Javouhey is a town in northwest

French Guiana French Guiana, or Guyane in French, is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France located on the northern coast of South America in the Guianas and the West Indies. Bordered by Suriname to the west ...

in the

Mana Mana may refer to: Religion and mythology * Mana (Oceanian cultures), the spiritual life force energy or healing power that permeates the universe in Melanesian and Polynesian mythology * Mana (food), archaic name for manna, an edible substance m ...

commune of

Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni (, ; ) is a commune of French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France located in South America. Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni is one of the three sub-prefectures of French Guiana and the seat of the Arrondissement ...

. Most of its people are Hmong refugees from

Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...

who settled in French Guiana. Javouhey was founded in 1978, as the second Hmong settlement village in French Guiana after Cacao. The village is on a former agricultural colony founded by

Anne-Marie Javouhey Anne-Marie Javouhey, SJC (November 10, 1779 – July 15, 1851) was a French nun who founded the Sisters of St. Joseph of Cluny, Sisters of Saint Joseph of Cluny. She is veneration, venerated in the Roman Catholic Church. She is known as the ''Li ...

in 1822. The reasoning was that living, and working conditions were similar to their native land. As of 2005, the village has a population of about 1,000 people.

Overview

There are two primary schools, the new one just completed in 2006, a Catholic church, and the biggest Protestant church in French Guiana. There are three family owned stores, one with a gas station. There is a Sunday market, where foods, souvenirs, and Hmong crafts can be purchase. In comparison to the Hmong villages in French Guiana; Javouhey is more so a traditional Hmong-Laos village, while Cacao - a more Hmong-French village. The contrast is in the area of lifestyle; clothing, home, and practice of tradition. The best time to visit Javouhey is during the week of Christmas, when the Hmong New Year's festival is held during the hot and dry season. There is a French-owned Bungolow hotels a few minutes outside of Javouhey with minimum accommodation. Javouhey is about in size. The economy is based on agriculture. The town has a football club, AS Javouhey Mana, who won the 1989–90 and 1990–91 editions of the

Coupe de Guyane The Coupe de Guyane is the top knockout tournament of the French Guiana football (soccer), football. Winners *1959/60: AJ Saint-Georges *1960-64 ''not known'' *1964/65: AJ Saint-Georges 3-2 Sport Guyanais *1965/66: AJ Saint-Georges *1 ...

Overview

References

Further reading