By Shaniya Harding

THE village of Coomacka is captivating with its simplistic beauty. The community is located in Region 10, up alongside the Demerara River. The small community has an estimated 800 residents, their own nursery and primary school, health centre and churches.

The village is picturesque with its various beaches, lakes and creeks. Coomacka’s beach has led many out-of-towners to venture into the village in hopes of finding adventure. And sometimes people find so much that they never leave the enchanting little village of Coomacka.

One such man is Robert Jones, who has lived in the village of Coomacka since 1959. In those days, he says Coomacka was drastically different. Coomacka’s mining past has left a prominent mark on the village. The village was built on bauxite mining, and although it is still called “The Mines” by most today, very few know just how that period shaped the community and how its impact is still felt by villagers today, even on the ground they walk on.

Bauxite mining was happening in Coomacka before it was happening in many other places in Guyana. The digging and exploration of the rich soil have gifted the community with beaches and lakes and left them with broken roads and promises from companies that have worked in the community. Villagers’ opinion of what mining has done for Coomacka varies greatly from villager to villager. But they all share a similar sentiment that mining has done much to make Coomacka what it is today.

As Robert explains, when he first came to live in Coomacka, the train that brought the bauxite out of the mines, ran right past his home. Robert himself worked with the various bauxite companies for over 17 years.
Originally coming from a small village further up in the Demerara River, called Yaribo, he learned a new way of life very different from what he grew up knowing. And he built a home and a life practically out of scratch. “As a young man, I came up here, I met a lady and I married her and I decided to stay down here. I started building life here.” Robert then went on to say, “When I first came here, we didn’t see it has a house lot. We just had wheelbarrows, spades and shovels.”

When Robert first came to Coomacka, everyone had a simpler way of life. Robert reminisced on how the people of that time lived largely off the land. The older generation living in places like Coomacka still hunted, farmed and fished for a living. And because he came from Yaribo, a place where the people depend largely on the river, finding new ground in a new place was difficult. But Robert made certain to keep going for both himself and his family and began working as an operator for bauxite companies. And as uncertain as those times were, Robert exhibited an almost unfounded faith in himself and the future, as he stated, “There were many times I left and I wasn’t conscious where I was going. But I put my bag on my shoulder and went as an operator and I got a job.”

“I used to work with the bauxite company and I gave them 17 years before coming off,” Robert says. But in those 17 years, he saw multiple companies come into Coomacka and leave one after the other, most of them coming from places far beyond Guyana’s borders. Robert says in the early years, he remembers ‘highlanders’ who came into Guyana and Coomacka searching for bauxite. As they transported bauxite out of the village for several years, these companies damaged the roads. The various companies, in turn, promised to fix the community’s roads but never honoured that promise.

“They promised to us years and years ago that whenever the train stopped running the very foundation will be a road,” says Robert. This promise was never made although it was made by company after company. Robert went on to explain why the mining companies fell short of caring for Coomacka. One reason he says, is due to the fact that they wanted to save money. As Robert explained, different firms used different equipment as they came and went. And for a long time, the bauxite carriers remained like old memories in various corners of the community.

As challenging as those times were, Robert says that there is no place he’d rather live. Many of the residents presently have small businesses, just like Robert. And he believes that with a few infrastructural developments, the village of Coomacka will see more economic development. Nonetheless, Coomacka is a beautiful place with beautiful people.

In recent times, the village of Coomacka is known for many things other than its past in bauxite mining. The community’s tourism spots and scenery are slowly replacing the village’s mining image. The roads that take you into the village of Coomacka are still damaged and make for an incredibly rough ride. However, in a country like Guyana, new things are always being done and new improvements are being implemented. Coomacka doesn’t have many roads; they actually only have one main road, and today, works on the road is being done.

Looking into the future rather than the past and hearing from the younger generation, many are optimistic about where Coomacka is going. Most of Coomacka’s youth work in the community’s schools, health centre or in construction. Coomacka has gone through the age of bauxite and is now known for what makes it different: its rare and special beauty