Hope grows in ‘Egypt’ - St Elizabeth woman brings farming spirit to Kingston’s inner city

What was once an overgrown dumpsite in the heart of Rema in western Kingston is now a fully functioning livestock farm, built from the ground up by 59-year-old Claudia Rowe and her partner, Anthony 'Goddies' Kaydian.

Rema, officially known as Wilton Gardens, has long been associated with political violence, entrenched poverty, and limited infrastructure. Since the 1970s, the inner-city community has been a flashpoint for gang conflicts, its name more often tied to crime reports than to stories of enterprise. Yet, in the middle of its narrow lanes and zinc fences, Rowe has carved out a farm more reminiscent of the rural parishes she grew up in.

"I'm not from here, I'm from St Elizabeth. I basically brought the farming to town," she said. "Before I moved here, I never think seh it possible to have a farm in Kingston. I was just looking somewhere to live."

When the couple settled in Rema 18 years ago, the property was nothing more than tangled bush and discarded refuse. "Toilet, bed, everything them throw round here," she recalled. Where piles of rusting appliances once rotted under vines, goats now graze in neat pens, chickens scratch in the dust, and a pond for Tilapia fish is being dug by hand.

They started with pumpkins, then moved to pigs before focusing on goats and chickens. At its peak, the farm had 70 to 80 goats, but stray dogs recently killed several.

"We did have a lot of goat, but dog come in pan we and kill off some," Rowe told THE STAR.

Theft and vandalism were common in the early years. "When we just start off, a lot of time dem come thief the livestock and do a whole heap of things, but eventually it kinda calm off."

The farm sits in a section of Rema that locals call Egypt. Its upkeep is funded mostly from the couple's small shop in the community, with Kaydian, who built the fish pond himself, handling much of the manual work. They are now taking steps to register the farm as an official business.

The farm has also become home for a 14-year-old boy from the area, who the couple fosters. Rowe first met him when he came knocking for food. Later, government officials approached her about her care for him and custody was granted through the court. He said, "Mi love the farm and mi love help out mi mummy."

Their neighbour, Dane, said the transformation speaks for itself. "Fi tell yuh the truth, this a come from so far. Fi see the growth is a good look," he said, noting that anyone who knew the property before would see the difference.

In a place where many young people grow up surrounded by more examples of survival than success, Dane said, the sight of a thriving farm is proof that possibility still exists.

"It's not just about the goat or the chicken," Rowe said. "It's about showing that good can come from here, and that's something the young people need to see."