The Ministry of Amerindian Affairs recently handed over a tractor/trailer valued $8.2 million to Yakarinta, Region Nine to help boost agricultural production.
According to the Government Information Agency (GINA) the machines were handed over to Toshao Matthew Alexander at a brief ceremony which was also attended by Village Councillor Callistos Buckley.
Fishing, hunting, farming, making bricks, trapping birds, crafts (basketry)
Employment
Teachers, CHW,
Equipment
Out-board engine and aluminum boat, chain-saw, brush-cutter (not working), 2 HF radio, Batteries, solar panels, water-pump and tanks,
Building (asset)
Primary and nursery school, health post, church, women’s sewing centre, village office, teachers quarter, Guest house and market (not finished), community centre
Local organization
Church, PTFA, sport and wildlife clubs, youth initiative, Women’s sewing group, Mothers union
History
History
This information was gathered from two sets of key elders, a group of men and a group of women.
The women said there were two stories of how Yakarinta got its name (different to that recorded in the Makushipe Komanto Iseru book). In the first story, a pregnant woman was passing through the place and started to get her labour pains. These went on for several days and the Makushi word for this 'Akîrinsa' became Yakarinta. In the other version, the place is named after some black fruits which are plentiful in the area and in Makushi called 'Konowai ye'.
Caribs lived in the Yakarinta area before the Makushi but were driven out as a result of the Makushi - Carib wars. The first people from the current community settled about 60 years ago and originally lived on a hill south of the current village centre. Then some missionaries came to the area and built a church near the Rupununi River and eventually all the people moved closer to the current centre, mainly so that their children could attend the church school. Previously, children had attended school in Massara.
Yakarinta is away from the old cattle trail and separated from it by the Rupununi. Consequently it was not much involved in the cattle transporting and trading to Lethem and Georgetown. Some individuals did keep and sell cattle to Lethem, but not in large numbers, and there are actually more cattle in the village now than then. Balata bleeding was very important in Yakarinta with many men getting employment and supporting their families through this work. Many people had guns and with their money could buy food stuffs and other goods from the store at Apoteri. When the balata bleeding stopped, everything stopped and there was no more work for young people. That was when people started to move across to Brazil for work. About 7 people regularly planted peanuts as a cash crop in the 1980s but this ended about 5 years ago due to changes in the market.
In about 1958-9, the missionaries built an airstrip and this was used mainly for health, church and Government visitors to come in. This was a great improvement as before it was hard to get sick people to assistance and took a long time. However, the last flight was in about 1960 and communications were difficult again until the radio came in 1998. The building of the good laterite road did not affect the community much as it is so difficult to reach from Yakarinta. People felt this meant the community had been left out and did not receive many visits from development organisations.
Resources
Strengths
The Villagers
Titled Village under the Amerindian Act
Ex-Toshao representative at the Regional level
Have trained teachers
Tractor and harrow
Weakness
Lack of good leadership skills
Not enough job opportunities being created locally
Lack of Enforcement on rules and regulations
Lack of trained technician or qualified drivers
Lack of proper access road
Illegal selling of Alcoholic
Lack of respect for the elders from the young people
Killing of animals that are scatters throughout the savannah
No funds for demarcation – government has not said yet when this is going to happen
Lack of systematic and good planning for the future
Lack of knowledge and skills for the development pathways
Lack of jobs for youth and adults
Lack of available drugs
Lack of Transportation for transport patience
Lack of proper communication
Lack of Medex, and dentist
Opportunities
Strengthening ties with NRDDB
Drivers for tractor
Tractor for Transporting locally produce-farine, cassareep, tapioca, ground provision etc.,
Young people will be employed at farm
Threats
Climate change
Far away from markets for products produced locally
Trapping of birds which is done by villagers
Burning of savannah
Poisoning of ponds
Domestic animals are a threat to farmers crops in the village
Loss of language
Traditional practices and pride in culture
Loss of self-control over the community development process
Development Plans
Problem identification
Cannot be solved
Can be solved
Can be solved with the outside help
Flooding, climate change
Domestic animals which are destroying the farms, domestic problems, loosing of traditional practices, lack for proper communication as the villager, enforcement of rules and regulation
Solar powered/energy, water-pump and pipes, trained mechanics and technicians, dental personnel, recreational facilities, market for local produce, scholarship, lack of drugs, equipment and tools to do large scales farming, rehabilitation of government building, more sewing machine and materials, extension of sewing centre, school furniture, Panton, need for certify cooks, poor management of project, access road into the village, demarcation of land
Problems that are still inadequately addressed:
Out migration of youth
Unemployment for adult and youth
High marketing costs and consequently reduced competitiveness
Low levels of income
No access to market investment opportunities
High costs of imported goods
Loss of language
Traditional practices and pride in culture
Loss of self-control over the community development process
Village priority plans/projects
AGRICULTURE: income generating Activities
Locate an area for community ranch, cattle, poultry, sheep, and swine
Train members of the community in treating and identifying plants and animals diseases
Need tractor, trailer, harrow, and plover
Market for locally produced product
Village farm (large scale)
Proper access road to farm lands (farming grounds)
Build mini-bridges
Food security
Trained technician based upon the capacities of village projects
Need equipment and tools
Fish pond (aqua culture)
More visits from agricultural extension officer (give advice and technical assistant?)
Out board engines and boats – trained boat captain
Motor cycles – for emergency purposes
Tractor –for agriculture purpose
Pontoon-for crossing the transportation
Aero-plane [for emergency]
Airstrip- [for emergency]
Horse carts /horse and donkey-carts
HEALTH/SANITATION
Assistant to the health worker – This is for whenever the health-worker has to go to attend meetings or has to go on leave.
Dentist -because of the difficulties the village face with regards to transportation they thinks that having their own train dentist would solve this problem.-
Airstrip- for emergency
Radio set /cell phone –this equipment will be useful in times of emergency
Trained Medex
Expend the present clinic
Midwife-to assists with pregnant women
Freezer to store medicine
Boat and engine for health service
Adequate water for clinic
Malaria personnel
HIV/AIDS testing centre
Training mothers in food nutrition
Proper water system install
CHW trained as a microscopist
Upgrading knowledge of CHW
Proper installation of toilets
Adult training and educate all house hold
Availability of drugs
Installation of two water-pumps at western side
Infrastructure
Rehabilitation of government building
Reconstruction of pavilion
Fencing of government building
Seeking funds from RDC to finish the unfinished project
Proper access road into the village
Need pontoon for crossing
Hot meals
Extension of sewing centre
Renovation of Church
Farm roads and mini-bridges
EDUCATION
Better designed and will equipped school (Lab and IT)
Access to higher institution Secondary, UG, GTI and etc;
Skills training e.g. leadership skills (Training community leaders)
Managerial and communication skills
Traditional and Business skills and IT
More trained teachers
Adult education programme (distant)
Access to Library text
Community policing Group
Train / educate mothers to prepare nutritious meals (balance diet) also educate parents/youth in social issues.
Promote the important of education within the village
Bilingual and cross-cultural context reflected in curriculum
Train and educate about modern technology
Communication
High HF radio
Computer literate personnel
GT&T and Digicel Company to access
News paper available
Clarity in local radio (paiwokma)
NCN and other stations availability
Sports/RECREATION
Well designed football, volley, and cricket-ground/sports equipment
Well trained coaches and referee for different sports disciplines
Encourage youth to participate in competition and in recreational activities
Have a gem school
Have A village or public Park
Have a village fund day in every holiday-beach day-sports fishing-boat racing
A family day –where all families come together to have fund –yearly
Have a village zoo/ have a local band in community culture group.
Eco-tourism:
Create activities for tourists
Train tour guide and rangers
Promote eco-tourism within the village and the world at large
Provide the tourist with good hospitality and accommodation
Strengthen, support, seek funding from agencies and integrate ongoing and future development projects and programs for visitors.
Annual Development Plan for 2010
Project
Objective
Activities
Timeline
Remarks
Improving agricultural production in the village
For the security of food, and bringing generating income for the village.
Need to train two or three tractor drivers.
Build three mini-bridges to do co-operative farming
Increase the sizes of farms but avoiding the wastage of lands
Make a systematic plan for bringing income
Ask and seek agriculturalist for guidance in doing large scale farming at the selected site
Need Trained agriculturalist or send two youth at BHI for agriculture and natural resource management education
All year
The village will signal in writing the regional administration that it has been successful with their project. It will also be reported by the Toshao to NRDDB
Infrastructure of road, government building, finishing of unfinished project
To have better accommodation for school children and to promote education
Write and seek region to assist to have proper access road
Rehabilitation of building which are deterioration
Write and seek region for fuel to saw board to finish the building
Need electronic devices to promote infrastructure
As soon we get the funding or assist from agencies
The village leader will report this to NRDDB and the Region for successful project
Livestock farming (sheep, poultry, cattle)
To provide local meat for the village and others.
This is the area that the village is looking forward to do because of high market price for exported meat.
It will also provide job for young people in the village
Writing a proposal for support funding
Build the housing for the animals
Ask and seek for the young one from the providing agencies
Visit the farms to view the farming system whether in brazil or Georgetown
Ask for technical assistance from government personnel
May-Dec
Will communicate regularly
Potable water-system
To have potable drinking water system in the community
Reconstruct over head-tank must be constructed properly
Run the pipe to the houses
Set up the management for water system
Request two water pump for western side, and renovate wells
Need technician and well trained person in the village to guide the water system
All year
The village will write/inform the Region for pumps been functioning for period of time.
