Assakata or Asakata is a village in
Barima-Waini
Barima-Waini (Region 1) is a region of Guyana. Venezuela claims the territory as part of Guayana Esequiba.
The region is located in the northwest of the country and has a population of 26,941. It covers an area of . It borders the Atlantic Oce ...
region, in the north of
Guyana. Assakata is an
Amerindian
The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are the inhabitants of the Americas before the arrival of the European settlers in the 15th century, and the ethnic groups who now identify themselves with those peoples.
Many Indigenous peoples of the A ...
village inhabited by
Warao and
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 Greater ...
people, located in the swamps and marshes between the
Barima and
Pomeroon River
The Pomeroon River (also ''Río Pomerón'' ''or Pomaron'') is located in Guyana, South America, situated between the Orinoco and the Essequibo rivers. The area has long been inhabited by Lokono people. The Pomeroon River is also one of the deepe ...
.
History
Assakata was founded in 1938 as the Assakata mission, and is part of the North West Amerindian District. Since 1996, the area is governed by the Moruca Land Council with
Santa Rosa as the main settlement. The population as of 2013 is approximately 300 people spread over four settlements.
Overview
The economy is based on
subsistence farming
Subsistence agriculture occurs when farmers grow food crops to meet the needs of themselves and their families on smallholdings. Subsistence agriculturalists target farm output for survival and for mostly local requirements, with little or no ...
. Loggers used to be active in the region, however the village council ended all agreements in 2012. The village has a primary school and a health care centre,
however the nearest secondary school is in Santa Rosa. The community began receiving electricity in 2004 when a
diesel generator
A diesel generator (DG) (also known as a diesel Genset) is the combination of a diesel engine with an electric generator (often an alternator) to generate electrical energy. This is a specific case of engine generator. A diesel compression-i ...
was donated by Mr. Monty Niathally, proprietor of Variety Woods and Greenheart Limited.
References
Bibliography
{{Settlements in Guyana, state=expanded
Populated places in Barima-Waini
Indigenous villages in Guyana