In this section we tell the story behind the street names in the city. Some names are known to everyone, others not at all. All names are not chosen randomly. But what is actually the origin of the names? That’s what we’re trying to find out.
Kofimamadreef is one of the four newly created street names on Ivoordreef, as part of the housing project there. The new street names are all named after native plant names from Suriname. This week we explain the name Kofimamadreef.
The Kofimama tree, sometimes also called coffee mama, has its origins in and around South America. The so-called coral tree with bright orange flowers can grow 10 to 26 meters high. The tree has no fruit; just a big pod full of seeds. The wood of the tree is rarely used and is therefore not worth much.
Although the tree is not commercially interesting, the tree does have a history. In the past, the Kofimama was used as a shade tree for coffee and cocoa plants on overseas plantations. This is where the name of the tree originates: coffee mama. For years, the trees were used to provide shade for the plants that had to supply Western countries with coffee and chocolate. By planting the Kofimama, the soil remained fertile for longer and plants could produce for longer.
Due to their protective function, the Kofimama trees were planted on a large scale for a long time on plantations such as in Suriname. Centuries later, the Kofimama trees still grow on the land of former plantations, and also ‘normally’ in the wild. Distinguishing between planted trees and wild growth has become more difficult these days. Local residents would sometimes be able to tell which tree has a history and which one happened to already be there.
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