Thirteen Guyanese students have successfully completed a month-long comprehensive tour-guide training course at the Iwokrama Reserve, Kurupukari, in Region Eight.

The programme, run by Iwokrama and Trekforce Expeditions, was funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and sought to train tour guides to work within the Iwokrama reserve. Applicants for the course were selected in conjunction with the North Rupununi District Development Board, a release from Trekforce said.

The course was coordinated by Heather Steere of Trekforce, using the skills of an array of Guyanese and international experts, the release stated. The intensive training programme included first-aid, survival skills, botany, mammology, and herpetology, as well as Amerindian heritage, team-building and interpersonal-skill exercises.

For all the students, the release noted, the highlight of the course was the undertaking of a three-day trek into the Iwokrama Mountain to practice the skills they had acquired in the previous three weeks, including river-crossing, navigation and communicating their extensive knowledge of the forest to potential visitors.

This was completed before a three-day assessment based on how the trainee guides interacted with volunteer tourists and the overall fun and informative experience they gave them.

Thirteen out of 16 students passed the course at the graduating ceremony on November 2 and are now legitimately permitted to guide within the Iwokrama reserve. Only trained guides and rangers can guide visitors in the reserve.

With Iwokrama's aim to expand eco-tourism, the course has been an important step towards developing the facilities and services needed for the tourism market.

The course syllabus was drawn up by Trekforce Expeditions and Iwokrama using comparisons and standards from other international guiding courses in countries as diverse as Belize, Australia and Kenya.