Latest update April 18th, 2024 12:59 AM
May 05, 2010 News
With fantastic views, a rich soil capable of producing an agriculture bounty, intriguing Amerindian culture, and miles upon miles of shell beach where endangered marine sea turtles nest, Region One offers significant potential to become an ideal tourist destination.
Local airline Air Services Limited is seeking to help the region develop that potential by expanding its scheduled service to the Region.
The airline launched its service to Mabaruma yesterday, adding to the schedule of flights to the other destination in Region One, namely Port Kaituma and Matthew’s Ridge. The Mabaruma service will see flights on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays.
Region One chairman Fermin Singh welcomed the addition of Air Services Limited to Mabaruma, saying it will bring competition to the market.
Only Trans Guyana offered a scheduled service to Mabaruma, but Singh said competition will hopefully help to reduce fares and ease the burden on the people of the region.
“It is good we have competition to bring relief,” said Singh. Transportation in and out of Mabaruma is a major problem, he lamented.
The government-run ferry service takes 24 hours. That is well and good for a visitor who might want the long ride, but it is no good for business, Singh asserted.
Besides that, the other option is to go through the coast, which Singh detailed as “going through the Waini (river) into the Baramani (river), through the 99 turns in the Moruca River to Pomeroon, and then from Pomeroon to Charity, then from Charity to Parika, then from Parika to Georgetown.” This he said takes almost a day and almost equals the price of taking an aircraft.
Air Services executive Annette Arjoon said the company decided to commence a service to Mabaruma at the request of residents and also because the company believes Mabaruma is an ideal tourist destination.
She said scheduling the service of Fridays and Sundays was deliberate so as to encourage coast Landers to take a weekend vacation to Mabaruma.
First, she pointed out that Mabaruma is in the heart of the organic region of Guyana. The regional chairman agrees, noting that as far as he can remember farmers do not use synthetic fertilisers on their products.
In the 1960’s when Guyana was considered the breadbasket of the Caribbean, much of the produce came from Region One. However, farming as a business died off after many of the farmers switched to logging and mining.
But now, he said, there is increased productivity in the agriculture sector, thanks to a government initiative to support Amerindian communities.
Under the Secure Livelihood Programme of the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs, eight of the 20 Amerindian communities are to benefit from grants to undertake various projects. Singh indicated that villages are growing ginger, turmeric, black pepper, nutmeg, passion fruit and cassava.
Further, he said Presidential grants to the Amerindian communities, ranging from $700,000 to $1 million is also helping families to start up businesses.
Most residents who farm do so for the sustenance, he noted, but now the intention is for them to farm, recover costs and make a profit.
Currently, he said those who sell their farm produce are hardly able to benefit from it, as the boat that comes fortnightly with hucksters from Georgetown, buy at a price that can hardly compensate.
An estimated 30, 000 people live in Region One, with the majority being Amerindians.
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