Maroon Village

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  Longa Tabiki, Suriname
Monday, October 3, 2005

I have had my first experience in a Maroon Village. On Saturday morning, with Erna as our guide, the six Canadians on this project, along with Jack from Peace Corp, headed out for the weekend to Longa Tabiki. This was a four-hour bus trip partly on a paved road and partly on a dirt road - both of which had many potholes. We headed east to Moengo and then south until we hit the Marowijne River. From there just a quick ten minute canoe ride across the river to the island called Longa Tabiki - literally translated as Long Island. We stopped at a radio station in Moengo and made some contacts for the radio project as well as at a small radio station at Long Tabiki.
Our accommodation was a two-story cabin type building with a kitchen down below and four bedrooms and toilet and shower above. I took my hammock and mosquito net and had very deluxe accommodations indeed. The others stayed on mattresses on the floor but after the warning from Sherry about bed bugs I was not about to take a chance

AIDS Poster

. That was a good choice, as although the mattresses were rather new and had no bugs, there were not enough of them to go around. We swam in the river that was as warm as bath water and I found rocks for mom in the river. They are quartz, which are discarded from the mining operation that happens along the river just off the island. I am sure all of the gold has been extracted but who knows for sure!
The village itself was very interesting with little huts for houses and dirt paths everywhere. The soil is laterite which is red in color and which contains bauxite. The bauxite in Suriname is big industry and the US based company Suralco extracts it in the production of aluminum. We were covered in a fine red dust from the dusty roads by the time we arrived. Also in the village were a few stores or shops, a church, an intranet (old boarding school which was closed up), the radio station and an airstrip. The power on the island is only turned on from 6:00 - 11:00 p.m. and so this is the only time there is lights or power for the radio station. Don't count on it being turned on at the right time as on Saturday it did not come on until almost 7:00 p.m. and by this time we were cooking in the kitchen in the dark with a very small flashlight.
The gold mining is polluting the river and the government told them to stop mining so close to the village as people are getting diarrhea from the water

Air Strip

. However the Graman (chief of the Village) gave them permission to stay because it provides employment for the men of the village. These dynamics are very interesting. Other water used here includes rain water that is collected in large black tanks that collect water off the roofs and eaves troughing systems. There is litter everywhere in Suriname including the roadside to the Villages. They do not recycle plastic and you see it thrown everywhere or burning in the garbage.
Many interesting trees and flowers on the island, along with some cows that looked like brahams, some stupid roosters that started crowing at 5:30 a.m., a variety of birds, and bats that kept freaking me out.
All in all the trip was excellent and I am happy to have had the experience.
We made further work contacts this week with Peace Corp, Maxi Linder, and National AIDS Program. The last group to meet with is Pepsur which we hope will happen today. I will be able to develop a work plan later this week and determine how I will work with each group from here.
Hope you are all enjoying the fall weather and colored leaves.

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Apple Tree	Church	Comfy Accomodation	Crossing the River
Gold Mining	Longa Tabiki Health Center	Maroon Art	Maroon Village
The island of Longa Tabiki

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