PALM VILLAGE

This village, located right next to the lodge, was created in the late 1950s with the construction of the airstrip known as Vincent Fayks Airport. This provided plenty of work for the area's native and black-brown peoples. These two peoples joined forces to build the runway, and congregated on the site, which eventually became a village. In October 1959, Vincent Faijks and his co-pilot Ronald Ellwin Kappel, who were resupplying the airstrip workers, crashed and became local heroes. In their honor, the runway is named after the first pilot to die in the line of duty.

Between 250 and 300 natives live in this small village, from three different communities: the Trio, the Akurio and the Wayana, who live together peacefully despite their language differences. The village has a chief and assistants(basja). Like their ancestors, the inhabitants depend on the forest for survival. Food is obtained through fishing, hunting and agriculture (tubers, fruit...) Vegetables are not really part of their diet, cassava being their main staple. Many tools and materials still come from the forest (bows, handicrafts, etc.), even if some things are bought in town, such as clothes, cooking equipment, gasoline, etc. Thanks to the tourist activity, several infrastructures have even been created for the villagers (infirmary, housing for teachers, solar panels...).