Dear Editor,
Some time ago I was chatting with the family of Joseph B Simon (including his wife and adult children, all of whom have families of their own), and everyone was in agreement that one excellent way to provide employment and preserve their natural pristine environment at the southern end of Pakuri Lokono-Arawak Territory in Region 4 (aka St Cuthbert’s Mission), was via eco-tourism. This is based on the inspirational lead of Guyana’s foremost pioneer of indigenous tourism and our new Minister of Indigenous Affairs, Mr Sydney Allicock.
I have personally been doing my part to attract visitors to Guyana over the last 20 years and according to my records I have been able to send 1,000 satisfied visitors to this great country of ours during these past two decades, mostly put on to other operators.
However, this is not the focus of my few lines here. To make a very long story short, I decided to provide US$10,000 ($2 million) to Mr Simon and his family to achieve what I am now pleased to announce is the only completely indigenous owned and operated combined homestay eco-lodge and wildlife sanctuary in all of Guyana.
The beauty of this place lies in the careful blend of tradition with modernity; you can watch cassava bread-making and cassava beer-making (and consume both when done!), palm straw manufacture, basketry, bow and arrow making, dug-out canoe-making ‒to give a few examples ‒ all from beginning to end, and enjoy three meals daily. There are two different sleeping options at night, viz, in cotton hammocks furnished with mosquito nets under troolie-roofed traditional huts outdoors, or queen or king-sized beds with modern mattresses, pillows, sheets, mosquito nets, etc. You also have a hand-made 5 foot long traditional bow and quiver full of arrows hanging in your room to practise on their archery range whenever you want to. Mr Joseph Simon made these himself (he also makes the dug-out canoes and was featured in the BBC documentary ‘Spirit of the Jaguar’ easily found on YouTube making a canoe on Pakuri territory years ago). Mr Simon is also featured in the Walter Roth Museum of Anthropology, since he is one of the last Arawak master traditional craftsmen left alive in Guyana, and he does the full range of traditional mukru basketry as well (from sifters to matapis and all the baskets in between). It is truly an honour and a privilege to be able to spend time with this respected and beloved elder of his nation, and I am proud to call him my father-in-law.
Of course, there is also hiking in the jungles or savannas by day or night, fishing, canoe paddling, swimming in the river, engine boat rides to see the rare canje pheasant (hoatzin) nesting sites, etc.
Even having yourself temporarily bodily tatooed in traditional ancient designs is an option available for you to spend the days, but these things can also be done in other indigenous communities across Guyana as I know for a fact (from visiting multiple communities) that people with great ideas exist everywhere in our country, and very often they only need someone to back them up with some financial support.
As a founder member and immediate past President of the Caribbean Amerindian Develop-ment Organization/CADO (based in Barbados), I even flew our Guyana born (Belgian trained) construction project manager and volunteer (Mr Steve Campbell) to Guyana to help the Simon family get all they need done professionally. Surely other small businessmen such as myself can do similarly, as I am by no means a wealthy person by any stretch of the imagination.
I would like to encourage other members of the private sector to reach out in a meaningful way and help make someone else’s great idea become a reality, that not only will benefit an individual, but an entire family and even an entire community, because for every visitor that overnights at Mr Simon’s place, G$1,000 (per night) will be donated to the Village Council to help the community raise much needed funds for other projects. The facility is days away from officially opening, but it is already providing full and part-time employment and up to $5,000 in daily wages for 20 members of the community, including many of Mr Simon’s family members, who are thankful not to have to return to dangerous bush work further in the interior which takes them away from their families for long periods of time.
It is truly a win-win situation for all involved; one would have to be a very narrow-minded person to oppose such a history making and positive endeavour.
Yours faithfully,
Damon Gerard Corrie
