield/Enterprise NDC was made into a village from under its former state as Community Development Council-led.

Tailoring
He is a tailor by profession and learned the skill from his father, who acquired the skill from his great, great grandparents, who came from India.

“My dad taught me well, I was encouraged to become a tailor and I love it because it is a job that brings in an income to the home and I am well-known, he said.

Majid reported that he sews for all ages and just about anyone, does clothing on made to order too and he is talented in his own league making suits, well-tailored clothing that is of high quality and reasonably priced.

The village elder is the father of two, who is married to Rashida Majid, who assists him by ironing and putting on the buttons.

They have been married for 40 years and it has become routine for her to be by his side when she completes the household chores.

Majid is a member of the Canefield Masjid and is involved in its expansion project, which started five months ago.

“My father bought this plot of land for $150 in the 1950s and I am still maintaining it because it was handed down to me,” he said.

Recalling his childhood days, Masjid told the Pepperpot Magazine that after his father purchased the plot of land he built a modest house and they lived in it with three children.

Majid reported that his siblings, a brother and two sisters, all reside abroad but he choose to remain in his home country because it is home and it is where he wants to be, to contribute to society.

He is involved in a feeding programme at the mosque and it is his duty to help others by doing good deeds.

Majid was a Field Supervisor at the Rose Hall Sugar Estate for nine years and he was a daytime labourer, at times, working for a mere $500 per day at the ferry stelling when he was younger.