An East Canje, Berbice woman has returned from the Netherlands to fulfil her father’s dream and last wishes by opening an eco-lodge in New Forest, East Canje where he once operated a sawmill many moons ago.
Nirmala Ramessar, and husband, Bram Van Velzen, on Saturday launched the first ever eco-lodge to be located in New Forest along the Canje Creek. According to Ramessar, “We thought that this would be an enrichment, a spot where persons can go and just be themselves.”
She said the idea of the project was birthed about fifteen years ago but that works sped up a few years back after her father’s last words to her were, “Did you abandon your project?”
Ramessar related that she had promised her father that she would return and continue her project. At the opening, a visibly emotional Ramessar remarked, “And I said no I did not abandon my project and today we are here.”
The eco-lodge is estimated to have cost the couple over $19 million and is equipped with three bedrooms, a kitchen, and a dining room and is fully furnished. A verandah en-circles the building which overlooks the Canje Creek.
Ramessar recounted that her father with his sawmill and other business was a source of employment in the past to persons in the area at a time when it was most needed.
The lodge will offer employment to several persons within the community and Ramessar explained that while she has not relocated back to Guyana, she plans to travel often to ensure the lodge is running smoothly.
And by completing and expanding her project she hopes it would encourage residents to remain in New Forest instead of relocating.
New Forest is the last village located in East Canje and is situated just along the Canje Creek. Many residents have migrated over the years as the village has no potable water, electricity, telephone and several other amenities considered necessary in the 21st century.
A therapist by profession, Ramessar also told Stabroek News that she plans to open a meditation centre in the village as well.
Acting Director of the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA), Kamrul Baksh, who delivered the feature address at the opening held on Saturday last, acknowledged that he was taken aback at how well constructed the lodge was.
To get to the lodge, one has to travel along the East Canje Public Road to the end, then use a boat to go across the Canje Creek – a two-minute ride – to arrive at Doe Park.
According to Baksh, the launch of Doe Park is part of a series of lodges planned, with others in the pipeline, noting, “This talks about the investment within the tourism sector.”
The launching of Doe Park, he said, represents the start of the formal recognition of Region Six’s “tourism circuit”, and as such it is an historic event. He emphasised that they will continue to work to place investments within the area.
Baksh said that the GTA is very receptive and facilitating to persons returning to invest within the tourism sector. “We will support ventures such at this because what it represents for the region here is an expansion of services.”
Considering that there is a deficit of lodges in Region Six, Doe Park, he said, is a welcome initiative.
He added that the GTA is also promoting domestic tourism across the country and so persons from Georgetown and other regions may want to venture to Doe Park in addition to visitors from the Caribbean region. He informed that his organisation is working to package exciting and inviting incentives so as to encourage persons to return and invest.
