To be a pedestrian is a challenge! The concept of the sidewalk is not known or long forgotten. The concrete pavingstones are of dutch origine by the measurement of 30 cm by 30 cm. That is a familliar feeling, but the reality of today is a dramatic one.
It is a nomansland with its own dynamic mainly cars occupying the sidewalk or destroying it like here on a main street in the City-centre.

In the streets of the capital one can clearly see the big clash between the old and new. Side by side they somehow tollerate eachother,... but in the longrun the old is vanishing....

Restrited parking in Paramaribo, only for policy advisors.

We have enjoyed a local drum band accompanying the marroon dances by Tresna Pinas. Very good energy!

Same shit every day.

Today we have worked in the Village of Ricanau Mofo. Before we enter the habitat we have an introduction to the Kapitein, in this case Kapitein Mesac. He talked about the need for a local economy. there is less work every year and people have little initiative to develop a new perspective. We explain what we do and why we have an interest to work with the local children. The work we did was good, tastes like more....

We have had a great talk With Christine Samson about her involvement in the case of Landuse rights (grondrechten) of the Saramacaners. Interesting case with very beautiful methods to claim the land and landuse. A complex map was made in a very cooperative process. It shows how the people live and make use of the forest, hunting grounds and the river.

Diesil and a Pangi.

What a great dress!

We have had a beautiful meeting with this strong presence in Moengo, mister Lee and his wife. We have had many talks about the impact of the civil war (binnenlandse oorlog) on Moengo and its development. He stayed during the fighting so he knows about many things...

Photo taken in the hallway of the districts office (cityhall) of Albina.

Local government.
The community leaders have a formal status and are payed by the government. They are called 'Kapitein'. In this beautiful Village near Albina we have had a conversation with this local authority about the hard reality of the villages. People, it seemed are in a mode of survival....

White mannequins showing the latest fashion.

Bernarddorp, Moengo.
A squatted quarter taken by returning refugees in the late eighties coming back from Frech Guyana. Still today it is considered to be illegal. The residents have no title to the land or the house but the are expanding the small dwellings turning them into little castles...

sunday 10 am. Brainstorming in Tembe Art Studio on the next Moengo Festival with choreographers and theatredirectors. This year Theater and Dance are the focal disciplines. Theme: pe fu wini: play to win.

The bus ride from Paramaribo with chauffeur Arthur is an experience. It akes from 2,5 to 4 hours, depending on the amount of requested stops or special deliveries or pick ups he has to make. Which restaurant we are going to stop for lunch is decided on collectively. Everybody is laughing and joking.Any tension between all too women friendly male passengers is quickly solved by a word and a quick joke of Arthur.

Souvenir study. One of our aims is to promote tourism to Moengo and develope interesting souvenirs. In Paramaribo we visited the Readytex souvenirshop to see what is on the market. Hereś an example of typical N'djuka souvenirs: brightly coloured intricate design. Bears a certain similarity to Celtic knots. These wooden item are quite big and heavy. The challenge is to see if it is possible to translate this to a different object but with enough authenticity to make it a souvenir of the Moengo experience

Moengo Magic Souvenir
simple product design: towel rail existing of twig and to water bottle caps.