This experience will start in Georgetown, where the participants will learn how to prepare for an expedition when arriving to a new country. This is one of the most neglected lessons of expedition courses as arrival and getting to location often is one of the biggest risks but as well as most complicated tasks. We will go shopping, talk about safety in capitals, who to speak to and how to safely get around.
The first part of this course will start in Rock Landing, the basecamp where you will get the theory and practical experience on the fundamentals of jungle life, safety and survival. This will prepare you for the second part of the training.
By taking people away from the comforts of Rock Landing, taking away amenities and putting them in more and more primitive settings until they are left with just a belt kit, a machete, a bow and arrow, and a few other tools to survive for 2 days on their own. Once the survival training is done we will have a short preparation phase and then the group will head out for the mountain expedition. Here the members will be taking care of various roles on the expedition team in a rotational system. They have already learned the fundamentals, but here we put it into the system of a team as a whole and the various roles will every day have to attend the tasks and jobs such as leadership, planning, running camp, appointing jobs and overseeing the medical fitness and capabilities of the team.
Surama community and background
The village and community of Surama is on a land owned by Amerindians. It is on a small piece of Savannah surrounded by rainforest in the North Rupununi district and can be reached by travelling to Lethem by the Brazilian border and then overland via 4×4 taking approximately 5 hours or, alternatively, by direct flight from Ogle airport taking 60 min. It is one of the best accesses to primary rainforest in Guyana, accessible all year round, and holds one of the largest diversities of wildlife.
The village is predominantly inhabited by the Makushi and Arawak tribes, who live in small households spread out all over the village’s title land. The villagers live predominantly from tourism, traditional hunting, fishing, and agriculture.
By north and west, it shares boundaries with the Iwokrama protected area, the largest protected area in Guyana; by east, the foothills of the Pakaraima mountains; and by south, the most northern part of the Rupununi Savannah.
Close by the village runs the Burro Burro River, which is a river that can be navigated with engine boats and runs from its source in the Pakaraima Mountains to the Essequibo River, Guyana’s largest and longest river.
Emergency plan and risk assessment
