Sustainable tourism and wood-processing earmarked by ILO as growth sectors in Suriname’s indigenous and marron communities

During a mission to Suriname in May 2024, ILO Caribbean officials joined leaders of indigenous and marron villages to discuss opportunities for developing sustainable tourism and wood-pressing sectors based on the principles of decent work and a just transition to environmentally sustainable economies and societies for all.

The meetings were held in light of a recent Mid-Term Labour Market Policy 2022-2025 report of Suriname’s current Decent Work Country Programme (DWCP) and Regular Budget Supplementary Account (RBSA) Project, which characterized the rural interior region as facing decent work deficits due to high-levels of small and medium-sized informal economic units as well as limited or no labour market demand. The report highlights sustainable tourism, which balances socio-economic development with the conservation of natural resources, as having significant potential for promoting growth and job creation. 

Discussions also referenced a 2023 ILO value chain analysis of Suriname’s wood-processing sector, which identifies opportunities for promoting inclusive and environmentally sustainable growth of the wood-processing sector in Suriname to target small and medium enterprises (SMEs), promote environmental sustainability, encourage women’s economic empowerment, and generate formal job creation.

Participating ILO Caribbean officials included Specialists John Bliek (Sustainable Enterprise Development and Job Creation), Ilca Webster (Skills and Lifelong Learning), and Muhummed Abdelmalik (Employment and Labour Markets), as well as National Project Coordinator Shoblina Chotkan-Somai, and National Consultant Swami Ghirdari. 

The ILO team emphasized the importance of decent work pathways to the formal sector. Among the approaches highlighted to support such shifts were increasing access to finance, as well as business development planning to strengthen livelihoods, productivity, and rural development. 

“Our discussions clearly align with Suriname’s current DWCP which seeks to engage the most vulnerable groups (marron and the indigenous people) to develop opportunities that will bring them closer to the formal and green economy, “said John Bliek. 

On 5 May 2024, the ILO team met with Heads / Captains of three indigenous villages in the district of Para. The participating communities were selected based on their potential to develop micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) as well as their dynamic local government.

Indigenous leaders who joined the discussions included: 

• Captain Wendolien Sabajo, Head of the Village Matta, which has a population of approximately 500 indigenous Surinamese from the Arawak people. 
• Captain Lloyd Read, Head of the Village Pierre Kondre, which has a population of approximately 100 indigenous Surinamese from the Karaiben people, and whose inhabitants are primarily employed in tourism, logging, and pineapple cultivation. 
• Captain Jeane Kabenda, Head of the Village Cabendadorp, a community of Amerindians whose livelihoods are based mostly on tourism activities.

 The ILO delegation continued meetings on 8 and 9 May 2024 with Heads / Captains of marron communities along the Upper Suriname River in the Sipaliwini District. Communities in this district face barriers to productivity, employment and economic growth including low literacy; lack of basic social protection; lack of technical and vocational education options; limited telecommunications and information communication technology facilities; high cost of transportation to reach Paramaribo and other areas; lack of innovation; and no banking or government offices.

Local marron officials who participated in the discussions included: 

• Captain Erwin Godlieb, Head of Pokigron, also popularly referred to as Atjoni. The community is inhabited by approximately 500 persons and provides traffic access to the interior. It features the Atjoni quay, an important transfer point for domestic transport that allows boats to connect to other villages along the Upper Suriname River. 
• Captain Romeo Lienga, Head of Gengeston, a village with a population of approximately 500 people and a local economy based on the wood sector (with a slowly growing tourism sector). Locals produce wooden furniture which is sent to Paramaribo and other markets for purchase. Other products from the wood are also produced including nuts and oil. 
• Captain Wanze Eduards, Head of Pikin Slee, a village of approximately 3,000 persons who are also reliant on the wood sector and byproducts such as furniture, nuts and oil. Pikin Slee is home to the Saamaka Maroon Museum. 

 In the meetings with the Heads / Captains the ILO delegation identified activities that can be implemented this year, namely:

1. Training to strengthen the local cooperative either directly or by training a trainer.
2. Training to develop business proposals for financing through business training using ILO’s methodologies such as GET Ahead and MyGreenEnterprise.
3. Training on value added production on “what to do with wood waste” from cutting the tree till processing of the logs. Most of the trees are unused and could generate jobs and income locally.
4. Preparing a tourism plan for Pikin Slee to increase their dormant potential of becoming a strong eco-tourism destination.
5. Organizing a session on formalizing entrepreneurship and on its benefits and responsibilities to overcome the lack of knowledge of procedures and limited presence of local government.
6. Sharing information from relevant stakeholders shared with locals in their community (Banking, Taxation, Chamber of Commerce). 

Feedback from the indigenous and marron leaders was optimistic with one commenting, “Most of the time there are promises made by non-governmental organizations and international organizations with no results, leading to no belief in those organizations. But looking at the ILO efforts we believe that something good will happen.”

“The ILO looks forward to working with leaders and other stakeholders of these indigenous and marron villages to develop and deliver capacity building activities that will focus on strengthening their socio-economic growth through mechanisms for skills development, employment and formalization according to the regulations in Suriname,” explained John Bliek. 

View more information about the ILO’s work in Suriname.