San Carlos, Belize

The

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

of San Carlos is located in the North of

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...

, in

Orange Walk District Orange Walk District is a district in the northwest of the nation of Belize, with its district capital in Orange Walk Town. Main settlements The Orange Walk District, with an area of 1,829 square miles (4,636 square km), is located north-northwe ...

, on the northern bank of New River and surrounded by

jungle A jungle is land covered with dense forest and tangled vegetation, usually in tropical climates. Application of the term has varied greatly during the past recent century. Etymology The word ''jungle'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''jaṅ ...

. It is four miles from Indian Church, and can be accessed by road from

Orange Walk Town Orange Walk Town is the fourth largest town in Belize, with a population of about 13,400 (Official Release of the Main Findings of the 2010 Population and Housing Census). It is the capital of the Orange Walk District. Orange Walk Town is locate ...

or by boat from the New River. San Carlos is small, with a population of 154 (2013) of

Mestizo (; ; fem. ) is a term used for racial classification to refer to a person of mixed Ethnic groups in Europe, European and Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous American ancestry. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also r ...

ethnicity. The village was set up by a group of families around 1970 from the larger town of Guinea Grass Town. Other inhabitants are originally from

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

, immigrating to Belize during the tumultuous years of the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

. The village is still technologically primitive. Water is pumped from wells for washing and bathing. Rain water tanks collect plenty of drinking water during the months of June thru December. An NGO donated 25 solar panels to the community providing evening light to 25 homes. A few families have purchased their own solar panels while a few families rely solely on kerosene lamps or candles. There are 32 occupied homes and 36 families in the Village. Additionally, a few villagers own generators to pump water from the wells, power washing machines, light, television, and irrigation systems. Its economy revolves around agriculture, although a number of men are currently employed at the

Maya Maya may refer to: Civilizations * Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America ** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples ** Maya language, the languages of the Maya peoples * Maya (Ethiopia), a populat ...

ruins at

Lamanai Lamanai (from ''Lama'anayin'', "submerged crocodile" in Yucatec Maya) is a Mesoamerican archaeological site, and was once a major city of the Maya civilization, located in the north of Belize, in Orange Walk District. The site's name is pre-Columbi ...

in order to restore some of the temples. A number of men with pickup trucks are hired by the Mennonites in nearby communities (Indian Creek and Shipyard) to drive, help with farming, and running errands. Agricultural pursuits include a host of fruits and vegetables, including

onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus ''Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion ...

habanero pepper The habanero (; ) is a hot variety of chili. Unripe habaneros are green, and they color as they mature. The most common color variants are orange and red, but the fruit may also be white, brown, yellow, green, or purple. Typically, a ripe hab ...

banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...

s and

watermelon Watermelon (''Citrullus lanatus'') is a flowering plant species of the Cucurbitaceae family and the name of its edible fruit. A scrambling and trailing vine-like plant, it is a highly cultivated fruit worldwide, with more than 1,000 varieti ...

s. A future prospect for San Carlos is to acquire capital for a jetty out into the picturesque lagoon in order to profit from Belize's booming

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

industry as it would allow visitors to the ruins at

to visit this friendly community. There is currently one U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer living in the village working on the rural family health project implemented by the Peace Corps and the Ministry of Health in Belize. Populated places in Orange Walk District Mestizo communities in Belize {{Belize-stub