Auchlyne Estate, East Berbice Corentyne

Jan 22, 2023 News

Village Focus…

By: Malisa Renada Playter Harry

Kaieteur News – Snuggled between the villages of Letterkenny and Whim, you can find the community of Auchlyne. Regarded as an estate, it is one of those villages comprised of well known landmarks along with businesses and friendly people.

A Christian church situated in the Auchlyne burial ground

Tree in the burial ground that has been there for decades

Auchlyne Primary School

The stand where Peters and his family has been selling for over 10 years

Patrick Peters in his hammock tied under the stand which he sells from

The deplorable dam that is accessed by farmers into the backlands

From the time you enter, on the western side, you are immediately met with a bus shed that is used by residents from both Auchlyne and Letterkenny. You will also find a dam on the right hand side that is deplorable, especially when it rains. Cash crop and livestock farmers use that dam to access the Auchlyne backlands. Looking over to the left is a street that was done some time ago, which gives easy access to residents living within the community.

You can also find a car wash, a beauty salon, a seamstress shop, the Auchlyne Primary School where former President David Granger and Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo attended when they were younger, a church located within the Auchlyne burial ground and quite a few houses along with small businesses that people have established to support their daily living.

A woman who has dedicated many years to the teaching profession in Guyana but is now retired was celebrating her birthday with her family and friends, when the Waterfalls team visited the village.

A mixture of people of all races can be found in the Auchlyne estate. The residents can be described as extremely hard-working, kind, and generally quiet. There are quite a number of farmers in the area, but the community also comprises quite a few working professionals, self-employed individuals or those that stay at home.

One man who sells rice by the bag in assorted sizes along the public road (next to the Auchlyne Primary School), Patrick Peters, 75, was extremely willing to speak with The Waterfalls when we visited. He was sitting in a hammock tied under his shed with the largest bag of rice placed along the roadway and the other two sizes (small and medium) on the stand.

He added that the business is really his daughter and grandson’s business but since his grandson migrated, he has taken up the responsibility to continue with it.

“Meh ah help me, daughter, I is a pensioner, all day long me can’t sleep whole day so me come here and get myself occupied free like.” He said.

He added that he usually comes out from his home to sell at the location between the hours of 07:00 am and 07:30 am and would be there up until around 17:00 hrs daily.

“You na get sales every day but abey does bring 10 kg, if we do have fine rice, we bring the small bag and you can also get the half bag. We buy the rice from a mill at No.58 village to sell it back…” The largest bag of rice is sold for $7,000 with the smallest selling for just $1,900. He said that he enjoys being occupied with the small business because it is an opportunity for him to interact with different people.

According to him, they have been selling at the location for over ten years but after his daughter and grandson migrated, he wanted to continue it for them and for himself.

He made sure to mention that he is a Christian by religion and that he loves speaking to people about any topic. The businessman who considers himself a man of God mentioned that on days when there are few customers, he usually thinks about a lot of things.

“I sit and think that we are whom to hate and vex and to malice and envy; all the religions teach you about love but where is the love today in society?”

Peters said the community is nice but what he finds is that the young people of today do not show much respect to their elders and while he wishes it was different, he believes that different values are being taught today in homes.

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Auchlyne Primary School, Christian church, Patrick Peters, Tree in the burial ground that has been there for decades

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