Dear Editor,
While the media is abuzz with the pros and cons of the future of the sugar industry and the fate of its thousands of employees, it is heart-warming to see the development of the Skeldon Estate Heritage & Recreation Park, which is a brainchild of the current estate manager, with support from her principals.
This park essentially represents a profit centre, with employment opportunities for many otherwise unemployed staff, converting the liability of the unused Senior Staff Compound with all the sunken costs by renting the many empty Senior Staff Houses, and opening up to the public, at affordable fees, the use of the staff club, swimming pool, children’s playground, tennis court etc spread across the extensive lawns, with beautiful trees and flowers, which must be maintained lest what is now a pristine compound turns into an ugly forest.
This initiative is not only financially sound, but it represents the breaking down of an age-old, anachronistic barrier between the privileged classes and rank & file citizens in the community and the country at large, as well as overseas-based Guyanese who return to their homeland for vacations. The body language and expressions of joy on the faces of the men, women and children of the local community and others as far away as Georgetown, as they use the erstwhile ‘forbidden’ facilities, speak volumes for this socio-anthropological breakthrough. (I often recall and recoil at the personal inferiority complex which overshadowed my boyhood days at Blairmont Estate, when the invisible barrier along the public road which runs through the Senior Staff Compound was so strong that I suffered mortal fear when I had to scamper on the lawns to retrieve my bumper ball; lest Mr Edoo, the compound foreman, apprehend me with a good thrashing with his ‘koodari’ (walking stick)!
As far as I am aware, the initiative includes use of the Skeldon Heritage House (known as the Big House), conducted tours via empty cane punts through the cane cultivation, as well as walks through the old and new sugar factory, rental of the Training Building for occasional meetings and longer-term residential training activities, conventions etc.
Bravo, Skeldon
Management!
Sincerely,
Nowrang Persaud
