Design Driven Participatory Action Research for the layout of a culturally and ecologically resilient development plan for Ricanau Mofo, Suriname.

Ricanau Mofo is a village in the Marowijne district of Suriname. It is located at the mouth of the Ricanau Creek in the Cottica River. The village is connected to the city of Moengo via the river and recently also with a newly constructed road over land. Agriculture is an important economic activity, crops such as pomtayer, Chinese tayer, ginger and banana are grown. The village developed around a giant kankantri tree, a sacred tree associated with winti religion. The kankantri is Suriname's tallest tree, some are more than fifty meters tall, providing shady meeting places with its wide branches and broad plank roots.

The themes that the Antwerp students will focus on are (1) the new housing development and approach for renewal and reuse of the old houses and traditional community facilities in the old village core; (2) the innovation of agricultural practices; (3) the renewal of public spaces, facilities and the village landscape; (4) bank protection and water management.