THE way of life of those living in the Barima-Mora Passage, Region One, and the difficulties they are enduring to earn incomes, have been captured in a documentary which was recently released.

‘The March Onwards’ documentary engages its audience from beginning to end, allowing viewers to understand the somewhat difficult and hazardous daily lives of residents.
The Barima-Mora Passage is the largest remaining mangrove forest in Guyana, and is a biodiversity hotspot which many of its residents (the Warrau people) rely on for survival. The Guyana Marine Conservation Society (GMCS) monitors this area which includes several indigenous communities.

The documentary is a collaborative effort among the GMCS, REEL Guyana, the people of the Barima-Mora Passage and Republic Bank,
Annette Arjoon, GMCS Project Director, noted that this eco-system spans over 50,000 hectares and the Warraus who live there depend on everything around them for survival.
One of the main sources of income in this community is crabbing. This has been identified as a traditional livelihood for many of the indigenous residents. The bulk of local crab meat comes from this area and the forested mangroves provide safety and the ideal habitat for these crustaceans.

Crab catcher Christina Santiago who lives in Smith Creek, one of the communities found in the Barima-Mora Passage, in the documentary explained the difficulties she and her fellow crab catchers are experiencing. She explained that in order to catch a crab, they often need to travel nearly three hours to areas where mangroves are plentiful.
Fuel spills are deterrents to crabs that thrive in the roots of mangroves, and as the oil from marine vessels get into the river it pollutes it. This sometimes gets on land and can cause crabs to move away from their usual habitat.

In addition to fuel spillage, residents also have to deal with development in their communities which is another unstoppable challenge. As these communities continue to grow, development and changes will take place. Development in the Barima-Mora Passage comes in the form of agriculture, which means that deforestation takes place.
Acres of mangroves are cleared by farmers who also need to earn. This itself poses another threat for crabs and crab catchers.

In Imbotero, another community located in the Barima-Mora Passage, commercial farmer Raymond Small noted that the cutting of mangroves is essential for farming to take place. He recalled hearing his father emphasize how vital the planting of crops can be, not just to humans, but for every living thing.

Small remarked that with the sailing of the MV MA Lisha ferry which was donated to Guyana for the transfer of people, produce and vehicles from the North West District, more farm produce can be transferred from the region.

To offset the losses crab catchers are facing due to the various challenges, the people of the Barima-Mora Passage found a solution: they have started planting wiri wiri pepper.
This pepper is said to be of a better quality than those found in Georgetown because of its organic nature. This new initiative was started to help the women living in the area.

A crab-processing facility was also built, however, because of how demanding crab catching is, and how irregular the crab season is today, that facility is not in use. Added to that, there is no suitable sanitary facility in the unit for crab processing.

This documentary was co-produced by Alex and Victoria Arjoon and was shot by REEL Guyana. It is available for viewing on the REEL Guyan’s Facebook and Instagram pages, as well as its YouTube channel.