Ontario lawyer creates eco-tourism experience for visitors to Grenada
October 29, 2024
When not in court representing a client in a family or immigration matter, Tricia Simon is on a Grenadian farm, tilling the land and guiding guests on tours of Mount Parnassus Plantation & Cocoa Pod Botanicals.
Called to the Bar in Ontario and Grenada, she and her father – Cosmos Williams – came up with the name for the 100-acre farm in Radix, an urban village in St. George’s northeast.
“Mount Parnassus is a mixed plantation of predominantly cocoa, nutmeg, herbs, spices and fruits,” Simon pointed out while conducting journalists attending the Caribbean Tourism Organization Sustainable Tourism Conference on a tour of the plantation. “You have a little bit of everything in it.”
Seeing the need to unite agriculture and tourism, she helped establish the Grenada Agro Tourism Co-operative (GATC) which held its second annual exposition last September.
“We have come up with a strategy to combine agriculture and tourism so that visitors can have a different experience on the island other than our beaches which are fantastic,” the organization’s President said. “It also helps to build the economy.”
GATC Vice-President Bevon Chadel Charles works closely with Simon to provide visitors with new experiences.
“Instead of going to hotels or to see a waterfall, we want them to immerse themselves in the history of Grenada,” the farmer and Commonwealth Youth Climate Change Network national coordinator said. “Creating a link between tourism and agriculture and pushing that sustainability front is something we are focused on. We have been turning our farm sites into ecotourism sites. The majority of the farms are steeped in history. What we have been doing is building cottages on our farms and designing tours. You are not just coming to see what is planted, but how it is planted.”
Janet House, which is one of the few homes that withstood Hurricane Janet in 1955 which resulted in 147 deaths and widespread destruction, is on Mount Parnassus Plantation.
Janet House (Photo by Ron Fanfair)
“Everything in the cottage is made from the farm,” added Chadel Charles. “There is no television here. You come and learn how to plant and make nutmeg, chocolate or cocoa.”
Dividing time between the Greater Toronto Area and Grenada, Simon was grounded in the ‘Spice Island ‘four years ago after COVID-19 restricted international travel.
During the quarantine, she found solace in living off the land where she now spends most of her time while practicing virtually.
In the process, Simon became more eco-friendly, making several products from coconuts.
“I use coconut husk to make fibre mattresses, the inner shell to produce cups, the kernel to get milk, oil and the fibre to wash dishes,” the Osgoode Hall Law School graduate pointed out. “I use calabashes instead of plastic dishes.”
View from atop Mount Parnassus (Photo by Ron Fanfair)
Simon also created the ‘I Care’ initiative.
“We want guests to know we care about them and the planet,” she added.
A tour of the plantation begins with a cup of tea followed by a walk through the plantation and cooking exercises.
Visitors view some of the products on sale at Mount Parnassus (Photo by Ron Fanfair)
Individuals can call 473-403-1697 to book a tour that costs US$80. The cost of staying at Janet House depends on the duration.
