Aishalton

Aishalton is served by a Rural Library Centre that was established in 1976 as part of the National Library of Guyana's expansion of its rural library service.^[13]

Aishalton District Hospital was founded in 1982, and it is the only hospital in the southern sub-section of Region 9.^[14] It serves over seven villages, with between 20 and 40 outpatients being treated on a daily basis, and approximately 20 patients admitted every month. It has a staff-force of around 18 people. According to a report in Stabroek News that was based on interviews with hospital staff members, Aishalton District Hospital suffers from limited resources and a number of other problems. The supply of electricity to the hospital has been limited to three hours per day since the hospital generator provided by Remote Area Medical ceased to work in 2008. Hospital staff also reported an inadequate supply of water, and insufficient staffing. Patients with serious conditions have to be transferred to hospitals in either Lethem or Georgetown, but the hospital also struggles with a lack of transportation and reliable transport routes.^[14]

Aishalton has both primary school and secondary schools. Aishalton Secondary School was established in 1999, and serves the six villages of the South sub-section of Region 9.^[10][11] In 2009, the secondary school was reported to be suffering from overcrowding.^[10]

An internet service was introduced in the village in the 1990s. Prior to the introduction of internet, communications facilities in Aishalton were limited to radio as there is no telephone service in the village or the surrounding area.^[5]

The population of Aishalton is predominantly Wapishana Amerindian.^[5][15] The last remaining Taruma speakers are also located in the area.^[16][17]

The main religion in the village is Christianity, with the majority of inhabitants identifying as Roman Catholics and smaller numbers as Pentecostal Christians, Seventh-day Adventists and Anglicans. A very small number of people belong to Hindu and Muslim faiths.^[18] The principal economic activities in the village are farming, fishing, and forestry.^[19]

Every year, Aishalton takes part in the August Games—a sporting festival for the six villages of the South sub-section of Region 9, which was inaugurated in 1995. The games involve football, softball cricket and volleyball competitions. On the last day of the games a number of competitions are held to celebrate the Wapishana way of life, including traditional Wapishana activities such as cassava-grating and ant-stinging.^[5]

Local cuisine is reflective of traditional Wapishana culture. Cassava is the main staple that is used in cooking, and is used to make cassava bread, a marinating sauce called cassareep, farine (similar to cous-cous), and an alcoholic drink called parakari.^[5] The production of parakari involves a complicated process with thirty different stages, and the use of a sophisticated fermentation technology. The fermentation of parakari involves the use of an amylolytic mold (Rhizopus), and it is the only known fermented drink to be produced by the indigenous peoples of the Americas that involves the use of an amylolytic process.^[20][21]

02°31′N 59°15′W / 2.517°N 59.250°W / 2.517; -59.250