Nabaclis

By Mandy Thompson
Photos by Anjuli Persaud

Nabaclis sits between the communities of Golden Grove and Cove and John on the East Coast of Demerara (ECD), and is well known for its numerous food stalls that sell white pudding, homemade bread and pastries on a daily basis.

According to local tradition, the village got its name after residents opposed a list comprising the names of leaders who were in charge of it in colonial days. In expressing their antagonism towards the list residents choose to encourage each other to “nah back d list,” hence the name, Nabaclis.

The small village comprises of a population of about 1000 people whose main economic activities are small businesses and farming. Food vendors and small enterprises line the entrance of Middle Walk Road, and this newspaper was told that a large number of households also depend on remittances from family and friends overseas.

Every yard in Nabaclis has a fruit tree and most of them also have a breadfruit tree as well. All of the latter were loaded with breadfruit when Sunday Stabroek visited, since they are now in season. Everyone in Nabaclis is related either through blood or kinship, residents said.

Sixty-seven year-old, Wendell Trotman, who is a retired farmer, has spent his entire life living in Nabaclis. He said that the village was once a cotton plantation but villagers also used to cultivate sugarcane in the olden days.

The quietness and the fact that the village is crime free were the two characteristics which most residents cited as the reasons they were happy living there.  We caught up with Devon Sam, the barber who is known for delivering a pregnant woman in June at his barber’s shop after no doctor could be found at the Dr CC Nicholson Hospital. He was busy attending to customers who were lined up waiting to have their hair cut. He told us that he is always busy at work because of the number of customers he has to attend to on a daily basis, and hardly has the time to enjoy the Saturday afternoon limes. He said that he has been doing barbering for a very long time in the community, adding that he admires people in the village because “every morning everybody get up an find something to do.”

A trip along Middle Walk Road, takes you into the backlands of the village where farming is done. A group of boys sat under the landmark tamarind tree, located a stone’s throw from the public road, enjoying an afternoon lime and making cat-calls at the girls who passed.

Hulda Josiah, a retired nurse who still volunteers her services at the Dr CC Nicholson Hospital told us that she is not from Nabaclis, but moved there after she married. She said that the village is a bit boring for her with limited opportunities for young people. There are not many activities for young people in the area, she went on, and so they resort to smoking and drinking.

Nurse Josiah also said that the number of farmers is not growing because “When you farm people steal your things, even in here [pointing to her banana tree in her front yard]. I would leave a bunch a banana and go out an when ah come back it gone.” She contrasted the attitude of young people in the community today with those in the past. “The dressing for young people today is so… they have no respect for elders the way they dress, talk…” she remarked.  She also observed that the attitudes of youths in the community today were not very helpful since everything was about money.

When asked what changes she would like to see in the village she responded, “The way young people carry themselves should be changed, as well as having some activities for them after school.”

Most of the people in Nabaclis emphasised the need for more development in the area, including the deplorable Middle Walk Road. They also stressed the need for proper health care in the community since the Dr CC Nicholson’s Hospital does not seem to have a doctor on duty regularly.
Butcher, Nigel Ward, who operates the SSS Butchery at the head of the Middle Walk Road supplies villagers with beef, chicken and pork.  In company with two friends he was taking a  drink in his shop when he spoke with us. For him, life in Nabaclis is wonderful, and he described the attitude of the residents as jovial and friendly. He said that he has been operating his butcher’s shop for over 20 years, during which time his customers were the same group of people.

Business for him over the years has been a bit challenging since the amount of meat he sells on a daily basis has now has decreased compared to what was sold in the past. However, he is still trying with the business. He told us that most people in the village are family, adding “that’s why I can’t hustle girl in here; I does go outside.”

Food vendor, Desiree Thomas, sells egg balls, channa, and white and black pudding from a small stand at the corner of the public road. Desiree said that she has been operating her business on Fridays and Saturdays for over 20 years now. She explained that her food stand has assisted her throughout the years and from it she has been able to throw her “box hand.”

For Faye Adams, Nabaclis is the place she calls home after she took up residence a few years ago. However she is worried that she would no longer be able to enjoy this peaceful community or operate her small bar in the area since she has been asked to move from the premises she is currently renting. Faye related to us that she is

worried that if she does not find a place in the community she would be forced to go to another village. She said, “If me have to move out from me business I would find it hard you know to travel.”