“I came here about five years ago from West Berbice but I find it ok here because it peaceful,” said Roy Shivdat, one of the less than 200 residents who live in the Region One mining community of Arakaka.
The settlement is located along the left bank of the Barima River, and is mainly accessed via a diversion from the main roadway which connects the more populated Matthew’s Ridge and Port Kaituma communities. It is a thirty to forty-five minute drive from the main roadway into the area.
Arakaka begins at the “Four mile stretch” where a number of small miners’ camps are visible along the side of the road. The sounds of the land dredges can be heard miles away, and as