“There are solutions by just doing simple things” is an excerpt from a conversation with the cocoa farmer and environmentalist Javed Omardeen. Javed is a Trinidadian from Port of Spain who lives in a self-built wooden cabin on a remote piece of land in Brasso Seco; A part of his journey to finding stillness and nourishing deeper connections within himself and within his ecosystem. A truly remarkable journey.
Photography and article by Denise Speck for 'A Story of Trinitario' exhibition in 2024.
Once arrived in Brasso Seco Village, a rocky dirt road leads up a hillside to the estate. A road winds through a beautiful lush landscape with all sorts of flowers, vines, shrubs, and trees along the path. An eyesight dream that is visited by a variety of pollinators in search of the sweetest floral nectars including butterflies that majestically display their brightly-colored wings while playfully fluttering among the plants. If you are lucky, you may even witness a snake enjoying the sun rays nearby the path - a true sanctuary. After a short ride, an inconspicuous rustic wooden cabin emerges from the roadside – Javed’s home – offering a spectacular view over Brasso Seco Valley and “The Little Hermit Estate”.
Javed and his siblings hiked around the islands from a very young age, with their parents, Stephanie and Verose, who nourished their children’s hunger to learn about and experience nature. Unsurprisingly, Javed grew a deep connection to the environment and began organic farming ten years ago. “My parents invested in a piece of land in Brasso Seco and I decided to start farming with them… [We] were starting on a small-scale planting citrus, trying to rehabilitate the estate, and we worked on a small area. Learned a lot in the process about how to cultivate crops, bananas, cacao, coffee…”.
Besides spending time amidst trees, he is a passionate beekeeper, explorer, avid researcher, and exceptional chocolate maker. How did he get into chocolate making? “We tried to develop something that could add value to the products that we have. Therefore, we started to make chocolate from early on, and developed a small business around chocolate making”. The family business is called Omarbeans Organic Chocolates, a creative wordplay deriving from the family’s surname Omardeen, producing "tree-to-bar" chocolate products with cocoa that are sourced from the family's estates and processed at their own facilities.
The Little Hermit Estate comprises 20 acres located in a beautifully lush and tropical landscape on a challenging slope in Brasso Seco. The family bought the estate as a means to realize their dreams of growing their produce in a regenerative agricultural way that would secure and nourish food security. What was an abandoned estate back then, has been transformed into a syntropic Garden of Eden.
A quick glance around reveals that The Little Hermit Estate does not resemble the patterns of a conventional farming landscape. There are no perfectly lined crops arranged in a monocultural approach, instead, everything appears very natural, mimicking forest systems. While following Javed’s quick steps down the estate’s challenging slope, we pass an array of treasures: wild orchids hanging off tree branches, beautiful, healthy cocoa trees bearing bright, ripe cocoa pods ranging from shades of brown, dark red, and orange to bright yellow, coffee trees bearing bright red cherries, flowering roucou trees, bananas and plantains, black zapote, crystophene vines, and so much more. Having reached all the way down to the valley, Javed guides me to a beautiful pristine river that flows through the estate. The freshwater river is home to a few crabs that seem to enjoy the cool rocks and fresh spring water. There is a nice cool breeze, the sounds of flowing water, and wind through the leaves of the upper canopy trees.
Javed shares with me his experience in putting theories that the community’s elders have passed on, into practice. “When you actually get into [regenerative farming] you realize that with every crop there is a predator so to speak, depending on your perspective, a problem to be resolved, and there are solutions just by doing simple methods”. One such lesson is combatting issues such as black pod or witches’ broom, which has an increased incidence when the trees are stifled and experience insufficient airflow. This causes a build-up of humidity, which in turn facilitates the growth of the fungus that causes the disease. Therefore by simply cleaning the estate and keeping it well-irrigated, a farmer can reduce the incidence of black pod cocoa. This is just one of the many lessons Javed has learned in his journey to organic farming.
Much of his understanding as it pertains to organic farming has been passed on from community members. “I would […] learn from older people in the community, learn the traditional ways of cultivating crops. Javed believes in agroforestry systems with very little to no inputs, such as cacao mixed with coffee, oranges, bananas, and different levels of canopies, are the way in which people have been cultivating crops for many years.
Javed shares beautiful insights about collective and individual strengths, and the ways forward. “An individual could only do so much.” Although change must happen at the individual level, it is necessary to share knowledge and competencies with the broader community to generate a larger momentum, and ultimately impact the entire industry. The Original Trinitario Cocoa Foundation (OTC) is a community-driven cluster that combines both individual and collective levels, and according to Javed, it had a tremendous impact on his agricultural career. Experts in the field such as Sarah Bharath and Junior Bhola shared best practices on pruning and crafting, and individual members could host different workshops based on their strengths.
One takeaway from my conversation with Javed seems obvious; organic farming means to re-think methodologies, using land as a means to cultivate quantity at the cheapest price. What does this imply for the role of the farmer? “I think it is about the intention of cultivating a harmonious relationship, appreciating everything, and trying to relate to everything from a place of love because there are also challenges with the environment facilitating everyone, even the ones that might be a little bit unpleasant to come in contact with. Just keeping respect for them, knowing that each has its place”.
For the future of The Little Hermit Estate and Omarbeans Organic Chocolates, Javed’s objective is to increase scale “by pruning more, having trees lower so it is easier to harvest and rehabilitating more of the estate”. This goal is sure to enhance a harmonious abundance for every organism inhabiting this place.
What a blessing it has been to witness you in your space, dear Javed. Your presence, and your gentle, warm, charismatic, humble, inspirational, light, and wise being will be missed forever. But one thing we understand more with each passing day as you leave this hole behind is that your legacy will live on, and we will cherish you in our hearts forever. We will live our lives as best as we can, inspired by the truly remarkable example you set for us. Thank you for everything and for every way you touched our lives and made the world a better place with your unique and authentic spirit. Love and light, The OTC Community
