The Lopinot Experience Submitted by Michele D. Celestine, The National Trust, Trinidad and Tobago, March 2016, for Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Commerce’s next quarterly publication
A village as a business? Country-style community tourism as a means of sustainable employment? In July, 2015 the sleepy village of Lopinot, nestled in the valley among the foothills of Arouca, east Trinidad, was completely transformed when these questions were answered in the affirmative.
Since the early 1950s, there had been an appeal by the villagers to have the ecologically important valley with its fascinating history declared a “heritage village”. However this declaration was never made until last year when the National Trust listed the 17th Century estate house there, still known as “Count Lopinot’s house”, as a national heritage site, and simultaneously facilitated the five-day “Villages As Businesses” workshop. The training was conducted by regional Countrystyle Community Tourism Consultant, Diana McIntyre-Pike and sponsored by TDC (the Tourism Development Company).
The village is the beneficiary of a vast array of cultural traditions derived from its ethnically diverse population, which today stands at just about 3000 – being mostly comprised of families who have lived there for generations – and an environment that continues to garner the interest of historians, nature lovers and leisure seekers.
No one could believe that the old estate house, with its very basic museum, rustic cocoa drying house, dirt oven, beautifully landscaped grounds and wooden walk-over bridge, is visited by over 100,000 people each year – and that’s just the ones who sign the Guest Book!
Lopinot is in fact able to offer the perfect heritage tourism product. The main natural attraction is the Arouca river flowing right through the middle of the village and passing just beside Count Lopinot’s house. It has huge bathing pools that are flanked by comfortable sheds for cooking and relaxing on the river bank. The lush green valley is hugely popular for bird watching, cave exploration and trail walking, which extends all the way north into Brasso Seco and Blanchisseusse and west to the Caura valley.
The village derives its name from the owner of the once-upon-a-time La Reconnaissance estate. Legend has it that a very cruel Count Joseph Lopinot rode his horse up the river with his 100 African slaves in tow and settled in the area to develop a cocoa and coffee estate. Later on, some sugar cane was also planted and indentured Indians arrived. Eventually, the estate’s labour force included ‘coco panyols’ from Venezuela, augmented by an influx from the nearby Caura valley, for which plans had been drawn up to construct a dam, leading to the resettlement of some of its villagers in Lopinot.
Within the past decade, archaeological digs have revealed that a significant First People’s population inhabited the valley. Numerous artefacts were unearthed and taken abroad for carbon date testing by Dr. Neal Lopinot, archaeological researcher at the Centre for Archaeological
Research at Missouri State University in the USA and a direct descendant of the Count. Professor Lopinot has however, expressed reluctance to return the artefacts to the valley until there is a space properly designed to preserve them.
The village has a festive appeal all year round, but is especially known for its joyful Parang music and tasty Pastelles both during and outside of the Christmas season. During the workshop young Daniella Fuller the widely acclaimed “Pastelle Queen” announced her intention to take Pastelles to the world! The reality is that the labour intensive business of Pastelle making is a means of sustainable employment and its exportation can be a national foreign exchange income earner. Parang has developed into a thriving industry both for the musical entertainer and the craftsman who skillfully produces the associated musical instruments.
Thriving also, is the historical economic mainstay of the valley. Cocoa innovation has spawned a host of entrepreneurs and there are delicacies and desserts made in Lopinot that have won awards internationally and cannot be sampled anywhere else in Trinidad and Tobago. From chocolate Ponche de Crème to dark chocolate dips, chocolate bread pudding and various meats cooked in a secret cocoa sauce recipe, many families have a resident chocolatier and have created their family brand of eating and drinking chocolate delights.
With all of that on offer, the villagers were taught during the workshop to collaborate and provide a series of enjoyable and affordable tour packages combining all aspects of their heritage – built, natural and cultural. Apart from the Count Lopinot house there is a shrine dedicated to La Divina Pastora further up the valley which was carved out of the hillside, as well as the old Anglican Church. Mr. Cyril’s cocoa estate is still operational and dancing the cocoa in an authentic cocoa drying house to live parang music is an unforgettable experience. These tours have been accredited by the Tourism Development Company (TDC) and are now promoted by tour operators locally and abroad with a minimum of six families from within the village benefitting from each tour. The verdant valley has already spawned a few guest houses with restaurants that serve local organic fare and since the workshop ‘home stays’ are being encouraged for those visitors who want a ‘Trini family’ experience, especially at Christmas time. After all, “Trini Christmas is de best”!
A Calendar of Events within the valley has been established by the interim Lopinot Countrystyle Community Tourism Committee chaired by Marcia Guerrerro. Its first project, the “Ole Time Christmas Market” was a huge success after being heavily promoted by local media! The village was filled with enticing smells and sounds for that event. It provided the opportunity to experience the tradition of seeing and smelling ham boiling in a biscuit tin/ pitch oil pan over a fireside fed with cinnamon and bay logs. Many visitors remarked that they had only read or heard about this practice. The dirt oven at the side of the historical house was reactivated on the day and generated hundreds of rolls of delicious baked cassava bread. Market produce, traditional sweets, drinks and craft items were all on sale with continuous live Parang music throughout. The next project, an “Easter Market” was being executed in late March, even as this article was being written, with one of the highlights being cocoa pork – an entire pig lathered in chocolate roasted on an outside fireplace!
A great contributor to the overall success of the initiative has been the gratis advice provided to the Lopint Countrystyle Community Tourism Committee by senior personnel employed with E&Y (formerly Ernst & Young). The Committee is a registered NGO with an account at First Citizens and functions in accordance with clear written guidelines for transparency and accountability. Citizens for Conservation also rendered voluntary assistance in assessing the structural condition of the historic house and provided a Report that enabled TDC to seek an allocation from Central Government to finance the most urgent restoration works.
The Lopinot experience is a viable model which can be replicated throughout Trinidad and Tobago, especially in our rural communities. In creating the concept and brand of Countrystyle Community Tourism Network (CCTN), regional expert Diana McIntyre-Pike identified that “The assessment, development and marketing of natural and cultural community resources can add value to the experience of local and foreign visitors and simultaneously improve the quality of life in communities.”
As this country charts its way through the current dire economic straits, it is timely that the National Trust should initiate such a venture and encourage the creation of heritage tourism products that will sustain rural communities in a holistic manner. The preservation of our historic sites, cultural traditions and peoples’ ability to earn a livelihood are all imperative to our strong national identity and positive psyche.
Let’s support local business. “When our Carnival ends our Community Fun begins”. An increase in “staycations” and growth of the local food production industry can only have a positive result.
