Many of Moengo's buildings have been abandoned, and are slowly being taken over by nature

One's status at Suralco wasn't merely emphasised by your neighbourhood, but also by the size of your house. These are some of the more upscale workers' homes

Suralco being a subsidiary of an American company, there are many examples of American architecture in Moengo. Some structures were prefab, imported straight from America

Some buildings still show the effects of the Interior War

Casa Blanca is a large, white villa in the middle of Stafdorp, from where one can oversee all of Moengo. This is no coincidence, as I learned. Stafdorp is called this, because at one time it was the neighbourhood that housed the (exclusively white) management (in Dutch: staf) of bauxite company Suralco. Casa Blanca was at one time designed as the director’s residence, one that both symbolically and practically oversaw the entire surrounding area

The young photographers took photographs of what they find beautiful about their surroundings, of how they spend their time, of their culture, and of their own interests

Only friends and family of Suralco staff were allowed to use Motel 1-2-3-4. The bauxite company designed Moengo to be segregated: a place for the white staff, and separate neighbourhoods for the Javanese and Creole workers. Suralco implemented the segregation that the Dutch had created on the plantations. The various neighbourhoods were not separated by fences, but rather by invisible boundaries that everyone seemed to automatically respect

Eventually, bauxite mining in Moengo ceased to be commercially viable, and Suralco gradually left town. Suralco offered artist Marcel Pinas to use the hospital for his foundation. He turned it into the Contemporary Art Museum Moengo, with an accompanying arts centre. Every week, several activities are organised for young people and children. In addition, a few times a year, the centre invites artists from both Suriname and foreign countries. The union building is used as a church, the tennis court is now in use as a soccer field. By the waterside, where the market once livened things up, there’s now a car wash

All of Moengo’s public life was organised by Suralco. Suralco paid the doctors in the hospital and made sure the grass was regularly mown. Little by little, Moengo's inhabitants and the government are taking over

Casa Blanca, residence of the managing director of the SBM (Surinaamse Bauxiet Maatschappij, later named Suralco). Stafdorp was built for Suralco management. Until World War II, only white people were eligable for staff positions

Basta: "This game is called fefi ston, and people have been playing it since the old days. You look for five small stones, throw them up in the air, and let them fall on the ground. Then, you throw one back up and pick one off the ground before catching the first one. Then, you throw those two, pick up a third off the ground and catch the first two. You throw three stones, grab a fourth, and so on. You keep going until you need to catch all five stones."

The police station seemed to have been abandoned overnight. A logbook full of information was laying open on the desk, and the drawers were full of documents