There was a time in the history of Trinidad when charcoal was the preferred fuel for cooking.

As it other countries, the making of coal became a trade and business, and people living near forests found jobs as coal burners.

The age of liquid petroleum gas effectively ended the era of charcoal production.

But there is a village where the past is still the present.

Turure, a coal-producing village, is sandwiched between Valencia and Guaico in East Trinidad.

In years gone by, it  prospered, employing hundreds, the smoke rising from the burning logs a constant scene in the village.

Some worked in the actual burning of the wood, others in bagging the product, while sawmillers found a ready market for timber that would otherwise be discarded.

Some of the charcoal was exported, the rest went under local coal pots.

What’s produced now is for the barbecue.

It has left the Turure industry tottering.

And now imported coal from Guyana is coming at a cheaper price.

The wholesale price is currently $40 a 100-pound bag, while the Guyana charcoal is nearly half the price.

Raymond Hosein lives at Tattoo Trace, Turure.

He has been a coal burner for the past 15 years.

’ I learnt how to do it from my uncle who died recently,’ he told the Express.

He said life in Turure lends itself naturally to burning coal since the timber is readily available.

The fumes from the coal pits, he insists, did not affect any of the residents.

’We use mostly mora to make coals and it is similar to the hardwood used in Guyana.’

He said, ’After cleaning the pit, the (fertiliser) is given freely to farmers for use in their plantain fields.’

Hosein produces some 5,000 pounds of charcoal annually.

He said the process of making charcoal was simple.

Most of the pits are located near a source of water.

’We do not have pipe water here so we have to depend on water from the ravines to cool the pits when the fire is too fierce. ’

Villager Joseph Ramnarine said he got into the industry after working at a sawmill in Valencia.

’The coal business is very slow these days. I have not made any coals for the past few months. Most of the coals is coming from Guyana.

’I think Government should step in and provide some protection for the industry before it is too late.’

But there is something more to Turure that may just save it. The soil is rich for planting papaw, cucumber and pumpkin, and there is adequate pasture for cattle.

There are also several sand and gravel pits that supply raw materials for the construction industry.

Ramnarine said many coal farmers were forced to turn to growing vegetables and rearing of animals to survive.

Most of their crops are sold at the vegetable market at Macoya.

Other farmers have either rented or leased lands at Turure.

Most of the land is owned by the State.

Turure is a ward of the County of St Andrew and legally documents it, not as a village, but as a ward.

The roads leading in and out are surfaced with gravel or compacted sand and most of the houses do not have a supply of pipe-borne water.

There is also a lack of social recreational facilities available.

Yet it endures.