Witagron

Witagron
Bitagron
Witagron is located in Suriname
Witagron
Witagron
Location in Suriname
Coordinates: 5°9′51″N 56°4′33″W / 5.16417°N 56.07583°W / 5.16417; -56.07583
Country Suriname
DistrictSipaliwini District
Resort (municipality)Boven Coppename

Witagron, formerly Bitagron, is a Kwinti village in Suriname on the Coppename River at the crossing of the Southern East-West Link from Paramaribo to Apoera in West-Suriname.

The name of the village means in Sranan Tongo 'Land of my forefathers'. Witagron is the residence of the Kwinti granman.

History

Bailey bridge over the Coppename river at Witagron

In 1975-76 a Bailey bridge was built across the river to replace the pontoon ferry.

In 1987, during the Surinamese Interior War, Witagron was partially destroyed. After the war, the village was rebuilt by the Stichting Wederopbouw Witagron with aid from the United Nations Development Program. The village is on an important location, because it is the gateway to Central Suriname Nature Reserve, and near the Raleigh Falls which are a major tourist attraction.

The bridge collapsed on Friday, October 10, after the last truck crossed it, without causing any casualties. The east-west inland connection is now permanently cut off.

In early October 2026 Mennonites working for Braganza Marketing Group drilled two water wells in Witagron. The company planned a maize and soybean project of about 34,000 hectares (84,000 acres) in the region around Kabalebo and the Tibiti, involving 21 Mennonite families from Bolivia, and said it was waiting for government and environmental approval before planting. The Kwinti granman Remon Clemens objected that the company and the Mennonites had entered the village without consulting him. He invoked the principle of free, prior and informed consent and asked the government to remove the Mennonites from the area.

Healthcare

Witagron is home to a Medische Zending healthcare centre.

Notes

  1. ↑ Migge & Léglise 2013, p. 83.
  2. ↑ "Beschrijving Zuid Oost-West verbinding" (PDF). Planning Office Suriname (in Dutch). Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  3. 1 2 Scholtens 1994, p. 126.
  4. ↑ "Gemiste kansen van een dorp". Parbode (in Dutch). 19 December 2008. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
  5. ↑ "Un pont s'effondre au Suriname". France-Guyane (in French). 2025-10-12. Retrieved 2025-10-12.
  6. ↑ "Braganza wacht op groen licht voor grootschalige teelt maïs en soja". Starnieuws (in Dutch). 6 October 2026. Retrieved 2026-10-14.
  7. ↑ "Mennonieten bereiden grootschalige landbouw voor bij Witagron: 34.000 hectare en investering van US$ 78 miljoen" (in Dutch). Suriname Nieuws Centrale. 10 October 2026. Retrieved 2026-10-14.
  8. ↑ Tjan A Way, Euritha (7 October 2026). "Mennonieten handelen tegen cultuur marrons: 'Zonder toestemming van de granman komen ze ons dorp binnen en doen maar'". De Ware Tijd (in Dutch). Retrieved 2026-10-14.
  9. ↑ "Zorggebied". Medische Zending.sr (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 30 September 2022. Retrieved 27 May 2020.

References

5°10′N 56°06′W / 5.167°N 56.100°W / 5.167; -56.100