“Sydney Allicock is clearly recognised as one of the most respected and dedicated leaders in Guyana and this is clearly seen in the vast number of meetings (nationally and internationally) that he is called on to represent the Indigenous point of view…” – Iwokrama DirectorBy Neil MarksSydney Allicock has been called a hero; some have even suggested he run for President. The respect he commands is no pretence. He has earned it.Even if his work wasn’t done silently – since there was always some recognition of what he was doing in the North Rupununi for the advancement of his people – it was his being named the Public & Civic Contributions 2010 Laureate of the Anthony N. Sabga Awards, that catapulted Sydney into the limelight.He has been hailed as the pioneer of community tourism in Guyana and is held as a visionary Amerindian leader who is not only interested in the economic development of the Amerindian people of the North Rupununi, but he is also deeply involved in ensuring that the Amerindian culture stays alive.Dr Anthony N. Sabga (left) receives the gift of a Makushi bow-and-arrow from Mr Allicock during a reception in G/town for the 2010 Caribbean Awards Laureate in Public & Civic Contributions.He led the Surama community in implementing a sustainable tourism project that has been copied by other Amerindian communities in Guyana and is considered a model for development of the country’s interior.Surama is located a 30-minute land-rover ride away from Annai, the central administrative district of the communities of the North Rupununi, itself some 420 kilometres (261 miles) from the capital Georgetown.The village of 42 families is as beautiful and impressive as the efforts of the villagers to keep their community intact through tourism, offering visitors an awe-inspiring insight into the jungle and savannah, its wildlife, and their primeval Macushi culture.“The finest park that England boasts falls short of this delightful scene” is how Englishman Charles Waterton described the village writing in “Wanderings in South America” after his stumble upon Surama in 1812.Today, Surama, with its thatched roof cottage houses, sits in a basin circled by the foothills of the imposing Pakaraima Mountains, remaining true to Waterton’s idyllic portrayal.Modern day Surama had its beginning a mere 40 years ago, and just about 15 years after it offered to take care of some college students from Iowa, USA, the village today has emerged as a model for community tourism in Guyana with its conservation efforts drawing considerable attention. And the credit goes to Sydney.Allicock serves as the Executive Director of Surama Eco-Tourism, which employs 70 members of the community as hospitality staff, guides, cooks, artisans, and drivers, or indirectly as farmers, hunters, fishermen, tailors, and maintenance workers. Approximately 60 per cent of the community’s income is now generated through sustainable tourism-related activities,Cheap NFL Jerseys China, and 75 per cent of Surama’s households derive income from tourism.Sydney relates that when the two groups of students visited in 1996, they asked if the village could prepare meals for them and could find places for them to sleepover. The humble people of Surama agreed, not expecting to be paid for their hospitality, but they were.“You mean you’re paying us?” Sydney remembered the villagers saying, surprised.“They (the visitors) loved the river (Burro Burro) and the forests. They looked at fungi, animals and insects. They loved the jungle walks,” he added.From the two trips of the Iowa students, the community had enough money to set up a guest house.“We didn’t know how to make a guest house. When the visitors came we had them guessing,” Sydney said, laughing.At first, the community only pays its skilled workers, with all other work being done by the villagers voluntarily.Every Monday villagers “volunteer” to work as a village rule and anyone who fails to show up without a reasonable excuse has to pay a fine of $500!Born in the 1950s, Sydney Allicock went to Primary School in the village of Surama but since no secondary school existed, that was the end of his education.This is one of the main reasons he fashioned the innovative Bina Hill Institute and its Youth Training/Youth Learning Centre, which takes in out-of-school youths from the Rupununi region, offering them the kind of opportunity Sydney never had himself. Sydney Allicock speaking in Trinidad after accepting the Anthony N. Sabga Award His work in community development, the empowerment of young people and Amerindian women in particular,Isaiah Thomas Jersey, is unparalleled. The North Rupununi District Development Board, which manages 16 Amerindian communities inhabited by 10% of the country’s total Amerindian population, finding economic opp