Arising out of recommendations of the Soulbury Commission,  the Colonial Government enacted the Sugar Industry Special Funds Ordinance No. 12 of 1948 (now the Sugar Industry Special Funds Act, Chap. 64:04 of the Laws of Trinidad and Tobago) to provide housing for workers in the sugar industry.

In 1951, the Sugar Industry Labour Welfare Committee (SILWC) (Chap. 64:05) was empowered to control and manage the Special Funds.   Its mandate can be summarized as follows:

• The provision of soft loans for first-time house construction and repair/renovation loans
• The development of housing settlements
• The maintenance of the infrastructure in the housing settlements
• Provision of welfare benefits

From its inception, SILWC utilized the ‘gayap’ system in house construction, a concept which encouraged beneficiaries to engage the assistance of family and friends, in the construction of their homes. The system ultimately resulted in the considerable reduction of cost in the construction of dwelling houses.  Beneficiaries of housing loans were given the opportunity to construct houses on freehold, leasehold and rented lands at subsidized interest rates.  The Committee’s housing loan programme was ceased in February, 2007.

Under the programme, the Committee had disbursed in excess of $80m in housing loans to facilitate the provision of shelter for over eighty-two thousand (82,000) citizens.  In the process, the Committee was successful in the complete eradication of the barrack system of housing within the sugar industry.

The Committee’s mandate of developing lands for housing was materialized with its twenty-two (22) housing settlements.  Some of these housing developments are located in the following areas:

• Macoya and Maloney (North Trinidad)
• Orange Field Road, Carapichaima and Dow Village, California (Central Trinidad)
• Brothers Garth, Williamsville; Cedar Hill, Princes Town;  Picton Diamond, San Fernando and Bien Venue, La Romain (South Trinidad)

With the limited funds available, the upgrading of infrastructure works was undertaken to ensure a reasonable standard of living in the housing settlements.

Welfare benefits were derived from donations received from schools, social groups and religious bodies.  Disbursements by the Committee, were however, dependent on the availability of funds.

The closure of Caroni (1975) Limited in July, 2003, and the uncertainty of the future of the sugar industry prompted SILWC to embark on an exercise to prepare a three-year Strategic Plan for the period 2004-2006.

The preferred option in the Strategic Plan focused on legislative changes governing the operations of SILWC and the establishment of revenue generating business units with a complete focus on rural development.