While there is vague talk about heritage tourism or historical tourism to complement the various eco-tourism development plans, the government has never really put effort into exploring how our heritage could earn the country foreign exchange, let alone committed funds to such a project. But then that is hardly surprising, considering the contempt it has shown for Guyana’s historical buildings and traditional architecture. There is the old New Amsterdam Hospital, for example, which appears to have been plundered of its decorated iron railings − presumably by some predatory scrap-metal dealer − and is now being allowed to moulder into dust (with some serious help from vandals). Do the Ministers of Tourism and Culture care? Not one iota, it seems.
So if they can’t see the point of preserving (and finding some use for) an architectural gem dating from the period of great public building in this country, and weave it into a historical package relating to the nation’s unique architecture and the best known architect ever to have worked in the public sector, then one can only conclude that any talk of heritage tourism is just so much hot air.
Unlike some other places, it is not as if one is going to trip over ruins and ancient structures every time one walks past a palm tree here; which is not to say that the country does not have an ancient history, simply that the material evidence of this is not so easily come by, and imagination is required to make it accessible. It bears repeating, however, that in the first instance government has to do the obvious first, and show a far greater sense of responsibility towards the preservation of our existing built heritage, more particularly the built heritage in public hands.
That said, as is suggested in a letter in our columns today, after that perhaps the authorities should be looking at themes. The one that presents itself first is the sugar industry, which has played such a critical role in the history of this country. We have no factories preserved from the nineteenth century, let alone earlier, although in terms of the human dimension, there are still some logies scattered around. There is the chimney at Chateau Margot, of course, dating not from Dutch times, as is popularly supposed, but from the British period, and there is a photograph in existence of what the factory (complete with chimney) looked like in the nineteenth century.
There is too the remnants of an iron windmill which was restored by some dedicated GuySuCo officials. It was the last survivor of a whole battalion of windmills which used to stand sentry along the West Coast in the early nineteenth century and provided the power for grinding cane. There are also diagrams of these mills extant, giving an idea of what they looked like. After photography came in, there are certainly photos of the workers in the industry, both in the canefields and elsewhere, and there are also a few paintings from the pre-photography period, although these are not so easily come by.
What is amazing is that the largest sugar producer in the anglophone Caribbean does not even have a sugar museum. One would have thought that a government whose party is so closely associated with the industry would have regarded this as of primary importance. One could conceive, for example, of a sugar tour with a museum as its centrepiece, much of it outdoors with reconstructions of logie life, an eighteenth-century horsemill, etc, and trips to estates ending with a visit to a modern sugar factory.
Then there is Guyana’s industrial heritage (most of it bound up with sugar, admittedly) but some of it relating to activities such as boat-building, and South America’s first railway. The iron bridges for the latter were saved from destruction by a previous Minister of Works, Mr Anthony Xavier.
Dutch remains are not that common in Guyana, despite the fact that this was a Dutch colony for slightly longer than it was a British one. However, the archway at Kykoveral still stands, and Fort Zeelandia and the Court of Policy building on Fort Island which have been restored by the National Trust form a natural focal point for an excursion into the Dutch period. There are too the great uprisings, specifically in 1763 and 1823, which with some imagination could be recreated, as much for the benefit of Guyanese themselves as anyone else. There are plenty of examples from abroad, for instance from historical battlefields, where modern techniques have been developed to give visitors images and impressions of what transpired at a given site.
Guyana’s ancient history is the preserve of the Amerindians, and while here again, it is not that accessible, with some thought and work it could be made so. In this instance there is already a museum – the Walter Roth – so there is a foundation in existence for exploring a variety of options.
In fact, there are a hundred and one possibilities for developing historical/heritage tourism. What it needs in the first instance, however, is the will, then the imagination, and then the disposition to work with a range of people and groups outside government, after which there has to be the preparedness to commit funds. This does not mean to say that government would have to put up all the money; in other places there have been public-private partnerships in developing heritage projects of one kind or another, and while that might not be so easy here, it is nevertheless not impossible. But above all else, the administration has to want to do it, and has to be serious about this kind of tourism.
As indicated above, the evidence to date is that it is not.
Before we start to run away with our selves, strategies do not work in vaccum. The empirical evidence on development will inform you that the starting point has to be a vision guided by good leadership and accountability….a strategically position policy articulated by a plan is the key.
Such that a stretagy on tourism alone will not do anything to start to address the problem. A tourism strategy has to be accompanied first by other supporting strategies which define both an economic and a social prosperity frameworks which leads us towards a vision. For example, heritage tourism and an free from rampant crime are not mutually exclusive. Another is that any form of tourism and a health system which is inadequately resourced, unfriendly and the health care providers lack good mannerism are also not mutually exclusive.
I would suggest that a strategic starting point for Guyanese stakeholders is to start an advocacy and lobbying effort to get the government to move in the direction of articulating a strategic vision and an implementation agenda. There is no short cut to the prosperity we seek. For too long we have allowed the PPP under Jagdeo as the economic development czar to run around for 16 years with a begging cup in hand and called debt reduction and new debt accumulation development. Can you imagine we had to use IBD funding to build water closet toilets at our schools and couldn’t do so from our current revenues. Is this the development that we want to pass on to our grand children. To the extent that he has become so embolden to is fight with the EU to provide handouts (he calls developmental aid) for implementing the EPA.
If the current PPP government is nonresponsive to a genuine developmental partnership with the Guyanese people, then the time has come for Guyanese at home and abroad (yes we are part of the problem…supplying cash that we could have used to fund our children’s education here as political party contributions) to try another party and government.
Spot on Evan, but I would elaborate more on the crime aspect as it relates to all tourism. In its simplest form, tourism is a good thing for both Guyanese and visitors, while crime is a bad thing for everybody. The Minister of Tourism and Culture must, first, find new ways to reconcile these two conflicts.
Evan your quote reads: “and an free from rampant crime are not mutually exclusive”… maybe you mean, “and any free form rampant crime are not mutually exclusive”….
It should read: ” and an environment free from…”. Thanks. I usually make a lot of typo…..anxious to get across before I forget the thought….goes with the territory of aging for some.
Indeed crime and tourism of any sort does not belong in the same sentence. I am of the belief that a great deal of the criminal element, are hidden away in our rural villages.
We have built a window dressing of fancy houses on the main roadside of the villages, but we cannot hide this problem away, we must address it.
There is a real chance of a meaningful turnaround, if we can find jobs for the strong, energetic youths that sit idly in these villages.
That is why I keep saying that someone need to seriously look into rammed earth technology, it does not require a highly skilled work force, just youth strength and energy.
This endeavor will bring us back closely to the spirituality of the earth. We will begin to see new visions and experience a profound sense of creativity.
Here I have included another site with rammed earth buildings, If these structures fail to take your breadth away,if you do not feel a closeness with those who built pyramids and great temples, then you are among the living dead.
After you access the site, click on the Gallery button.
http://www.rammedearthhomes.com/gallery.htm
Joe.
Restoring, historic buildings and monuments, can be very expensive once, they begin to fall apart, if we just replace the broken or damaged pieces, with another piece to fill the gap, then is loses its authenticity.
Restoration work is slow and painstaking, the experts in this area, are few and their services are very expensive. Many of our historical, buildings were adorned with hand carved or hand forged wrought iron embelishments.
True restoration, means replacing the parts using the same processes of old, it must not stand out as a new fitted piece, it must seemlessly blend in, it must be specially prepared to look worn and aged, like the rest of the structure.
I doubt very much if Guyana still have these forgotton skills, moreover these buildings were made with imported pine, the iron and stone work was also imported.
We may be fighing against a lost cause here. Now we can fit in a piece of greenheart, a piece of iron grill, patch up the stone work, but that is repair work and not restoration.
The people who are truly interested in these types of historic architecture will instantly spot the flaws, they will know a damaged, poorly kept Mona Lisa the instant they see it.
I have a brother of mine, who gets totally mixed up between genuine antiques, and pieces of old worthless junk. The two are not the same. It requires the keen eye and knowledge of the expert to discern between the two.
So we need to be cautious and careful here.
Joe.
My brother has a habit of rummaging thru the flee markets. He brings these old useless pieces of junk, and decorates my house with them, instead of his.
One day he brought in two 10 ft wooden colums, it took four men to being it up the stairs. He began singing praises of how inspirational it looks, where he put it, right at the entranceway of my house.
I said yes it does indeed. The minute he left, I called the guys and said “Take this crap out of here and throw it into the junk heap, where it belongs”
You dont want to hire my brother as your interior decorator, or your antiques expert.
Joe.
…….the first step into the world of “hospitality” which is one word for describing what is required in this endeavour is EDUCATION ! deconstruction of this word simply means ,,” a generous reception of strangers and guests ” ,, the key word/s is ” generous reception ” to make a stranger comfortable and safe is to be able to satisfy to the best of competitives costs the health and safety of ur guests ,, and strangers ,,
hospitality is an industry has many diverse components that is mandatory for the industry to be accepted as a whole to make a sucess of investment ,,so to begin this plan one must first have EDUCATION ,,, as the rudiments of this highly lucrative commodity — perhaps not at this very moment –when the pending gloom and doom on the planet subsides ,, which gives GY ,, the edge to put in place that which is essentially necessary ,, for the well oiled operation of the components to deliver a flawless service ,,
for the sake of humility ,, i mentioned the need for EDUCATION,, thru the insight of SN ,, my letter to the editor ,, that i had crafted on the woes that will result from the “gambling act” was made public,, it was in this missive ,, where i mentioned ,, abt the need for the curriculum of seconday to university education ,, teaching the intricacies to making a sucesss of selling our natural resources ,, of both,, labour and landscape !,,,,,,,
from all that has been revealed and seems likely to continue to unfold ,,,, from then to now ,, i would have to re – organise my vision of GY making any plan to move the economy in this direction ,, the paradigm required here ,, is for the re – introduction of the doctrine ” CHARITY BEGINS at HOME !
home MUST be the the starting block ,, for all babies now ,, waiting to be born ,,
inherency can be removed from the infant by traing the mind ,, but the parents/s must be taught what is expected of them ,, hence the responsibility of the state and the ministry ,, under whose portfolio this social service is imperative for the
ultimate sucess of GUYANA becoming the best at hospitable services bar none from the c’bean ,, while the paradigm shift is takin hold ,, the city ,, which is now the gateway to the interior ,, — where our strength in eco – tourism lies must be cleaned up ,, starting with the letter-writing-mayor whose claim to fame is his notoriety !…… hamilton green has single handedly made the once world renowned “garden city ” a neolithic entity ……..