Tumatumari is a community in the

Potaro-Siparuni Potaro-Siparuni (Region 8) is a region of Guyana. Venezuela claims the majority of the Region located west of the Essequibo River as part of Guayana Esequiba. It borders the region of Cuyuni-Mazaruni to the north, the regions of Upper Demerara- ...

Region of Guyana, located some 15 km upstream of the confluence of the Potaro and

Essequibo River The Essequibo River ( Spanish: ''Río Esequibo'' originally called by Alonso de Ojeda ''Río Dulce'') is the largest river in Guyana, and the largest river between the Orinoco and Amazon. Rising in the Acarai Mountains near the Brazil–Guyana b ...

s. It was initially an Amerindian settlement of

Arawak The Arawak are a group of indigenous peoples of northern South America and of the Caribbean. Specifically, the term "Arawak" has been applied at various times to the Lokono of South America and the Taíno, who historically lived in the Great ...

tribebut is now a mixture of different race groups similar to that of

Mahdia Mahdia ( ar, المهدية ') is a Tunisian coastal city with 62,189 inhabitants, south of Monastir and southeast of Sousse. Mahdia is a provincial centre north of Sfax. It is important for the associated fish-processing industry, as well as w ...

. The area was believed to be rich in gold and diamonds and mining was the main economic activity for several years. The fertile agricultural land in the area resulted in the establishment of a

Guyana National Service The Guyana National Service was a public service organization, including a paramilitary element, formed in Guyana in 1971 and disbanded in 2000, amidst some controversy. Function The service was created following recommendations by United Nation ...

(GNS) centre in the area in 1975. The centre concentrated on training young people to develop agricultural and technical skills. Several agro-based industries were established at Tumatumari during the tenure of the GNS. These industries included a pencil factory, a match factory and a tooth-pick factory. Power for the industries was provided by the Tumatumari

hydro-electric power station Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined an ...

which was established in 1957. People were not allowed to live around the GNS Centre. The availability of electricity resulted in the establishment of several villages around the area. The Amerindians settled in

El Paso El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the seat of El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the 23rd-largest city in the U.S., the s ...

, Micobie and Tumatumari Landing became a little hamlet. The total population grew to approximately 450 and electrical appliances were purchased for several homes. The hydro-power station ceased operations in the late 1980s, and the factories and industries consequently ceased operations. A number of the residents moved from the area. The area is now totally dependent on mining. The current population as of 2012 is 86 persons.

References

{{Settlements in Guyana Populated places in Potaro-Siparuni