Making Brooms

One of the most characteristic features of Karanambu is the isolation.  The ranch is about 125 square miles, with the nearest community of more than 30 houses about 16 miles away.  The sparse population allows for amazing wildlife sightings and has kept the surrounding ecosystems remarkably pristine.  So far I've spotted caiman, iguanas, an anteater, and several types of monkies.

 Mama Georgie and I making brooms from coconut branches

There are about 10 staff members living here - the same amount of people that lived in my yard in Jamaica!  I have adopted everyone here as my new host family, and they have adopted me as well.  Last week, after a rousing morning of bat killing (marapa in Makushi) Georgina told me I am her newest daughter and that I must learn how to make a broom out of coconut branches.  We set to stripping the green leaves off the stems of the branches midst swatting away the black flies.  After setting the stems to dry, we bundled them together and tied them with an old bicycle tube.  Voila -  A Rupununi style broom!

All finished - time to sweep!