AMONG the many villages on the West Bank Demerara, Plantain Walk is unique in its people, past and bright future. Plantain Walk is neighboured by Vreed-en-Hoop in the north and the Dutch village of Pouderoyen in the south. Plantain Walk itself is said to have been a plantation many years ago. Described as once being a vast area of lush green farmlands on the bank of the river, Plantain Walk is now a thriving community where every convenience is just around the corner.

Although small, Plantain Walk is among the oldest villages on the West Bank. The community is ideal for people who seek all the convenience of the city while still retaining the rural life. Rajindra Shiwprasad has spent his entire life in the village of Plantain Walk. He remembers the community as a simple, humble, easy-going but happy place in his youth. As a young man, he and a few other young men would engage in mechanic work at the local workshop. “My uncle had a mechanic shop here. I was about 12, still going to school when I started working here,” Rajindra shared.

This is how many young men of the time learnt the trade they would take through life. If your uncle, father or even neighbour was a mechanic, farmer, or carpenter, their skills would be passed down to any boy willing to learn. That is perhaps why communities like Plantain Walk are home to numerous tradesmen who take great pride and care in their work. Although he has now retired, Rajindra worked as a carpenter for many years, a skill he learned from his father.

Plantain Walk residents are among very few who have very little to complain about. The community has always been well cared for by its residents. At a time when many other communities, both neighbouring and far, had no water or light, Plantain Walk did. “We had light and water. We had one main that ran through the yards,” Rajindra shared. In the past, most of the community worked humble jobs. Many were farmers and fishermen, and Rajindra’s father was a well-known carpenter. Rajindra picked up the trade as a young man and worked as a contractor for many years before he retired. “My father was a carpenter. Today, I do not work anymore, but I was a carpenter too,” he shared.

The community of Plantain Walk, he stated, is vastly different today. Rajindra says that Plantain Walk has seen drastic development with more houses, more people, and new additions to the community. It is a far different place now and still the community he loves. Rajindra grew up as the second child in a family of three siblings. In his youth, he remembers the community as having so few homes that he and his friends would use the land to play sports. “Plantain Walk is far, very different now. There were not all these houses when we were growing up. We even had a ball field.”

The childhood described by Rajindra is almost picturesque. He explained that not only has the community changed, but so has the way of life. Although life in Plantain Walk was always good by the standard of the time, Rajindra explained that the community housed more togetherness than it does today. “The neighbours live good in the community, every holiday, even if it is Indian or not. We share with them, and they share with us,” he said. The togetherness of the village has not been lost but has mellowed due to the faster pace of life, Rajindra expressed.

Separating one village from another becomes difficult when the people are as close-knit as they are in communities like Plantain Walk and its neighbours. Rajindra’s mother hails from Goed Fortuin, which is only a few villages away. He was born in Goed Fortuin and returned to Plantain Walk to grow up. Rajindra says there is very little difference from one community to another.

As he grew up, went to school, and began working, Rajindra shared that he had never thought of leaving the community of Plantain Walk. The village of Plantain Walk is a small community with one main road but it has a big atmosphere. Many days, you could find a group of Plantain Walk men and women talking at shops or at the bottom flat of someone’s home. Plantin Walk is truly remarkable. The village is a stone’s throw away from the capital city and still retains that authentic Guyanese feel more than many other villages, showing that a sense of community is crafted by the people.