LIKE any other village, Mainstay Mission is a place with multi-talented people, as well as those who work from right within the community.

Keona Pearson is a sweeper/cleaner attached to Lake Mainstay Primary School and has been on the job for the past three months.

The mother of two stated that, while at work, she would take a ‘hold on’ at the school’s canteen, and she doesn’t mind because it gives her more to do instead of wasting time.

“I attended this primary school, but, over time, we outgrew the school, so the population has grown, and we need a new school, more so a bigger one,” she said.

Pearson reported that they grow food, and it is a farm to table concept and they only go to Anna Regina to do bulk shopping since they have small shops in the village.

The pineapple farmer
Merlene Chappelle is a mother of nine, and, to earn, she became a pineapple farmer who would sell her produce at the Anna Regina Market.

The 52-year-old told the Pepperpot Magazine that she is originally from Pomeroon River and left there when she was five years old.

Her family settled in Arouka, and, today, she is cultivating three acres of pineapples and shares eight acres of farmland with her daughter.

Chappelle added that, this harvest, she reaped 6,000 pineapples and was hoping to sell off the lot before it goes bad since it is perishable.

She started pineapple farming seven years ago and is having difficulties marketing her pineapples to wholesale buyers.

Chappelle noted, too, that transportation was also an issue for her in getting her produce out of the village to the market. It had proven to be a costly venture.

Leyton Pearson, the minibus driver, poultry and ground provision farmer
Leyton Pearson is a minibus driver who plies the Georgetown to Lethem route and works mostly in the interior, but when things are slow, he would return home to Mainstay and rear chickens and have a ground provision farm.

The 51-year-old told the Pepperpot Magazine that he would find honest work to earn instead of being idle.

Pearson stated that he is from McKenzie, Linden, where his father is from, but, since 1974, he grew up in Mainstay Mission.

The father of three reported that he liked the quietness of the village and the lake because it was home for him, where he feels safe and comfortable.

“What is needed here to boost tourism is a better road. From here to Anna Regina is about seven miles and we have about 800 residents in Mainstay alone, so we would like an upgraded road,” he said.