Through working with the village leaders five major projects have been identified, which will require substantial funding for implementation over the next five years. These projects are:
1. Construction of an Administrative building.
A building will be constructed in a strategically located village of the project area to support administrative and management activities in Guyana. The design will allow for office space for at least three administrative staff members, a conference room, a training area to accommodate a maximum of fifteen persons, and living quarters to accommodate up three board members living and/or working in Guyana.
2. Rehabilitation of degraded forested area by converting abandoned loam pits to aquaculture projects.
Loam, a red clay material used in road construction, is naturally occurring, and mined in the rainforest on the Essequibo Coast of Guyana. Abandoned loam pits have caused many deteriorated rainforest areas. Mosquito borne illness caused by stagnant water in the pits, are prevalent in these communities. In collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture Department of Fisheries, and the village council, we will rehabilitate these deteriorated areas by converting them to fishponds. The ponds will be constructed under the guidance and supervision of the Department of Fisheries. Fish farming will also provide employment, a food source for the village, and income from the sale of the fish.
3. Establishment of Argo-Tourism projects in the indigenous villages.
Community orchards in the form of Crop Museums where selected cultivars of native tree-type fruit species such as mango (), monkey whitey, breadfruit, genip, golden-apple, sapodilla, and others such as papaya will be cultivated. Efforts will be made to reduce impacts on the surrounding environment. Land clearing will be done by slash and burn, but existing fruit trees and commercial timber species useful to the project goals will be retained. Crop husbandry will employ green techniques such as organic fertilization, mulching and organic pesticides. Energy supplies will come from sustainable and renewable sources, for example, solar voltaic cells and wind-driven turbines. All Project activities and operations, including waste management, will be executed along village rules, within regulations of the EPA and under the guidance of the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples Affairs (MOIPA). As a tourist’s attraction, a managed Butterfly Farm will be inter-cropped with the Crop Museum, and emphasis will be placed on establishing a wildlife sanctuary and feeding ground for animal indigenous to the community.
4. Supporting indigenous youth development programs through a Table Tennis Academy.
The Ministry of Indigenous Peoples Affairs (MOIPA) supports the villages in the project area with sports equipment (e.g., donation of cricket balls, bats, pad, footballs, and nets). However, village-based structures for the development of excellence in table tennis is nonexistent. As a result, many of the youths enthused and skillful in table tennis are deprived of facilities to exploit their potential. Using table tennis, this project aims at contributing to the village’s youth development programs. The specific goal of the project is to build capacity for prospective national, regional, and international table tennis champions, who will excel both athletically and academically.
5. Establishment of a Rainforest Reforestation Program.
Many of the residents of the rainforest and around the villages. In partnership with the above listed stakeholders and partners, we will establish a rainforest reforestation program. This program will involve site selection, seedling collection, a nursery, planting, site maintenance, GPS tagging and monitoring. This will provide employment, increase the carbon stock of the village, and gives the community economic opportunities in the carbon credit markets. However, no consideration was ever given to replanting the harvested trees. As such, very little commercial timber species are available in the village.