Growing Up Off-Grid in Rural Jamaica: My Childhood in New Hall, Manchester

In the hills of New Hall, five miles outside Mandeville, my childhood home sat on land gifted by my grandfather. At nearly 1,900 feet above sea level, the region's cool climate earned it the nickname “Cool, Cool Mandeville.” Life without electricity or running water was simply the reality of parts of rural Jamaica in the 1970s.

Our cinder block house with its forest-green exterior overlooked rolling hills filled with fruit trees and grazing animals. We raised cows, goats, chickens, pigeons, rabbits—and yes, even a pet crocodile kept in a secure enclosure.

No electricity meant kerosene lamps for reading and Tilley lamps for special occasions. Clothes were washed by hand in metal tubs and ironed with charcoal-heated irons. Food was bought fresh or slaughtered the same day. Refrigeration came from large blocks of ice delivered from Mandeville and stored in an icebox.

Water was collected from rooftop gutters into a massive underground tank, then hand-pumped into elevated drums for gravity-fed use. These small challenges taught us ingenuity early.

Many people romanticize simple living, but for those of us who have lived it, it has built something deeper: resourcefulness and appreciation for what we have.

These formative years built the foundation for the resilience I would later need throughout my life's journey.

Life Lesson: Hardships in childhood quietly and unconsciously plant the seeds of lifelong resilience and ingenuity.

Get your copy of the book—Life Lessons from Two Worlds: My Jamaican-American Journey—read the full story

Available on Amazon in Hardcover, Paperback, and eBook: https://a.co/d/0aAonu6U.