INSTITUTE OF ARCHEOLOGY AWARDED GRANT BY THE US AMBASSADOR FUND FOR CULTURAL PRESERVATION

October 22, 2007

This morning the Institute of Archeology was awarded a grant by the U-S Ambassador Fund for Cultural Preservation.  This marks the third donation of its kind made to the institute which forms part of the National Institute of Culture and History.  Love News spoke with Director of the Institute of Archeology, Doctor Jaime Awe. 

Doctor Jaime Awe,Director of the Institute of Archeology:

“The grant totals about $57,000 US which is just over $100,000 BZ, and it is to do conservation work and develop the Serpon Sugar Mill Park that is located just outside of Sittee River in the Stann Creek District. We applied for funds to do Serpon because it was a very interesting, important and historic place and most of the work we’ve done has focused on the Maya buildings and many people of the country have asked us about the historic period sites and that was one of the main motivators to go towards Serpon. The other thing is that we haven’t done much conservation and development in the Stann Creek District and so this is a perfect opportunity.” 

The grant amounts to one hundred and ten thousand U-S dollars.  Awe told us that the Serpon Sugar Mill is a very important part of history since it is the first sugar mill built in the country. 

Doctor Jaime Awe,Director of the Institute of Archeology:

“Serpon is interesting for several reasons. One, from a historic point of view, it is one of the earliest examples of the development of the Sugar Industry in Belize. What’s also interesting about this is that, at Serpon, the company there that developed it were people who were Confederates, who at the end of the American Civil War, moved down to Belize and tried to get this establishment going and it was successful for a few years. To do it, they brought in machinery from New Orleans, but they also bought little locomotive from Virginia and the place was quite a happening location for those first few years. But shortly thereafter, the price of sugar rises in Europe and the site is eventually abandoned and the people go back to the US. Today, out there, covered in the jungle are the remnants of the sugar mill, the machinery and everything else that they were using.” 

Serpon Sugar Mill is located on the banks of the Sittee River in the South Stann Creek District.  Doctor Awe told us that the two previous grants given to the Institute of Archeology has served them well. 

Doctor Jaime Awe,Director of the Institute of Archeology:

“The first grant that we’ve gotten from the Ambassador’s Fund was used to conserve some beautiful and large masts of buildings at structure 5 c up at Cirrus, up in Corozal just across the bay. That was important because it really helped us to develop Cirrus. It now has more interesting things now for people to go and see. The second grant was to conserve the two catholic churches and the old sugar mill at the site of Lamanai. These two churches were in dire need of conservation and so was the mill. Today, if you go there now, you will see at least what’s left of these churches. This is important because those two churches represent the two earliest catholic buildings ever built in the country of Belize and the sugar mill is the first sugar mill that was established in the north.” 

Awe said that some local of the area assisted by donating five acres of land toward the project.  Over the past three years, grants have amounted to over three hundred thousand Belize dollars. 

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