There is an air of quiet. Most houses are closed; their occupants are off at work and school. The yards are thick with plants and here and there gigantic trees stick out; some are broad and covered in leaves, others just scrawny. Hens and roosters scratch for grain, dogs prowl about and cats stretch out lazily in the sun. A few brightly-painted shops are open, awaiting customers. Pump attendants at a gas station get busy as buses file in. Some distance away, a sawmill teems with life and much noise. And on the main road trucks honk their horns and vehicles speed by. This is Coverden.
as plant pots
At Jermine Munroe’s yard, there are hanging plants in bleach bottles. Munroe lives with his wife, a cousin and a nephew whom he takes care of. He moved to Coverden two years ago from Wortmanville, Georgetown. He was preparing for his afternoon shift at the Guyana Revenue Authority at Timehri. He said he moved from the city because he wanted to get into a life of farming.
“I started rearing chickens in town… but once I got into it, I liked it. Then once I got into chickens, I was curious about farming, hence the hydroponics,” Munroe said. He’s experimenting with hydroponics before he decides if he should go bigger. Currently he has planted a small amount of lettuce, callaloo and tomato. Although he has no meat birds now, he still rears them.
He has all of the services he would have had in the city: electricity, potable water, access to internet, telephones and street lights. He adds, “There’s an advantage in rearing chickens in Coverden since we have sawmills to provide us with shavings and feed suppliers are nearby also.”
As we speak little Lavone sits eating his lunch having just come from school; he leaves with his