Santa Aratack Mission, the only Amerindian community in Region Three, is broadening its economic base through a series of new projects intended to generate employment and income for residents. Toshao Christopher Cornelius outlined the initiatives to the Department of Public Information on the sidelines of the recently concluded National Toshaos Conference.

Among the developments is a new training centre for joinery, funded through forestry proceeds. Cornelius said the facility would allow youths and elders to learn furniture-making skills that had previously been unavailable locally. Residents had until now needed to travel to the coast to buy items such as beds and cupboards. The centre is expected to reduce that dependency and allow the village to produce furniture on site.

The village has also built a mechanic shop using funding from the Low-Carbon Development Strategy. Shade houses are currently under construction as part of the same push to diversify economic activity beyond traditional farming. Cornelius said the combination of these projects reflects a deliberate effort to build infrastructure that supports different types of work within the village rather than relying on a single source of income.

Agriculture remains central to the village's economy. Cornelius said around $13 million had been invested in the sector during his time as toshao. He pointed to a significant expansion in pineapple farming, with roughly 38 acres now under cultivation. The crop is expected to be ready for harvest between August and September. The village has also moved towards growing its own greens and seasonings, a shift Cornelius framed as part of a broader effort towards self-sufficiency.

Younger residents have taken on a more active role in these projects, working alongside elders in farming, shade house management and poultry rearing. Cornelius described this as part of a wider village mandate, with young people gaining practical experience while contributing directly to the community's output.

Reflecting on the change in circumstances, Cornelius said the village had previously struggled with a lack of employment opportunities. He said that as these initiatives have developed, residents have been able to find work within the community itself. He added that the village has requested government support for the physical infrastructure needed for these projects, arguing that this allows money to circulate locally and ensures that villagers are the ones who benefit from the resulting jobs.

Cornelius expressed confidence that Santa Aratack would continue on what he described as a progressive path, with further opportunities expected to follow from the projects already under way.

He also had a message for other village leaders attending the conference. He urged them to be open to investment in their own communities, provided it was accompanied by clear agreements that guaranteed local employment. In his view, opening a village to outside investment need not come at the expense of its own workforce, so long as the terms were set out properly in advance.

The developments in Santa Aratack point to a broader pattern among Amerindian villages seeking to combine traditional agricultural practices with new forms of enterprise, using national funding streams such as the Low-Carbon Development Strategy alongside locally directed forestry income. For Cornelius, the underlying aim remains straightforward: to keep the economic benefits of development within the community that generates them.