Carapichaima is a town in central

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...

. Communities and villages in Carapichaima include Orangefield, Waterloo, Brickfield, and Korea Village.

History

Carapichaima had been a

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...

producing village that expanded after the

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

opened up central Trinidad to development and population movements. Better access to transportation allowed the village to expand into a hub for transportation in central Trinidad and center for commerce for the surrounding areas and rural communities. Carapichaima has seen major changes and growth due to a number of factors. These include the construction of new schools in the area, the establishment and expansion of business into the area and the increase in

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

into the area. Major structural changes occurred in the past few years when the main sugar producing, state owned company, Caroni 1975 Ltd., was closed in 2003. A significant part of the rural population were employed in the sugar industry. Among some of the major problems plaguing this community is increasing crime rates and difficulty coping with the previously mentioned structural changes.

Religion

The town is very culturally diverse hosting a very large East Indian population as well as a significant African population. The predominantly East Indian population explains the dominance of religions like

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

and

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

in the area. This dominance is evident by the amount of Temples and

Mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

s located in the area. The Dattatreya Mandir is a Hindu temple dedicated to Ganapathi Sachchidananda. Situated on the temple ground is the tallest (85 feet)

Lord Hanuman Hanuman (; , ), also known as Maruti, Bajrangabali, and Anjaneya, is a deity in Hinduism, revered as a divine ''vanara'', and a devoted companion of the deity Rama. Central to the ''Ramayana'', Hanuman is celebrated for his unwavering devotio ...

statue in the Western Hemisphere completed in 2001. The statue was designed and constructed by T. Subramanian Sthapathi (Chief Architect) from

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

.Potomitan.info
Trinidad's Giant Hanuman
/ref> Also of significance is the temple in Waterloo, which extends into the sea. Several Mosques dot the area and a Muslim school is centrally located close to the former train station. A number of churches also exist to serve the growing Christian population in Carapichaima. Carapichaima has been a major staging point for

Carnival Carnival (known as Shrovetide in certain localities) is a festive season that occurs at the close of the Christian pre-Lenten period, consisting of Quinquagesima or Shrove Sunday, Shrove Monday, and Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras. Carnival typi ...

celebrations in Central Trinidad.

Schools

A number of schools have sprouted in the area to accommodate its rising population. One of the first was the Canadian Missionary school, the Waterloo Presbyterian School. This was originally built to educate the rural East Indians who lived and formed the workforce of the sugar plantations that encompassed the region at that time. Eventually a number of schools were established like the Waterloo Hindu School, Orange Field Hindu School, Carapichaima RC School and the Carapichaima ASJA Muslim Primary School to name a few.

References

External links

To see the temple and photos of the Hanuman Murti
{{coord, 10, 28, N, 61, 27, W, display=title, region:TT_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki Populated places in Trinidad and Tobago