By Roxanne Clarke
With photos by Anjuli Persaud
Den Amstel lies about seven miles from Vreed-en-Hoop, sandwiched between Blankenburg to the east, and Hague to the west. The village is sited on what was once a plantation of the same name. A Dutch planter called his estate Den Amstel, after the river which flows through the city of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, from which he presumably came.
The population of the village comprises approximately three thousand people of mostly African descent. The area is divided into three sections: Den Amstel Sea View, Den Amstel Housing Scheme and Den Amstel Old Road. The old road was the main means of access to the village in earlier days; however, in the year 1974, the main West Coast Demerara Highway was constructed displacing the old road as the primary route into the community.
Overseer George Nedd has been the area’s administrator for the past five years. He calls special meetings among the
