In the early days, people lived “on the Alkmaar Plantation”. In Suriname you don’t live in a village but “on” a village, which I find one of those fascinating reminders of Suriname’s history. Orphanages no longer exist in Suriname, but there is still a need for children’s homes like Sukh Dhaam, which offers a home to children from socially deprived families. The boys’ quarters have recently been renovated, of which they are incredibly proud. The Community of Moravian Brethren founded an orphanage for Hindustani children: Sukh Dhaam (‘House of Happiness’) We stop to chat with the children, no longer limited to Hindustanis, who love to show visitors around. In 1918-1919, the Spanish Flue hit Suriname, killing thousands. The boat measures 82 by 18 feet, slightly larger than was the size of slave ships.Ĭrommelin Grave The Children’s Home of Sukh DhaamĪs the Sweet Merodia cleaves the chocolate brown river lined by a green wall of overgrown plantations reclaimed by nature, we enjoy a coffee and tea with cake, stroop (Surinamese lemonade), and a typical local lunch consisting of rice, kouseband (a type of vegetable) and chicken. The Cost of Sugar and The Free Negress Elisabeth). The Sweet Merodia belongs to Cynthia McLeod, a Surinamese author known for her historical novels on Suriname’s plantation history (e.g. Under the Dutch, more than 700 plantations flourished (mostly sugarcane and a bit of coffee) thanks to slaves and, after the abolition, contract laborers from Java and India. In Suriname each narrow, elongated plantation bordered a waterway since roads in the countryside didn’t exist, and today this still typifies some of the former plantation regions. Like in many Caribbean islands, its jungles were transformed into plantations from the 17th to the 20th century. Suriname shares the ambiance and cultural diversity that characterizes the Caribbean but, in fact, is a nation on the north coast of South America. This eclectic combination of attractions is to be found at Rust and Werk, one of Suriname’s plantations near the capital of Paramaribo, during a daylong boat trip on the Sweet Merodia. We admire sweet water turtles, decipher dilapidated gravestones and buy dried shrimp. There is nothing to fear as the reptile’s jaws have been tied for the occasion. A teenager holds a baby caiman in her hands, a young boy feels its rough skin.
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