The 'common' pool for the Suralco workers and their families in Moengo

The 'general' pool had a diving board and different pools, for both children and adults

Everyone in Moengo claims the common pool was actually the nicest and most fun

The swimming pool in Stafdorp was built in the early 1900s. Only the management staff living in Stafdorp was allowed entry

Bending Benchmarks: The Swimming Pool

'Sunday morning in the pool, 1930'. From the collection of the Rijksmuseum

Exploring the swimming pool in Stafdorp with my Moengonese neighbours

The swimming pool in Stafdorp is now only used by frogs and snakes

The tennis court was one of the first facilities that Suralco built. It lies in the middle of Stafdorp and was only available for use to the management (the 'staf') and their families, who, up until 1945, were completely white. Photo from the collection of the Rijksmuseum

Edith Jetten on the Moengo tennis court, 1927. From the Rijksmuseum archives

The tennis court is currently being used as a soccer field

Bending Benchmarks: The Tennis Court

The depleted mine near Moengo that used to be full of bauxite

Moengo was founded in 1916, when the Aluminium Company of America (Alcoa) discovered bauxite in the area. The company took no half measures. In order to facilitate the mining of bauxite, they built an entire town. Alcoa founded a subsidiary to handle its activities in Suriname, called ‘Surinaamse Bauxiet Maatschappij’ (Suriname Bauxite Company)

Artist Seraven Pinas visiting the Moengo mines. Seraven told me that his grandfather thinks that there is plenty of bauxite left, but Suralco just didn't want to work in Suriname anymore

According to the internet, the most common thing for people to do in a motel, is hold a pillow fight. On these photos, we see The Beatles doing just that

Experiments with story telling in photography at Motel 1234 with the Moengonese youths

In Motel 1234, three boys are having a pillow fight. The fight symbolises the one they are fighting, to earn a living wage in a post-industrial town. The golden feathers refer to the mining

Plant Manager Toxopeus was not particularly passionate about bauxite or aluminium, and preferred to spend his free time on his favorite hobby: golf. First, he played golf on a stretch of land behind the factory, but later on he had a proper golf course put in next to a farm, where the hilly landscape provided a nice challenge to a skilled golf player

One of the staff members playing golf in Moengo

Moengo's golf course in 2017, completely overgrown

‘The company had a strict policy regarding Moengo’s other neighbours, maroons from nearby villages along the river, and later along the road. As Mr. Ernst remembers, maroons did not live in Moengo in the old days. ‘They came to sell things and wash clothes for people, but they had to leave after five o'clock’ he says. Mr. Kromo corroborates: ‘at five o’clock, they had to go down the river’. (De Koning, 2011.)

Three young Okanisi men in traditional Maroon outfits, having fun playing golf

Backside of one of the projectors in the Beatrix Theatre. Most of the appliances and furniture in Moengo were imported from the Unites States

Filmstrip of the movie The Aristocats

Kids playing in the Beatrix Theatre

Bending Benchmarks: The Beatrix Theatre

View from Casa Blanca's balcony

Although Suralco continued guarding the management's district (Stafdorp) until 2017, it wasn't maintained. Casa Blanca quickly deteriorated. This photo shows the pink bedroom

Casa Blanca has become a mixture between luxury and decay

Bending Benchmarks: Casa Blanca