Georgetown: As the Ministry of Tourism prepares to host a major Coconut Festival this October, large-scale coconut farmers have proposed that government officially declare coconut water the national drink of Guyana. The Ministry of Tourism said while coconut farmers in Essequibo are excited about the festival which will be hosted at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre at Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown, a Region Two Tourism Development Association is also in the making to promote the region as an official tourist destination.
A press statement signed by Ministry of Tourism Director General Donald Sinclair, who is also Chairman of the Coconut Festival Planning Committee, said he, along with Raymond Trotz, Chairman of the National Coconut Stakeholders Platform; Agri-Tourism Specialist Gemma Wenner; and Norman Sukhu of the Guyana Tourism Authority, all members of the organising committee, visited the Essequibo Coast “to assess the full scale of private sector investments in coconut plantations and production”.
The team visited the operations run by Alfro Alfonso (Golden Brook), Ramesh Ramotar (Rooster), Henry and Vilma da Silva (Henvil Farms) and Beni Sankar and Daleep Singh, and inspected coconut farms, coconut water and coconut oil producing facilities, fish and goat farms, and hospitality facilities.
“The Planning Committee shared with these stakeholders some plans for the upcoming Coconut Festival, and they participated in a lively discussion about the challenges facing the region, as well as the prospects for immediate development.”
He said discussions were also held on the pollution of the Pomeroon River with coconut shells, and other issues related to maintaining the cleanliness and boosting the image of Charity to make it a tourism destination.
The main players from Essequibo, including the owners of Henvil Farms, Original Juice, Golden Brook Edible Oils and Ramotar Investments, have forwarded several proposals, one of which is to have coconut water officially declared the national drink of Guyana.
The coconut entrepreneurs and product developers in Essequibo have also planned a “Speedboat-cade” which will be held on the Pomeroon River, and pledged also to set up a specially branded “Essequibo Zone” at the Coconut Festival.
The “Speedboat-cade” is slated for Sunday, October 16, the first day of Coconut Awareness Week 2016, with the objective of increasing awareness of the importance of the Pomeroon River to the livelihood of the community and the need to maintain it in a clean and healthy state.
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