Founded on good intentions

IN our little country known as Guyana, there are hundreds of communities, villages, townships and settlements spread out across the nation; each with their own history and unique culture curated by its people throughout the years. This week the Pepperpot Magazine journeyed through time and history to the little village of Good Intent.

Good Intent, with all of its notable shops, churches and colourful assortment of homes, is located on the West Bank of Demerara. The community is home to more than 2,000 people and has become known for its peaceful and hospitable nature. Good Intent is bordered by Bellevue to the North and the equally captivating community of Sisters Village to the South.

Good Intent and neighbouring Sisters Village are among the few communities on the West Bank of Guyana to have a history as rich as theirs. More importantly, it is important to have that history preserved through the decades. The Pepperpot Magazine reached out to the village’s neighbourhood democratic council, who happily shared the deep history of the community. I went from farmlands as far as the eyes could see into a community filled with small businesses, entrepreneurs, and hardworking professionals. The community has come a long way and can only go further.

Perhaps one of the reasons why Good Intent and Sister’s Village communities are as closely knit as they are is because they were once a single village. The two communities were once all one vast field that housed a plantation. The bustling community of Good Intent was home to hundreds of acres of land that housed rows of sugarcane and coffee beans. The two villages were originally owned by a Dutch planter, who divided the land among his children. While Good Intent was given to his sons, Sister’s Village was given to his daughters, hence the village’s unique name.

Ownership of Good Intent was eventually handed over to William Matherson. Matherson kept the land as a plantation for several years before it was once again transferred. According to community council information, Good Intent was then sold to JD Mollyneaux and George King. Both men were descendants of freed Africans and bought the land for $6,400 in April of 1854.

The community kept its name and sought a surveyor to divide the land into 60 equal lots. These lots were sold to other persons, predominantly the descendants of Africans. This gave rise to a new community that was strong in tradition. The village of Good Intent quickly evolved from being a community that simply farmed to support itself into a village that became revered around the country for its crops.

The age of agriculture
Farming is still alive and well in Good Intent. Agriculture has blended with the community’s business owners, housewives and young people. One such young man who has taken up agriculture is Brian Cooper. The Pepperpot Magazine caught up with the 28-year-old on his way to do some yard work at his Good Intent home. Brian has known agriculture for as long as he can remember. Setting a sapling and seeing it blossom is something that Brian feels runs within his very veins.

Brian has been tending to the acres of soursop, plantains, and ground provisions since he was 13. The ambitious young man says farming is all he has ever known. “When I used to go to school, I would come home and go farming. I used to work with my grandparents, and that is how I took up farming myself,” he explained.

According to Brian, Good Intent has seen a few drastic changes. He described the village as being no more than mud roads and trees several years ago. He stated that “All of the streets were mud. All around had mango trees.” Today, the community is one of the most populated and has become known for its entrepreneurs and farmers.

There are, however, a few issues members of the community would like to see assessed. In a community where agriculture has been a major player for countless years, water availability has long been an issue for the farmers. With the change in the climate, farmers like Brian are searching for new ways of getting water to their farm. He shared that water is a problem. A lot of our things are dying out because we are not getting water.”

This has presented as a major problem for the farmers’ community. However, Brian is hopeful that the issue can be easily resolved and fixed in due time. This comes when the village’s neighbourhood council is develiping the community’s infrastructure and hopefully works towards solving the village’s water woes. Despite the issues, Brian will always call this village home and farming his way of life.

Age of entrepreneurship
While in the fields and among the trees is where Brian feels at home, some of Good Intent’s people have a different way of life. Kelroy George was born and bred in the community of Good Intent. The 42-year-old owns a hangout spot and feels far more comfortable behind a bar. Growing up as the middle child in a family of five boys, Kelroy had what some would call a countryside upbringing.

Kelroy’s father worked at the Wales sugar estate while his mother was one of the community’s seamstresses. He described his boyhood in Good Intent as sunny days filled with all the childish joys of the countryside. He told this magazine that “Growing up in Good Intent was nice and quiet. I used to follow my bigger brothers and try to do what they do. And the two brothers after me would look up to me. We would catch birds, swim and play cricket.”

In those days, Kelroy says life was much easier and people seemed to have a free-spirited aura to them. Kelroy believes the community he has known and loved has seen subtle changes over the years. He shared that, “The community has not seen anything strange. Just that there have been a lot of houses built up around here. Back in those times, we never had bridges and so on.”

Good Intent is a stellar model of what it means to build a community. Starting off, like so many other villages, founded on a basis of farming for self-sustainability. Good Intent has evolved into a village just on the outskirts of Georgetown, perfect for raising a family, starting a business, or having a quiet retreat. With its authentic rural atmosphere, coupled with all the necessities just around the corner, Good Intent is a captivating community that is bound to keep moving forward.