Katoonarib (short for Katoonaru Iribi) is a village in the

Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo Upper Takutu-Upper Esequibo (Region 9) is a Regions of Guyana, region of Guyana. It borders the region of Potaro-Siparuni to the north, the region of East Berbice-Corentyne to the east and Brazil to the south and west. It contains the town of Let ...

Region of

Guyana Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...

. Katoonarib is inhabited by Wapishana, Macushi and other Amerindians. It is located near the Rupununi River. The main language spoken in the village is Wapishana with English as secondary language.

Overview

The name of the village translates to Bush Island. Katoonarib used to be a satellite of

Sawariwau Sawariwau ( Wapishana: Sawari Wa'o) is a village in the Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo Region of Guyana. Sawariwau is inhabited by Wapishana Amerindians. It is located about south of Lethem in the Rupununi savannah. The main language spoken in t ...

, but has set up its own traditional government. The economy is based on

subsistence farming Subsistence agriculture occurs when farmers grow crops on smallholdings to meet the needs of themselves and their families. Subsistence agriculturalists target farm output for survival and for mostly local requirements. Planting decisions occ ...

and cattle ranching. The village has a primary school, a health centre, and a community centre. Internet connection is provided via free

Wi-Fi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for Wireless LAN, local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by ...

. Water is supplied by wells. There is no electricity other than private diesel generators and solar panels.

Transport

Katoonarib can be reached by road from Lethem. A bridge over the Rupununi River was commissioned in 2004. On 27 May 2008, the bridge collapsed under the weight of an

excavator Excavators are heavy equipment (construction), heavy construction equipment primarily consisting of a backhoe, boom, dipper (or stick), Bucket (machine part), bucket, and cab on a rotating platform known as the "house". The modern excavator's ...

References

Indigenous villages in Guyana Populated places in Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo {{Guyana-geo-stub