COOPER’S Hill, which is located above the Rio Grande Valley in western Portland, is a small farming community where residents work together for the community’s development, despite the small population and bad road conditions.

Coyd Wiggins, who farms cash crops and common fowls, thinkS that education is important and more can be done to improve the community.

“Everybody here is involved in small farming with crops like bananas, plantains, negro and sweet yams and animals like goats, cows and chickens in small amounts.

“The farmers could do more if they get help, so everyone has to push out on their own. The youth do their little farming and some are not interested, but I think if they were getting a little help it would be different.

“We need some help with seedlings, fertilizer and chemicals. Coffee was plenty here, but the price and crop went down so persons turned to other crops as it demanded a lot of work and the results were not good.

“I was in coffee and stopped, but now the price has improved I will go back into it. If we get a push-start like with the cattle, with a revolving herd, that can work. The community is about 200 persons.

“The school is playing a very important role as without education you will not progress and reach anywhere even with the farming.

“If one is going to do farming, you have to be able to read to know how to use the chemicals and other things,” Wiggins said.

Isolyn Holgate is one of the many female farmers in the area.

“The farming is not bad here. We just want to get some help with fertilizers as some of us are in bananas, coffee, plantains and peppers. If we get that the farming will progress.

“We have to take our produce to the Port Antonio market or the market truck to the Coronation Market on Wednesdays or Fridays.

“The road is bad, very bad, so the cost to go to Port Antonio is $250 and we have to pay for the load separately, so it is very rough on us here. We do cash crops sometimes, but because of the rain sometimes it doesn’t work out good.

“I am still in coffee as I have started to clean up an area for coffee, and some people start ’cause the price coming back. We need some help to get us back on good footing and start to clear up some land. We can manage and we not giving up,” she said.

Anthony Ross is the principal of the Cooper’s Hill Primary and Infant School and is also involved in farming.

“I see Cooper’s Hill as the next place to Eden; the place is fresh, the people are friendly and they are farmers, and that is in me also. Cooper’s Hill has become my home – I am from St Thomas – for various reasons.

“There was only the primary school here and there was the need to cater for the children at the earlier age, as when they come to the school they were behind students at other schools in the same age group without the fundament educational experience, so I approached the ministry of education, specifically the regional director and the education officer, and they agreed.

“We started with a parent volunteering, then I got a teacher in the early childhood to help this early stimulation as I pushed for this to get the infants up and running.

“We got approval and both are now being paid by the ministry of education; and both are from the community, hence the economic benefit.

“The school is a small one. In grade one we have 20 students, and from grades two to xix we have 23 students.

“The parents send the children to the school and that is good as the children get one-to-one supervision and the parents come in and learn and talk with the teachers. This helps with their own literacy and numeracy.

“The school welcomes them and this helps them to guide their children,” Ross stated with pride beaming in his eyes.

Ross further indicated that a number of programmes have been forged with the school and the community like the 4H, scouting, gardening and farming, numeracy and literacy programmes.

“The parents will be coming in Labour Day (today May 23) to help develop the play area and some painting of the school. The community protects the institution and they help with the farming and cleaning of the land.

“The farmers are involved with the planting of sorrel, plantains, coffee, bananas, peppers and various vegetables. There are about 120 persons living in this community and we have surrounding community like Dumfries, Ross pointed out.

Devin Newton-McLeod is a young farmer.

”I am a farmer. I raise animals and plant bananas, plantains and peppers. It is difficult and we need some help as small farmers.

“I have to sell produce to higglers for little or nothing and sometimes I don’t get paid for the goods.

“Some (higglers) will take and when they come back they pay. I go to the market sometimes, but that is rough as you don’t get no time to rest. It’s costly and sometimes [as soon as] you make the little money, you have to spend it back on your family”.

Delroy Brissett is also a young farmer.

“I raise a one cow and a few goats and some fowls. I do a little banana planting as well.

“I do some mason work as I use my skill, but the farming is the main thing. Sometimes some goats come in and destroy what I plant, but I talk to the people them and they are cooperating. It not bad still,” he said.

George West, another youth, does hunting of wild hogs.

“I do a little farming still and some hunting in the Nanny Town area, but one thing about the area, we need some water and better roads. “Di higgler dem buy wi produce fi little and nothing and it come in like hand to mouth. I go to the Blue Mountain area, and when I go there I do some farming and spend some time there hunting wild hogs,” West said, while informing that wild hogs are used mainly for jerking.

Walder Valentine is an elderly farmer over eighty years old and he was seen walking to his farm.

“I look about some animals and I am going to check on them. I also do some plantains and pineapples. The farmers need help, and I think the extension officers need to get back and talk to the farmers about what to do.

“When you ask for them they will come and help us. We need to build back the farmers’ group. The principal is a nice man and getting the community going [and] that is good for us,” he said with a smile.