ST. DENYS TAPAKUMA

Not only does Tapakuma’s carbon credit finance create jobs, secure food, and facilitate sports, but it also gives hope to the elderly and even helps to save lives!

Tapakuma and the LCDS 2030

Saint Denys Tapakuma is an Indigenous village in administrative region 2 with a captivating lake of the same name at its northeastern tip. The village was partially named after its first priest (Denys) and can be found about 23 km from Anna Regina via a scenic trail. St Denys is home to about 440 residents of Wakapao and Akawini origins who are the beneficiaries of G$ 18,000,000 from Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) 2030 carbon credit earnings. On 18 April 2023, Tapakuma held a village meeting where the residents collectively decided to utilise their funds for 7 projects in the 6 investment areas shown below that would improve the standard of living and quality of life for all in St. Denys.

Tapakuma’s 2023 LCDS investment areas

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Developmental Projects

For its governance project, the village set aside G$ 1 million to upgrade its village office so that the residents could receive more efficient service from the village council in a more comfortable setting. This included work on the building’s roof. The villagers also allocated another G$ 1 million to rehabilitate the structure which houses their cassava processing enterprise with the aim of ensuring that their products are manufactured in a facility that satisfies food production standards.

To address the concern of food security in Tapakuma, the village decided to invest a total of G$ 8 million in Agriculture between livestock and crops equally. For the first time in the history of St Denys, large scale poultry rearing would be done to offset local demand while a shade house would be built to provide optimal conditions for the growth of crops.

Poultry pen (left) and Shade house (right) under construction1-2

Poultry pen (left) and Shade house (right) under construction2-2

Tapakuma earmarked the remainder of its 2023 LCDS carbon credit funds for the procurement of floodlights for the community ground (to the delight of the local football team) and an angled back blade for their tractor for the High Point road repair project and similar endeavours.

What do residents have to say?

“Our agricultural projects would create a lot of employment within Tapakuma. They would allow residents to easily access a reliable supply of vegetables and poultry products at lower costs. The school’s hot meal kitchen would benefit in a similar way Ms Viveen Gonsalves, Community Service Officer

“I rely solely on my pension to get by. That is why I was so happy about the LCDS projects as I got the opportunity to earn by clearing the land for the chicken pen” Ms Joyce Roberts, a 75-year-old pensioner

“I am very thankful for the back blade used to fix and smooth our road. Now, I spend less money to maintain my taxi and I earn more since trip times are cut in half. If our road was not fixed, passengers could have died in my vehicle before they reached the hospital. This LCDS is saving lives” Mr Marlon Roberts, Resident Taxi Driver

Secret to success and Looking ahead

St. Denys faced challenges in the forms of delays and underestimation for a few of its developmental projects. Nevertheless, the village council and LCDS management / financial committee easily overcame these hurdles to forge

ahead with their work. The village attributes its progress to the rapid procurement and the timely delivery of building materials and equipment.

Mr Aubrey Fredericks, Toshao of St. Denys Tapakuma is thankful for the development taking place in his village and other Indigenous communities across the country. He noted that using the earnings from Guyana’s forests for Indigenous development is an ingenious idea. Tapakuma will work assiduously to complete all its 2023 LCDS projects before embarking upon those already identified for 2024. The village has moved on from logging and looks to pursue agriculture, value-added products, and other sustainable development projects.