Among dead bodies at the Tunapuna Public Cemetery gravedigger Ricardo Alvarez lives and cultivates organic crops, which he sells to mourners and motorists.
It’s not an ideal place where Alvarez, 54, grows watermelons, herbs, patchoi, hot peppers, pigeon peas and melongene on a small scale, but this is how he supplements his income, relaxes himself and puts a meal on the table.
On Friday, chairman of the Tunapuna/Piarco Regional Corporation Edwin Gooding said no one, including Alvarez, should be living in a cemetery, far less cultivating crops there. He said the corporation will visit the graveyard to get all unauthorised occupants out and try to assist them in whatever way possible.
“We have to treat with these people in a humane way. These people want to be on their own. Nothing is wrong in growing crops. But if people know where they are grown they would be upset over that.”
In a cramped, heated, four feet by six feet concrete tomb, Alvarez, a father of two girls, lives comfortably among his worldly possessions- two discarded car seats, a dingy mattress, a small radio and his clothing. He said he got permission to occupy the tomb from its owners—a Hindu family, who often visits him.
“They told me I can live in the tomb once I keep it clean,” said Alvarez.
Outside the tomb, Alvarez cultivates crops in three plastic troughs using soil he says he obtained outside the burial ground. Pigeon peas and water melon plants were also seen growing near the main entrance of the graveyard.
Last week, Alvarez sold eight heads of patchoi for $40 to a motorist who was passing through the cemetery. His customer did not seem too perturbed that the crops were grown in the troughs, among the dead.
“This is how I does make my little change on the side,” Alvarez confessed, while sprinkling his healthy-looking plants using a jug of water.
“People accustom buying from me. I sold quite a few things already. I too does eat what I plant because I don’t use chemicals or pesticides on my plants. Everything is organic... totally natural and healthy,” he said.
Alvarez’s passion for agriculture spans over two decades. He first started planting in Las Cuevas with other farmers.
At that time, he lived in Morvant and commuting back and forth to the fields started to take a toll on him. His family’s life was also affected.
“The crime and violence in Morvant also made me run. That’s when I came to this cemetery and started digging graves and living. I am happy here. I am not afraid of the dead. It’s the living you have to fear.”
Alvarez said that several homeless people tried to take control of his tomb, which stands out among the others. A day’s work of grave digging can earn Alvarez as much as $600.
“When work is scarce I would tend to my crops. The money I make from this is small. But it gives me a sense of satisfaction and keeps me out of trouble. If I could get a piece of land to plant I would do it full time. I don’t run from hard work. I really love agriculture. I think this is the only way out of the country’s economic crisis. We need to diversify from oil and gas,” Alvarez said.
Alvarez said the idea of growing crops in the cemetery came to him when he stumbled upon three weather-beaten troughs at the roadside in Tunapuna several months ago. When the Trinidad Guardian visited him last week, several fully grown hot peppers were seen hanging from one plant, while a young melongene had sprouted from another.
Not far from his tomb, a variety of herbs swayed in the breeze.
“People are amazed when they come to pay their respects to the dead and see my crops. It takes away from their grief and sadness. It shows that at least there is life and something positive in the cemetery,” Alvarez said.