It took the intervention of the then Chief Minister, Dr. Eric Williams to save villagers waking up daily in a place which was a living slur to their ancestors.

The village in south Trinidad had been called "Cooliewood" for donkey's years, much to the chagrin of residents who were all from pure East Indian indentured labourer stock.

But in 1958, Williams paid a visit to nearby Debe and Cooliewood during a flying trip to the southland, and in response to the plea from the villagers the "Doc", in a burst of pure inspiration, renamed their hometown with the dignified title of Gandhi Village.

"Here was Cooliewood and when Williams came we tell him, hear nah man we eh like dat name so he change it to Gandhi Village," said 94-year-old Boodhoo Kalpoo, whose parents came from India during the period of indentureship to work on Petit Morne sugar estate.

Kalpoo said, "Long time here was only bush, big tree and swamp. Doh talk about mosquitoes, one time ah see one nearly big as a bird.

"After de contract ten families came here, and my father Kalpoo was one. Now de place so full you cyah get a little piece ah land to plant bodi."

He continued, "Long time we use to build de house with tapia and cover them with cane leaf, afterwards we put carat, but now is galvanize."

Now Gandhi village has been transformed into a thriving rural community of some 1,200 persons, who are mostly peasant farmers.

Most of the original settlers came on the second ship from India to Trinidad, and went to Petit Morne Estate.

Kalpoo said, "Most of the villagers are Hindus. There are only four Muslim families, but during the Divali celebrations the village looks like a big bush fire when everybody light deyas."

Ramoutar Seenath is the village sculptor. Over the years he has mastered the art of making murtis (statues). He has been doing this since he was a boy, and continues to follow the family tradition of being craftsmen.

"When I was going to school I started to make models out of plaster of Paris, now I am using concrete to make my murtis." Seenath sells his craft at San Fernando and other districts in south Trinidad. His sister Drupatie is the only seamstress in the village. After her training she opened a small shop to service her clients.

Gandhi Village is noted for some of the finest musicians. There you can find some of the best ramayan singers in the country. The members of the ramayan group travel to different parts of the country to entertain their listeners.

A unique feature of the village is the establishment of a village parliament that debates all issues regarding the lifestyle in the village. The meetings are similar to the panchayat system where elders sit in judgement. In their case, the parliament deals mostly with issues affecting the youths.

Alvan Khan, a leading member of the parliament said, "Since we started the parliament we have invited all the youths to take part in debates."

The parliament is located at the junction, opposite a bar, and meetings are held weekly. "We don’t lime here, we talk about real problems affecting the community, then we write letters to different people to highlight our plights," said Khan.

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