The Upper Mazaruni Workshops in Kamarang
on Derek and Trudy (Guyana), 04/Feb/2010 12:50, 34 days ago
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It is with excitment and joy and that we took our 4th trip up to Kamarang to conduct the last of the workshops on Writing and Spelling to a group of committed Amerindian teachers who have travelled days to get there. The workshop was full, they arrived a day early and so I was able to help the schools update their School Improvement Plans before the start of the Literacy training.Over the last 9 months we have noticed the increase in daily flights to Kamarang , bringing goods for the community and for the gold miners who come into Kamarang to stock up. Apart from the enthusiasm and laughter of the teachers and their hard work we are staying in the heart of the most unexplored rainforest in the world. The photos bear testimony to the remoteness and beauty of the forest and its rivers and waterfalls near to the Pakaraima Mountains and the Guiana Shield. It is true of course that gold mining does cause deforestation in areas but considering serious goldmining has been practiced since 1849 only 4% of theis rainforest ( the size of England) has been destroyed. Nevertheless with the price of gold now at over $1100 US per troy ounce there are more unregistered small and medium mining operations going on all over region 7 and region 8 than ever before. (hence the increase in flights to supply Kamarang). It is why the Day of Action in Bartica on 1st February was so effective because the miners did acknowledged that they do have to be regulated more to increase the government revenue that is needed to improve the infrastructure in the back dam BUT not at the xpense of a 6 months shut down as they wait for their new licences to mine.Wonder at the beauty of this extraordinarycountry and know why we are going to miss this place dearly.
