Grade Six Social Studies
Hello Boys and Girls,
This week we observe our 51st year of our republican status (on February 23rd) and we celebrate the occasion from the confines of our homes this year due to COVID-19.
Let us look back at what we did last week. We learnt about the main features and some resources and economic activities of the Hilly Sand and Clay Region. They included: - Bauxite mining and how our country benefits from the bauxite industry Sand mining and its importance
Logging – source of timber and importance of the logging industry
We
will now continue to look at other economic resources of the Hilly Sand and Clay Region, starting with the charcoal industry.
Making of Charcoal
In this region there are lofty forest trees like the ones we mentioned in our last lesson. Some of these trees are cut down and chopped into suitable lengths and put into a hole in the ground. This hole is called a pit. Then the logs are covered with green leaves and sand and set alight. The logs will burn slowly and charcoal will remain after the logs have been burnt.
Small chunks of wood charcoal burn well and are an excellent fuel in some households and industries. Many persons use wood charcoal in outdoor barbecues. They burn the charcoal in an iron bowl with an iron grid over it, called a coalpot. Here is an example of a coalpot in the picture below. Not all coalpots have grids.
Do you see that vent, a hole below the bowl that holds the coals? It is there for air to pass through to keep the charcoal burning so that cooking could take place. In bakeries, the charcoal is burnt in kilns to allow for cooking and baking.
We now turn to another industry in the Hilly Sand and Clay Region that uses chopped logs – the plywood industry.
Plywood Industry
Plywood is a strong, light building material popularly used in construction, and furniture making. But how is plywood made? Read on to find out about the plywood manufacturing process, which shows how the flat plywood sheets are put together.
Large, round, clear and straight logs are selected to produce plywood. After the bark is removed and the logs are cut into desired lengths, they are peeled into veneers (thin layers of wood). The veneers are then dried by steam heating and trimmed. After that, the veneers are composed into sheets, glued and assembled before a hydraulic machine presses them together with cold press and with heat and pressure. The finished plywood is again dried, trimmed, checked for quality and sanded. Finally, the finished plywood will be packed, stacked and stamped, ready for both local and overseas markets. Did you find the manufacturing process of plywood interesting?
Look at this picture. Does it look familiar? Have you seen it in any part of your home or in any other place? What was it used for?
Plywood can be used for almost all building projects. Name some building projects that can be done with the use of plywood.
Stone Quarrying
Quarrying is another economic resource of the Hilly Sand and Clay Region
What is quarrying? It is the process of removing huge solid blocks or broken masses of rock from the earth in order to use them to produce materials for construction projects, such as road building, sea defences and other projects. So, a quarry is a large pit in the earth from which the stone is extracted. This is done through the use of explosives. Holes are drilled deep down into the solid mass of rock and explosives are put into the holes and set off by slow burning fuses or electric firing that causes hundreds of tons of stone to be forced out of the earth in a few large pieces.
Stone quarrying creates jobs, especially in areas where there are limited opportunities. It also provides revenue for the government. The picture below shows what a stone quarry looks like.
We will now turn to the agricultural resources of the Hilly Sand and Clay Region
Crop Production
Many persons in this natural region earn their living by farming. Though the soil in the region is not the best for farming, it is suitable for a few crops, such as peanuts, ground provisions, pineapples and citrus fruits such as oranges, lemons, limes and grapefruit.
Dairy Farming
Dairy farming is a branch of agriculture concerned with the production of milk. The cows on the farm are called dairy cows. They are reared especially to produce milk and not meat (beef). From milk dairy products, such as cheese, butter and yogurt, are produced.
Exercise:
1. Make a list of the resources in the Hilly Sand and Clay Region that earn foreign exchange for our country.
2. What happens to the money Guyana gets from exporting goods?
3. State why crops such as rice and sugar are not grown in the Hilly sand and Clay Region.
Goodbye boys and girls! Please remember to read, revise and be safe!