Jamal Brown wrote and took us back in time.

“I am fascinated with Caribbean History, for History is not merely a subject – it is our way of life, and a perfect way of viewing the world around us.

I want my generation to fully understand and appreciate the historical experiences that have brought us this far, and the mindsets and attitudes that kept our fore-parents happy, hopeful and determined in the simpler times. That way, we’ll be better prepared to navigate our way through the inescapable challenges and demands of a rapidly changing world.

These photographs depict rural community life and livelihoods in St. Vincent in the 1950s and 1960s.”

A cottage at ‘Bay Road’, St. Vincent 1952: The owner had already finalized payments on his land, and was a proud holder of a Title Deed.

‘Basin Hole’ Village, St. Vincent 1952: This photograph shows the “higgledy-piggledy” siting of the huts and the type of structure which “pock-marked” the entire area before the Mt. Bentick Slum Clearance Scheme was started.

A traditional hut at ‘Basin Hole’ Village, St. Vincent, 1952

Rural slum clearance in St. Vincent by aided self-help, 1952: This cottage was constructed in a newly regularized village, and measured 8’x14′. A 6′ gallery was typically added by the new homeowners when funds became available.

A completed cottage in one the new villages established under the Slum Clearance Scheme of 1952, St. Vincent.

A shingled cottage constructed in the new village, St. Vincent, 1952.

Rural slum clearance in St. Vincent by aided self-help, 1952: Mt. Bentick ‘Bay Road’ Village is seen here after the squatter regularization and cleans

up. This village was in many ways similar to ‘Basin Hole’ Village.

Rural slum clearance in St. Vincent by aided self-help, 1952: The main street of a new village established as a “spill-over area”.

This gentleman and his spouse can be seen here making concrete bricks for their new home, St. Vincent 1952.

‘Basin Hole’, St. Vincent, 1952: This photograph shows the way in which huts were constructed in some parts of the island in the early to mid-1900s. The structures quite notably pock-marked the entire area before the Mt. Bentick Slum Clearance Scheme commenced.

Terrace cultivation on St. Vincent’s west coast, December 1960.

Part of the Stoney Ground Housing Scheme with the North River in the foreground. St. Vincent, 1960.

This gentleman can be seen filling baskets from Arrowroot stacks at the Government-owned Central Arrowroot Factory in Belle Vue, St. Vincent, 1960.

This photograph shows bananas being cultivated in the shelter of coconut trees in Mount Wynne, St. Vincent, 1960.

Port Elizabeth, Bequia (1952/ 1953)

A view of Kingstown from Cane Garden, St. Vincent, 1960.

A near-aerial view of the town of Layou on St. Vincent’s west coast, 1960.