$7M shade tunnel to equip women at Timehri Prison with farming skills

Some 30 women in custody at the Timehri Women’s Prison are expected to benefit from a new $7 million shade tunnel designed to support food production and provide practical agricultural skills for use after their release.
The facility was handed over to the Guyana Prison Service (GPS) on Tuesday by the Rotary Club of Garden City (RCGC), with funding from the Massy Foundation (Guyana).

The 100-foot-by-30-foot structure will be used to grow cash crops, with prison officers overseeing its daily operation. The National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI) will continue to provide technical support, including guidance on soil testing and planting.
At the handover ceremony, RCGC President Pearson Burch-Smith said the crops on display were not the first planted in the tunnel, as problems beneath the soil had affected the initial planting.
The club subsequently sought technical assistance from NAREI, which helped identify the problems and guide the successful replanting.
Burch-Smith said the experience demonstrated the importance of seeking guidance and making changes when faced with setbacks.
“Life may not unfold as hoped at first, but with guidance and support, you can make changes in your life that yield a more fruitful future,” he said.
Representing the Massy Foundation, Teisha Milner, Senior Manager of Massy Distribution (Guyana) Ltd, said the project supports the foundation’s priorities of food security, access to education, and health and wellbeing.
She explained that the facility would facilitate crop production, provide hands-on agricultural learning and improve access to fresh produce, while giving the women an opportunity to participate in a productive activity.
“We believe that investing in people means creating opportunities to develop skills, build confidence, and prepare for the future,” Milner said.
Superintendent of Prisons Abeid DeCunha, representing the Prison Service, said the initiative supports the agency’s responsibility to produce food for inmates while equipping them with practical skills to assist their reintegration into society.
He expressed interest in further collaboration with the Rotary Club of Garden City to support the women and their transition back into their communities.
The Timehri project follows an earlier shade tunnel established by RCGC at the Phoenix Recovery drug rehabilitation facility in Yarrowkabra, Soesdyke. Both initiatives combine food production with rehabilitation and skills development to prepare beneficiaries for life beyond the institutions.
DeCunha accepted the facility on behalf of the Prison Service. Representatives of the three organisations subsequently participated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony and toured the structure.
The shade tunnel provides a covered growing space that offers shade and helps protect crops from exposure to weather conditions. Its operation at Timehri is expected to give the women practical experience in crop cultivation while contributing to food production within the prison system.