Suriname - 30 June, 2015
For the first time a trainer manual on REDD+, especially designed for Indigenous and Maroon people has been compiled in Suriname. TBI Suriname and Attune Development developed the manual to provide knowledge, skills and awareness for trainers in Indigenous and Maroon communities.
Indigenous and Maroon people living in the forest often feel excluded from the REDD+ activities in the country and misunderstandings during deliberations with government officials often arise. Therefore, there is a need for an appropriate manual that can provide training skills and increase awareness on the topic. This would benefit forest dependent people as well as the country as a whole.
TBI Suriname and Attune Development developed the trainer manual ‘REDD+ en Klimaatsverandering: Een handleiding voor binnenlandbewoners van Suriname’ (REDD+ and Climate change: A manual for the people of the interior in Suriname). The trainer manual explains REDD+ and Climate Change, looks into REDD+ project preparation and implementation, and guaranteeing the rights of Indigenous and Maroon communities. Each chapter has a number of questions and exercises, and there are nearly 80 illustrations, made by a local artist, appealing to the local circumstances. The trainer manual was officially launched on 09 December 2014 during a national REDD+ event.
Prior to completion, the contents of the manual were tested in the Amerindian communities of Powakka and Pikin Saron, both situated in the district of Para. Based on their feedback, user instruction and instructions for group exercises were included. The villagers also advised to incorporate part of the material into the educational program of the primary village school where teachers are from the hinterlands themselves and have a better insight in how to link with the experiences of their peers.
After distribution, the manual has been used as teaching material in two training courses. It is in the planning to incorporate the manual in the National REDD+ strategy and train both REDD+ assistants as well as people who are familiar to the Indigenous and Maroon circumstances. On their turn the trainees will train the villagers. For this activity, part of the manual will be summarized into Sranantongo, the local Surinamese language.
The manual was developed as part of a project funded by the UNDP Guiana Shield Facility.