A tranquil farming village

LAST week, the Pepperpot Magazine team visited Mahaica, specifically, the main access road leading to Helena Village, where there are a series of smaller villages from Mosquito Hall to highlight the way of life of the locals.

As such, the team passed through several villages, and one of those communities include Jonestown, Hand-en-Velt, Helena 1 and 2, Good Hope, Belmont, Supply, Voorzigtigheid, La Bonne Intention, Unity and Cane Grove.

Passing through Jonestown, Mahaica the team met 64-year-old Megan Drayton, who resides in a house on the main access road. At the time, she was speaking with her friend, who had visited her.

Drayton told the Pepperpot Magazine that after the family business of making homemade coconut oil ended, she had to work as a security guard attached to the Mahaica Nursery School.

The senior citizen stated that she is on the day shift and did not work for two days because she wanted to give her colleagues some time to make their hours.

Drayton reported that she and five family members used to make coconut oil by the barrels to sell, and it was a family business for many years.

She added that the business stopped when everybody split up and today, her daughter and three grandchildren reside with her in a huge colonial-style house that has been in the family for decades.

The elder related that they used to buy dry coconuts and process it to make coconut oil, a tedious process and after the oil was fully processed, they would bottle it for sale.

Drayton upkeeps the place, and she has some plants and flowers in pots that she uses to enhance the environment.

The elder told the Pepperpot Magazine that Jonestown is a safe place to live and the people are very close-knit and they would check up on each other daily.

“One morning, I did not see my neighbour and I went over and knocked on his door to ensure he was okay, and that is how we live around here,” she said.

Drayton disclosed that the access road is populated and some villages are smaller than others, but they have schools, three cemeteries, a well station, shops, supermarkets, a tyre shop, a plant shop and nursery, wash bays, a private school, churches, a masjid, an abandoned community centre with a resource building and the police station at Helena 2.

The nearest market is in central Mahaica and they have some businesses and other facilities.

Drayton stated that most locals are farmers either with cash crops, rice or livestock and their way of life is simple but entails hard work.

When asked to describe life in that part of the country, she said, “If nah fight for it you nah survive”.

Her friend, Gwendolyn Fernandes, had stopped by to chat as usual and the pair would engage in friendly banter until they had enough and would engage in household chores for the day.

Drayton told the Pepperpot Magazine that they love living in Jonestown, Mahaica and it is a really tranquil place to reside.

She pointed out that they had some accumulation of water due to the heavy rainfall and the water had receded that day and she was cleaning up and had to rearrange her plants.

She has some yard fowls that survived the flood by flying into the trees to take shelter.

Drayton added that Jonestown is a nice place to live and enjoy a quiet country life of hard work and peace.

She reported that Jonestown, Mahaica has all the basic infrastructure along with potable water, electricity, and landline phone and internet service.