Farm, Mahaicony: A small village with a blinding future

Feb 04, 2024 Features / Columnists, News, Waterfalls Magazine

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By Anasa Williams

Waterfalls Magazine – Heading from Berbice, the second community just as you hit the new road is a small village called Farm, in the district of Mahaicony. Just a little over 20 years ago the area was mostly bush, with homes here and there. Now it sports quite a number of essential services, and is way more populated than up to eight years ago.

One who is not from the area may see the village as almost ghostly at first, but what you see here depends on the time of day you visit and the day of the week. The Waterfalls Magazine decided to take the trip from the capital city to this quiet countryside community.

Luckily for us one of our own lives here, and was able to take us on an informative and interesting journey through this mostly roadside community. To get there it’s easy since the Mahaicony New Road runs through the village making it every accessible.

Walking through the village on a Saturday morning most persons were either asleep after a Friday night at the Guinness bar,  located a village away or one of the corner shops that catered for those who preferred a more toned down crowd. Others, who had work or open their business, were up and about.

The community has establishments to cater to almost all of the residents needs including  a supermarket, at least two functioning wash bays, a welding shop, about four small grocery shops, an organic produce stall and a supermarket. Recreational and health needs are catered for by the Mahaicony Cottage Hospital and the Community Center both a village away.

The magazine able to speak with a few people who gave insight on what it’s like to live there and watch the community grow. Anthony, the owner of a wash bay was engrossed in a quite messy task of washing a small hymac. He took a few minutes off to talk to us.

“I opened this wash by because there was a need for one in the area. People normally had to go till to central or up the road (other villages) to get a wash. Now they can come right here,” he told us.

The thing that makes his spot popular for drivers is that his mom operates a small shop that caters for all their snacking and drinking needs while they wait for him to finish up. The father of one says that business is good and he is constantly looking for way to perfect his craft.

Just two houses away was another wash bay and the two owners are actually friends.

“Rastaman” (only name given) was camera shy and after a little coaxing decided to talk to us as he was finishing up with his friends car. The one over there don’t affect me because it’s a lot of vehicles,” he said. Everyone has their own people and then they in turn bring others so there is an endless supply of vehicles to wash.

Located a short distance away the K&K supermarket, the owner [Mr. Halley] was behind the counter when we enter the cool air conditioned atmosphere and it took a bit of cooling before the interview began.

In 2019 the supermarket was established because he wanted to bring a quality of service and also establish a business where residents can feel safe and comfortable when shopping.

“It was a number of different thing, I wanted everyone to be able to shop and feel comfortable not with employees hovering over then 24/7. As it is with every business there are ups and downs but I am happy to be providing the service.”

The KK supermarket also houses a Bill Express and Western Union service and on any given day there are two employees maximum. Walking around to test it for ourselves, one can safely say there was no one else within the store to hover or walk behind you. Customers are allowed to walk around freely, pick up their goods and then proceed to cash.

A short stroll way is a stall that had a colourful array of vegetables and ground provision.

Owner, Jermaine Jones cheerfully informed us that he was out since 06:00hrs and he was more than halfway sold out already. The stall which was conveniently located at the roadside has been in operation for about two years and it was birthed from his own farm.

“I used to plant and grow wholesale greens and sometimes it was hard to get customers and thing would leave back and spoil on me. So, I tell myself just put out a lil stand and see how it does. I knock up this stand hay and two years later business is good,” he informed this magazine. He advised that the key to a successful business is staying focused, managed your budget well and have competitive prices.

The community of farm has a largely youthful population.

This publication was informed by residents that even though they face the challenge at times with draining but changes are happening every day. As more persons are moving to the area and more homes are being built, it is projected that the community will be very “bright” in the next few days.

So, the next time you want to get out of the city congestion and just enjoy cleans fresh country air, organic produce and a supermarket with no hovering, hop in a vehicle and take a trip to the serene countryside village of farm Mahaicony. See you next week!!!

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• Anasa Williams, community, Farm, Mahaicony New Road, Village Focus

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