Surama is an

Amerindian The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are the inhabitants of the Americas before the arrival of the European settlers in the 15th century, and the ethnic groups who now identify themselves with those peoples. Many Indigenous peoples of the Am ...

village in the North Rupununi area and the

Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo Upper Takutu-Upper Esequibo (Region 9) is a Regions of Guyana, region of Guyana. Venezuela claims the territory as part of Bolívar (state) in Guayana Esequiba, Esequiban Guyana. It borders the region of Potaro-Siparuni to the north, the region ...

Region of

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

, with a population of 274 people as of 2012. The village is primarily inhabited by

Makushi The Macushi ( pt, Macuxi) are an indigenous people living in the borderlands of southern Guyana, northern Brazil in the state of Roraima, and in an eastern part of Venezuela. Identification The Macushi are also known as the Macusi, Macussi, Ma ...

people.

History

The area of land in which Surama is located has been inhabited sporadically for many years. An established cattle-trail ran through the area in the early twentieth century, and Surama was an important stopping-point on that trail. As the cattle-trail dwindled, however, so did the number of inhabitants in the area, and by the 1970s Surama was completely deserted. The modern village of Surama was founded in the 1974 by two brothers, Fred and Theo Allicock.

Eco-Tourism

Following the construction of the Linden-Lethem road in the mid to late 1970s, Surama and surrounding areas became more accessible to the general public. In 1996, Surama received its first tourists, and the money they gave the community to pay for their stay funded the construction of Surama's first guest-lodge. Since that time the village has become a leader in community-based,

eco-tourism Ecotourism is a form of tourism involving responsible travel (using sustainable transport) to natural areas, conserving the environment, and improving the well-being of the local people. Its purpose may be to educate the traveler, to provide funds ...

. In 2011, Surama Eco-Lodge was listed by the

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...

as one of the "best hotels in Colombia, Guyana and Venezuela"; and in the same year it was the joint winner of the

Caribbean Tourism Organisation The Caribbean Tourism Organizations main objective is the development of sustainable tourism for the economic and social benefit of Caribbean people. Operations The CTO, with headquarters in Barbados, is the Caribbean’s tourism development age ...

Excellence in Sustainable Tourism Award, along with

Harrison's Cave Harrison's Cave is a tourist attraction in the country of Barbados, first mentioned in 1795. Tourists can access the subterranean environment on a tramway. History The caves were first mentioned in historical documents in 1795, and were rediscov ...

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...

Description and Location

Surama village extends across 12.95 squared kilometres (5 square miles) of land, and is located in a valley on the border of the Guyanese

rainforest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...

and the North Rupununi savannahs. It is bounded by

Iwokrama Forest The Iwokrama Forest is a nature reserve of central Guyana located in the heart of the Guiana Shield, one of the four last pristine tropical forests in the world ( Congo, New Guinea, and the Amazon rainforest are the others). It represents an im ...

protected area, the

Burro-Burro River The Burro-Burro River is a river of Guyana. It flows directly through the Iwokrama Forest, and is an important water source for the Macushi as well as used for ecotourism. It is protected for limited use of subsistence fishing, and the river is ...

, and the

Pacaraima Mountains The Pacaraima or Pakaraima Mountains ( pt, Serra de Pacaraima, es, Sierra de Pacaraima) are a mountain range primarily in southwestern Guyana, and into northern Brazil and eastern Venezuela. Geography The range extends from west to east for over ...

. Surama Mountain lies to the East of the village.

Economy

Up until the mid-1990s, Surama's economy relied primarily on

subsistence agriculture Subsistence agriculture occurs when farmers grow food crops to meet the needs of themselves and their families on smallholdings. Subsistence agriculturalists target farm output for survival and for mostly local requirements, with little or no su ...

, with a minority of male villagers taking paid jobs as loggers or gold-miners in the North-West region of Guyana or across the border in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. Following the increasing success with eco-tourism, however, Surama Eco-Tourism now provides approximately 60% of Surama's income, with 75% of households deriving income from the tourist trade.

References

{{Settlements in Guyana Populated places in Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo Indigenous villages in Guyana