More than a century ago, an Arawak family of six—two parents with their three daughters and one son—left their home in a little place called Dawa in the Essequibo in search of an area that had enough trees to provide lumber for building. Their search took them to Mashabo.
The Amerindian community, which now has a total of 450 men, women and children, is situated on the Essequibo Coast across a lake of the same name, the largest of five in the area. Persons getting to and from the village do so using a bus that runs along the road leading from the Essequibo Public Road to the lake at periodic times. Once they get to the lake they call a boatman to come pick them up, using one of several telephone numbers written in boat shed there. The ride across the calm black waters of the lake to the village takes approximately 15 minutes; thousands of palm trees decorate the scenic lake.
Prior to 1983, the lake was a savannah, with a creek running through; then the creek was blocked at one end allowing for the water to back up leading to it becoming the biggest lake on the coast. This was done to provide water for the rice farms that once grew at one end of the lake.
