Cacao is a town in French Guiana

French Guiana

French Guiana is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department located on the northern Atlantic coast of South America. It has borders with two nations, Brazil to the east and south, and Suriname to the west...

, lying on the Comté river to the south of Cayenne

Cayenne

Cayenne is the capital of French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France located in South America. The city stands on a former island at the mouth of the Cayenne River on the Atlantic coast. The city's motto is "Ferit Aurum Industria" which means "Work brings wealth"...

. Most of the town's population are Hmong

Hmong people

The Hmong , are an Asian ethnic group from the mountainous regions of China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand. Hmong are also one of the sub-groups of the Miao ethnicity in southern China...

 farmers, refugees from Laos

Laos

Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...

who were resettled in French Guiana in the 1970s. There is a Sunday morning market at which Hmong weaving, embroidery and food can be purchased. The main hotel in Cacao is L'Auberge des Oropailleurs with minimum accommodation.

Overview

Cacao's population at the is around 950, the most populated town in the commune of Roura. There are two primary schools, one private and one public, and there is no junior high nor high school. Two churches, one Evangelical Protestant and one Catholic. There are 3 restaurants, one grocery store, a morning bread store, an insect museum, a town clinic, a Gendarmarie station, and a small library next to the Comte river. During December the village hosts a Hmong New Year's festival that lasts about 3–4 days. The village is only about four blocks in size, with narrow streets. Recently there are a few "bungalow-like" hotels where visitors and tourists can stay overnight in Cacao, again with minimum accommodation. Sunday is the best day to visit Cacao. Other than the European Space Centre and Devil's Island, Cacao is the place to be every weekend throughout the year. It is a tourist village for most visitors from metropolitan France and elsewhere. Boating, canoeing, and kayaking up the Comte River can be rent in Cacao. And jungle trip can be set up through couple of the guides in Cacao as well.

External links

• Images of Cacao
• Article about the Hmong of Cacao