Grenada is a wonderful place to live and visit. Living in the countryside in Grenada is completely different from living in the town. The island is called the isle of spice. That was a true description especially in my parish, St David.
The parish is rural and agricultural. Before hurricane Ivan the mainstay of the economy was nutmeg. It is no exaggeration when I say that 90 percent of all the nutmeg, cloves and spice were lost in that terrible hurricane in 2004.
Before the hurricane the trees around me, (I owned one and a quarter acre of nutmeg, spice and cloves back then) grew to a height of between 60 to 80 feet. Most of the daylight was shut out and I never saw the sunset. Around four o’clock in the afternoon the area began to get dark as the sun sank behind the hill.
The parish is rural and agricultural. Before hurricane Ivan the mainstay of the economy was nutmeg. It is no exaggeration when I say that 90 percent of all the nutmeg, cloves and spice were lost in that terrible hurricane in 2004.
Before the hurricane the trees around me, (I owned one and a quarter acre of nutmeg, spice and cloves back then) grew to a height of between 60 to 80 feet. Most of the daylight was shut out and I never saw the sunset. Around four o’clock in the afternoon the area began to get dark as the sun sank behind the hill.
Under the nutmeg was a cool and relaxing place. Grass never grew as the shade would not permit it. The leaves from those beautiful fell to the floor and created a brown carpet that would hide the nutmegs as they fell.
I would lay in bed at night and hear the nutmeg falling from the trees. The next day the nutmeg would be picked up, prepared and taken to the nutmeg pool to be sold. The income generated from the sale of nutmegs island wide, this cared for families, paid bills, sent the kids to school, bought uniforms, bought furniture, build houses, bought cloths and created a community around the pool.
Because of the acreage of nutmeg locally, every day was selling day. I sold at least three times a week, others with more land and trees, sold daily.
St David is truly and agricultural parish. It is the only parish without a town but has a very rich historical past. The first Europeans that landed on the island hundreds of years landed in this parish.
With the nutmeg trees gone from the landscape, the whole parish is opened up and we now have wonderful views of the coastline.
I miss my trees and the income that went with them. I am planting back but it takes time – between five to seven years. You can visit us in our wonderful parish.
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