Coco Hill Forest is a 53-acre regenerative agroforestry project started in 2014 by Mahmood Patel, hotelier and filmmaker, originally looking to grow food locally and sustainably to substitute imported food in his hotel’s cafe at Ocean Spray Apartments. Given the growing interest of visitors who came to see the farm in the first few years, Mahmood started creating hiking trails and offering guided tours of the forest.
The project now features 3.5km of hiking trails overlooking the east coast of Barbados and weaving through the regenerative agroforestry project and a lush primary rainforest. On the west hill, we are using regenerative agroforestry methods and terracing to repair the ecosystem and prevent soil erosion, which were both affected by sugarcane monoculture in the area. On the east hill, we are looking to preserve the rare and unique biodiversity of one of the last pieces of primary forest standing on the island, as over 90% of it has been cut down already.
