Alfonsdorp (

Lokono The Lokono or Arawak are an Arawak people native to northern coastal areas of South America. Today, approximately 10,000 Lokono live primarily along the coasts and rivers of Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, Barbados and French Guiana. They speak th ...

: Tibiti) is a village of indigenous

Lokono people The Lokono or Arawak are an Arawak people native to northern coastal areas of South America. Today, approximately 10,000 Lokono live primarily along the coasts and rivers of Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, Barbados and French Guiana. They speak t ...

in the Albina resort of the

Marowijne District Marowijne is a district of Suriname, located on the north-east coast. Marowijne's capital city is Albina, with other towns including Moengo and Wanhatti. The district borders the Atlantic Ocean to the north, French Guiana to the east, the Sur ...

Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...

. The village is located on the East-West Link. The Wanekreek Nature Reserve is located near the village.

Overview

Alfonsdorp has been named after their former village chief Alfons. During the

Surinamese Interior War The Surinamese Interior War ( nl, Binnenlandse Oorlog) was a civil war waged in the Sipaliwini District of Suriname between 1986 and 1992. It was fought by the Tucayana Amazonas led by Thomas Sabajo and the Jungle Commando led by Ronnie Brunswij ...

, the village was caught between the

Suriname National Army , image = , alt = , caption = , image2 = , alt2 = , caption2 = , motto = , founded = 1975 , current_form = , disbanded ...

and the

Jungle Commando The Jungle Commando (formally known as the Suriname National Liberation Army) was a guerrilla commando group in Suriname. It was founded by Ronnie Brunswijk in 1986 to ensure equal rights for Suriname's minority Maroon population. The group was fo ...

. Most of the village fled to

Balaté Balaté is a village of Lokono Amerindians in the commune of Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni at the confluence of the Maroni River and the Balaté River in French Guiana. History Balaté was founded in 1946 near the town of Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni. The ...

near Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, French Guiana. On 29 november 1986, when

Moiwana Moiwana is a Maroon village in the Marowijne district in the east of Suriname. The village was the scene of the on November 29, 1986, during the Suriname Guerrilla War between the Surinamese military regime, headed by Dési Bouterse, and the Jung ...

was attacked by the Army, civilians were murdered in Alfonsdorp as well, and the village was destroyed. After a meeting with Thomas Sabajo of the

Tucayana Amazonas The Tucayana Amazonas was an Amerindian guerrilla commando group in Suriname. Prior to the Tucayana Amazonas, many of the fighters had been soldiers during the Surinamese Interior War who fought on the side of the National Army against the Jungle ...

and

Ronnie Brunswijk Ronnie Brunswijk (; born 7 March 1961) is a Surinamese politician, businessman, footballer, convicted drug trafficker, former rebel leader, and the current Vice President of Suriname. Brunswijk served in the early 1980s as the personal bodyguard ...

of the Jungle Commando their safety was assured, and people started to return to their former home. The village has a school. There used to be a clinic, but as of 2014, it was no longer in operation. In 2018, a catholic church was constructed. An

ecotourism Ecotourism is a form of tourism involving responsible travel (using sustainable transport) to natural areas, conserving the environment, and improving the well-being of the local people. Its purpose may be to educate the traveler, to provide fund ...

resort is located in the village. In 2014, Margriet Biswane was elected village chief. In August 2021, Alfonsdorp was connected to the electricity grid and received 24 hours of electricity.

Wanekreek Nature Reserve

Wanekreek detail-Map Suriname 1860-1879-part 5

Wanekreek is a

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

of Suriname. It measures and contains swamps, savannas, and marsh forests. It has been protected since 1986. The area is rich in wildlife, and is the breeding grounds for

orange-winged amazon The orange-winged amazon (''Amazona amazonica''), also known locally as orange-winged parrot and loro guaro, is a large amazon parrot. It is a resident breeding bird in tropical South America, from Colombia, Trinidad and Tobago south to Peru, B ...

s. The Wane Creek which lends its name to the nature reserve, connects the Marowijne with the

Cottica River Cottica River (Sranan Tongo: ''Kotika-liba'') is a river in the northwest of Suriname. It originates in the hills surrounding town of Moengo Moengo () is a town in Suriname, located in the Marowijne district, between Paramaribo and the border to ...

and was part of the inland waterway between the Marowijne and

Paramaribo Paramaribo (; ; nicknamed Par'bo) is the capital and largest city of Suriname, located on the banks of the Suriname River in the Paramaribo District. Paramaribo has a population of roughly 241,000 people (2012 census), almost half of Suriname's ...

. A large

bauxite Bauxite is a sedimentary rock with a relatively high aluminium content. It is the world's main source of aluminium and gallium. Bauxite consists mostly of the aluminium minerals gibbsite (Al(OH)3), boehmite (γ-AlO(OH)) and diaspore (α-AlO(O ...

concession is located near the nature reserve. The nature reserve is in an ongoing dispute with the indigenous villages of

Marijkedorp Marijkedorp (Lokono: ''Wan Shi Sha'') is a village of indigenous Lokono people in the Albina resort of the Marowijne District of Suriname. Grace Watamaleo has been the village captain since 2011.Ministerie van Regionale OntwikkelingAmbtelijke del ...

and Alfonsdorp who consider it part of their hunting and fishing grounds. The area however has been uninhibited since the 1950s.

References

Bibliography

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External links

Village website
(in Dutch) {{Surinamese District Marowijne Indigenous villages in Suriname Populated places in Marowijne District