Matta (

Lokono The Lokono or Arawak are an Arawak people native to northern coastal areas of South America. Today, approximately 10,000 Lokono live primarily along the coasts and rivers of Guyana, with smaller numbers in Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago, Trinida ...

: Korhopa; also ''Matta Karupa'') is an indigenous village of

Amerindians in the

resort A resort (North American English) is a self-contained commercial establishment that aims to provide most of a vacationer's needs. This includes food, drink, swimming, accommodation, sports, entertainment and shopping, on the premises. A hotel ...

of Zuid in the

Para District Para is a district of northern Suriname. Para's capital city is Onverwacht, with other towns including Paranam, and Zanderij. Para has a population of 24,700 and an area of 5,393 km2. The district is the mining and forestry centre of Sur ...

Suriname Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a Human Development Index, high level of human development; i ...

. The village can be accessed from a road which branches off the Southern East-West Link.

Overview

Matta has a school and a clinic. Matta is connected to the road network of Suriname, however, the road was unpaved. In 2012, the government promised to pave the road. In August 2018, the road was finally upgraded. The economy of the village is mainly based on growing

cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', common name, commonly called cassava, manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America, from Brazil, Paraguay and parts of the Andes. Although ...

. The village has been allocated a communal forest. In 2018, 203 hectares of the forest were awarded to Creditmarket Investment Company NV, which had already started to clear the forest to make way for a planned industrial estate.

Murder of Captain Karwofodi

On 13 August 2020, Captain Michael Karwofodi (67), the village chief, was murdered. On 16 August, six teenagers aged 13 to 18 were arrested, and have confessed to the murder. They were from the village and had been removed from the community house by the chief for misbehaving. They confessed that they intended to rob Karwofodi of his money and jewelry. On 21 June 2022, Raphael S, the leader of the group, was sentenced to 12 years for murder and robbery.

References

{{Surinamese District Para Indigenous villages in Suriname Populated places in Para District