How determined residents transformed a patch of land into a thriving community

WHAT does it take to make a community? Does it need massive industrial intervention or a larger-than-life workforce and millions of dollars? For the people who built Block 22, building a community takes plenty of willpower and cooperation.
A small community on the outskirts of Linden, Block 22 is a village that came to be due to the hard work of a small group of passionate people working together with a similar vision in mind.

Kirk Duke is one of those Guyanese who has travelled the length and breadth of Guyana. From being raised in Berbice to returning to Linden, life in Berbice was quite similar to that of Linden, with agriculture and community spirit as their building blocks. As Kirk stated, “Growing up in Berbice was real fun. We used to be with them while they cut rice. We would run through cast nets and catch fish. It was real fun, we had a nice time exploring. At first, I went with my mom, and I liked the place. I asked her if I could stay.”

Kirk’s family returned to Linden when he was still young and enthusiastic, and he quickly fell in love with Linden. His family settled on Blueberry Hill, a popular housing scheme in the region. Kirk went into the only business he knew, agriculture. He found work with local large-scale farmers and quickly became enamoured with the beauty of agriculture. Agriculture is still a part of Kirk’s day-to-day life. He says he simply enjoys watching a seed blossom into something more. As he stated, “I came back when I was thirteen and I started working in agriculture. I still do agriculture today. For me, it is a miracle to see you put a seed in the ground, and it comes to life.”

Surrounded by nature, love, and good people, Kirk described life on Blueberry Hill as good. That is until the community began to face a new issue: overpopulation. Blueberry Hill and some surrounding places saw new people venture into the community, with new families seeking new opportunities and setting up homes. Kirk and several of the community’s young people saw this as an impending issue and knew that something would have to be done about the overpopulation. But they were not sure how the issue would be fixed or even if they could.

As Kirk explained to the Pepperpot Magazine, “People started walking around and exploring. We used to come here as small boys. There were no roads, it was sand tracks. We used to come and swim in the lake.” At that time, the Blue Lake area was not much more than an open space, a captivating natural wonder that the neighbourhood boys frequented. It was something from a movie, a natural beauty that people ventured to see.

“It was basically the youths that started the village. It was during a rough time in Linden when people could not afford to pay rent. Most of the people here were single women with children,” he explained. The community quickly grew, with more families seeking new opportunities taking root in Block 22. It was not an individual effort. However, members of the community, young and old, worked with each other. They built homes for one another and cleared lands for those who could not, crafting a village.

As Kirk noted, “Most of us were young people, small boys who came and started burning coals. And then we realised that this place is nice. We started chopping and clearing away. We opened up and started to build some shacks. And people who passed through to go to the lake would go back and say they saw people building up there. And next thing you know, big people came with their children, and it would explode from there. Because it was not just young people anymore.”

As the community grew, so did its popularity. Soon, Block 22 was a well-established community. There were some challenges, but over time, various people have worked and championed for the community’s development. As Kirk stated, “People would come in and ask for a piece, and that’s how the community, Block 22, started to develop.” The village has come a far way from what it once was.

Although Block 22 began as a squatting area – and some may argue that it still is – the community has developed into a well-established housing scheme many are proud to call home. Block 22 is equipped with light and water, and reports are that the community is on its way to being regularised. Recent infrastructure works have been taking place in the community. “This community, Block 22, is about 27 years old. I cannot remember why it was called Block 22,” says Kirk. And the community continues to grow, with community spirit and support at its heart.