Ins & Outs of Grenada

SHOPPING  81 INS Photo: Dwain Thomas, courtesy Belmont Estate By Danielle Miller Shadel Nyack-Compton Passion, responsibility and drive are the words that sum up my impression of Shadel Nyack-Compton. She is credited with the transformation of Belmont Estate from a declining traditional cocoa and nutmeg plantation to a thriving agri-tourism business, successfully producing a range of value-added products, and one of the top visitor attractions on the island. Shadel grew up on the estate in St. Patrick, which was owned by her grandparents, the first Grenadians of Indian descent to own a large plantation. She fondly remembers a very happy childhood at Belmont: “My grandparents showed me first-hand the rewards of hard work and dedication, although I never imagined I would lead the family business at the estate one day.” After attending law school in the United States, home tugged at the heartstrings, and Shadel decided to return to Grenada, wanting to spend time with her aging grandmother. She was disappointed to find Belmont Estate in serious decline, a shadow of its former glory. The estate had gone from employing over 100 to about 10. This was an accurate representation of the state of the agriculture industry across Grenada. With the loss of preferential UK market access for bananas, and social, political and economic changes on the island, large plantations suffered and several were subdivided into small farms. Many farmers reduced their reliance on farming and resorted to finding more stable employment. Through her travels, Shadel had seen agri- tourism in action, and developed a vision for Belmont Estate. She knew it had huge potential as a beautiful historic place with an authentic story to tell. Shadel pitched the idea for funding without much success; the concept of agri- tourism was new and untested in Grenada, but she was determined and persisted, starting to slowly implement small scale projects with her mum Leah and her staff. Together they built an open-air creole restaurant that sat 25 people and a heritage museum to showcase the estate’s history. She invited tour operators to visit and to see what she was doing and opened their eyes to her agri-tourism endeavour. Over the years, there have been successes and setbacks. The passing of Hurricane Ivan in 2004 was particularly devastating, destroying much of the estate and the restaurant. The tourism aspect of the business was closed for three years, to slowly rebuild. But with every fall, Belmont Estate has risen stronger, and grown and evolved under Shadel’s leadership and her drive to succeed. The core business is still farming with the 300-acre estate producing cocoa, nutmeg, fruits, vegetables, herbs, spices and more. But Shadel explains that the approach has changed: “Traditional agriculture was not enough to sustain and develop the business, and employ more people as we Shadel with local school children, learning about birds at Belmont Estate