East Coast View
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400 years ago in the verdant northern countryside of Barbados lay an endless expanse of cane ground. The army of greenish-gold stalks stretched as far as the eye could see, standing defiantly against the blazing hot sun and resolutely in the drenching rain. Sugar cane was the “gold” of the era, and the island depended heavily on it.
Mahmood pauses during the gravel laying
A few generations later, hotelier Mahmood Patel is chatting with a colleague while away on business. In a random conversation about food, Mahmood is struck by his colleague’s statement that “you [Barbadians] can’t talk sustainability if you’re importing everything you eat”. He returns home and embarks on an ambitious agricultural project that will not only regenerate soil once dedicated to sugar cane production but also model a path towards the increased food security he envisions for his beloved island.
Fuelling this passion for food security is Mahmood’s strong opposition to Barbados’ reliance on one mono-economy (sugar cane) and now, another (tourism). Why does so much land lie under-utilized while citizens rely on a steady stream of imported produce that could easily be compromised by a foreign crisis? His answer is simple: use the island’s natural resources to sustain and better protect itself from outside events. Coco Hill Forest, a 53-acre oasis of forest tucked away in the St. Joseph countryside of northern Barbados, is Mahmood’s blueprint for this solution.
The heart of this “blueprint” is vertical agriculture – planting crops at different levels in one area: mango and coconut trees tower over banana trees shading lower-level cocoa and coffee trees, and passion fruit vines twine their way up various trunks away from the ginger and turmeric meandering along their bases. Mahmood doesn’t choose what to plant; rather, he “work[s] within the confines of the topography and the terrain to plant back trees and flora that…fit the….soil and terrain”. Eventually, the project will be able to fully support the farm-to-table experience at Mamu’s Café, Mahmood’s healthy eating spot on the south coast, as well the agro-processing of jams, juices and other goods.
The morning that I visit, several volunteers are milling around in the welcome area. Between mouthfuls of banana bread and gulps of freshly made local juice, they bask in the speckles of sunlight peeping through the leafy canopy above. In about 10 minutes, they will resume the current task of laying gravel, bucket by bucket, to some 3.5 km of hiking trails throughout the forest. Mahmood, owner/project manager, stops for a few words before joining the volunteers back at work. He explains that the project is still in its developing phase, so trees are being planted and additional trails are being discovered. He relies on volunteers and a single employee to assist with these and other tasks such as managing the nursery, harvesting crops, and guiding visitors.
Volunteers range from vacationing nature lovers to school children fulfilling community service requirements to local organizations simply desiring to give back; they need only check Coco Hill’s Facebook page for current projects in progress and come when they choose. On any given Saturday, they may be planting cilantro, harvesting ginger, or transplanting sea grapes, for example. Visitors who simply want to enjoy the forest can hike any of the colour-coded trails, capture scenes of Barbados’ rugged east coast from a viewing platform, or sway lazily in their hammocks to the aroma of fiddlewood flowers at the picnic spot. The picnic spot also offers the ultimate al fresco yoga and forest camping experiences.
As I drift between Mahmood’s words and visions of me swaying lazily, it grips me that Coco Hill is a true symbol of the island’s ability to provide for itself. Not only does its “voluntourism” offering attract foreign tourists, it also promotes domestic tourism initiatives encouraging citizens to get involved. As Mahmood and his team diversify Coco Hill’s crops, they maximize a natural resource, increase access and options to eat locally, and provide health and economic benefits for citizens. All such roads lead to this “Rome” for Mahmood: increased agency around nourishment and ultimately food security, which the Covid 19 and Russia-Ukraine crises have brought to light.
A few hours later, the volunteers return to the welcome area feeling exhausted but very accomplished. It’s been a long day and they’ve covered a fair bit of ground, but next weekend is just around the corner. As for me, I’ve wandered along the trails into the calm of rustling leaves and vivid greens, taking in the vastness of the forest and the promise it holds for this nation. Around every curve lies a resource that can be grown and harvested to press on toward the Barbados of Mahmood’s dreams: one in which the effective, responsible, and community-focused use of natural resources promotes sustainable food security for generations to come.
Coco Hill Forest
Chill spot on The Mound
Yoga in Atlantic Ocean air
Volunteers helping out with gravel laying
Pineapple in the making
Newly gravelled steps into the forest
