By Shaniya Harding

On the West Bank of Demerara, a series of villages share similar history, people and values. Going past Good Intent, Toevugt and Wales, there is the village of Patentia.

With a population of just about 2,000, it is a small community located in Region 3. Patentia is only accessed through a series of bridges that connects it to the main road. Most persons living in Patentia have been there for all or most of their lives. This is perhaps how they have managed to keep that authentic countryside village atmosphere.

Marlyn Laundry has lived in Patentia since age three and has been selling at the same market for more than 11 years. She says that the Patentia she’s always known has remained somewhat the same, with just a few changes. And although the difference isn’t drastic to outsiders, it is noticed by the villagers. Marlyn admitted that with the Wales gas-to-shore project, there have been more jobs and more money in the community. And this is something she knows about first-hand because her husband is a worker connected to the project.

Last year the government launched the Wales gas-to-shore project. It is said to be Guyana’s single largest investment in our electricity sector, cutting electricity costs in half. Since its beginning, the project has trained and employed several persons from Patentia and neighbouring villages. Some of those young people expressed that their training was a good experience that allowed them to learn and meet new people. As Marlyn happily shared the project’s impact on the village, she said, “Now it’s getting better due to the work at Exxon and people getting more money.” This is a sentiment shared by many other villagers. Marlyn then went on to say, “Yes my husband works on the project and to me it’s coming along good so far. The workers are getting work and they are paying them good.”

One thing that’s bound to captivate anyone visiting Patentia is the people and their close-knit, family-like hospitable nature. This is perhaps one of the reasons why Rex Fernandes, who once lived there, has continued to visit Patentia for the past 40 years.

Rex is Marlyn’s father and has lived in Patentia all those years, he says there have been changes and development in the community. “Every morning we see people that come and clean the area and I think it is a nice thing that they are doing. We have the gas-to-oil thing where Marlyn’s husband works, so yes there have been changes.” says Rex. But the development isn’t the only reason why Rex loves Patentia. He says it’s the community that he loves and misses. Pointing to the cul-de-sac that ends the road of Patentia, he said, “Well places like there are where the young boys like to play things like cricket and football. And I don’t live here now, but my daughter still lives here and I visit every now and then.”

Due to the fact that most of Patentia’s population has lived there a long time, they have all lived through the height and closure of the sugar estate. On walking through the streets of Patentia, you are captivated by the villages’ humble residents and rustic houses.

A booming old town running on sugar some 30 years ago isn’t hard to see. Patentia and its various parts and people all welcome Guyana’s new oil and gas industry. But remnants of the estate will live on in every child that knows estate stories and every elder who knows of the days of sugar. The Wales gas-to-shore project is a small step in breathing new life into the community of Patentia.