Nature takes over home

Article by LISA KING

Pearline Downes lives as close to Mother Nature as it is possible to get without leaving her home.

So many of the floor boards to her home are missing that she does not have to step outside to walk in the dirt. There’s no need to garden outside because what little roof cover there is, is complemented by the wild vine that grows over everything, even providing the added security of holding the rickety structure together.

And she does not have to open any door or window to enjoy the cool, soothing breezes that are synonymous with Bathsheba, St Joseph, for her home has more holes than the proverbial sieve.

But it is all Downes has right now and it is the 69-year-old’s castle.

Downes reported that when she bought the house back in 1988, it was in good condition, but more than 20 years of wear and tear compounded by a blow from Tropical Storm Tomas in 2010 has left it in tatters. With a portion of its roof blown away, she sought refuge next door at her daughter’s, a residence that was also occupied by her grandson.

Last week, however, she added, she was told to leave and had had no alternative but to return to what remained of her own house – vine covered and uninhabitable as it is.