THE Community Development Council (CDC) of Laluni, a small farming community on the Soesdyke-Linden Highway, Region Four, is lobbying for the establishment of a guest house to boost tourism activities and create employment for the people there.

During a visit to the community last Friday, Julian Mohabir, Chairman of the CDC, told the Guyana Chronicle that while the community’s main source of income is agriculture, he believes tourism has a place in Laluni.

“We planning to do a guest house, but it will cost a little money. But we want to do something so people can come in and enjoy. We can do the guest house and build benabs, so we can house people when they want to visit,” Mohabir said.

Several sites in the community are currently being explored to accommodate the guest house; one of these sites, Mohabir disclosed, is the old tobacco processing plant, which has been inoperable for some years.

With the serenity and panorama of Laluni, Mohabir further noted that the community has the potential to become a tourism hub on the highway.

He believes that with greater emphasis, much can be earned from the sector, putting the community on the map as well as creating meaningful employment for its youths and women.

The community is the home to a divine and breathtaking lake that stretches across all the way from the Soesdyke-Linden Highway to the community of Mahaica, farther up the coastland of the region.

This, he said, provides the opportunity to offer a unique experience to visitors.

Sports tourism, he said, can also be explored.

“We are a community with sports, we play a lot of cricket, we were one-time Amerindian champions, we were one-time East Bank champions. We’ve beat teams on the East Coast, West Coast for a small Amerindian village, we played a lot of games and won,” he said.

Laluni residents open their doors to visitors who wish to take trips to the community.

One such resident is Morris Ferreira, who lives in proximity to the community’s lake.

“Just a few weeks ago, I had some people who stayed by me. You know I have all the facilities, so they spent some time here,” the man told this newspaper.

Ferreira also believes that tourism can be explored in the farming community.

Access to Lake Laluni provides an array of opportunities for the community, he said, adding that the guest house can be established just adjacent to the lake to offer visitors a scenic and comforting atmosphere overlooking the gentle black waters.

Fishing, he noted, can be explored as one of the many activities that can be offered to entertain visitors or tourists.

At the recently concluded National Toshao’s Council, Mohabir, while representing his community, made several recommendations to the relevant authorities, lobbying for greater support to create a tourism hub within Laluni.