Among the residents of Bendroff Village are Henry Kippins and his family. This farmer moved back to the village after his children finished secondary school, and he has been there for seven years.
The Williams family – Photo By: Carl Croker
He lived in Vergenoegen, East Bank Essequibo (EBE) for some years, after which he chose to return to quiet Bendroff.
“The children are all grown, five of them; the last is 16 years old so we can do our farming and have our peaceful life undisturbed in here,” he said.
Kippins resides with his wife and his wife’s mother, who is 89 years old and still assists on the farm. They have converted the land space in their yard to a farm of citrus, ground provisions, cherries, guava, soursop, and many other fruits and vegetables which are sold at the Parika Market on weekends.
Kippins said his father is Amerindian and hails from Goshen, Essequibo River, and his mother is from High Park, Parika. He is accustomed to the hard farming life, and it is easy to tell by the many trees that his yard has.
The father of five stated that he would normally rear meat birds and layers, but last month a deadly disease caused all his poultry to die rapidly within a short space of time.
This family would use the produce from their farm and also sell the excess at the market. The Kippins are enterprising and talented people who make Crabwood oil for their home use.
“We do what we have to, go our way, and it is all well because here we don’t have to worry about thieves or anything like that. It’s the back of nowhere, and the road is a dam, so not very many people would risk coming here to commit a crime,” he said.
Compton Williams and his family
Farther down the dam, Compton Williams and his family, which consists of 10 children, resides. Williams is a labourer on a large farm, but he also has some ducks, chickens, and ten rabbits, which he rears in his yard.
He explained that the rabbits would roam the forested area daily and return at nightfall. A place in his yard is sectioned off for the ducks and chickens.
“I am living here on the land that is privately owned, but the owner gave me this place to live and take care of,” he said.
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- Henry Kippins, his wife and her mother – Photo By: Carl Croker
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- Shirley Halls, 89-years-old – Photo By: Carl Croker
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- Crabwood seed being dried to make oil – Photo By: Carl Croker
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- Compton Williams – Photo By: Carl Croker
The 60-year-old disclosed that life in Bendroff Village is not easy, but he tries his best to provide for his family. He resides in a part of the village where there are no neighbours, and he has a small cultivation for himself.
“Being a labourer on a large farm is hard work, but what will I do for a living here when there isn’t much, so I have to do it, and I would say life is fair,” he said.
[Extracted and Modified from Guyana Chronicle]
