This article is the eight in a series that tries to analyze the situation of the cannabis plant in different countries around the world. Working as a manager for Green House Seed Company I had the chance of travelling to quite a number of destinations worldwide, and after many years of experiencing firsthand the ups and downs of many places, it is with great pleasure and pride that I am sharing this information with all Canamo readers. This month we have a look at one of the most amazing islands in the Indian Ocean:
Mauritius
In the next months I will move on to a different area of the globe: the Caribbean islands of Jamaica, Antigua, St Lucia, Barbados & St. Vincent.
Mauritius is a beautiful tropical island located in the middle of the Southern Indian Ocean. It is one of the most exclusive resort-destinations worldwide, catering to the highest segments of the tourism industry. The island has only half a million inhabitants, but the number of tourists visiting every year is far larger.
Tourism and agriculture (sugar cane) are the main sources of income of Mauritius, but the island is emerging in recent years as an offshore financial centre for Indian, Asian, African and European companies. The main harbour, Port Louis, is an important transhipment point for goods moving by sea from South Asia to Africa, Europe and the Americas. Mauritius is really expensive to travel to, and there are very few cheap hotels. Most of the tourists come with organized packages and stay in expensive golf or spa resorts (there are more than 100 all around the beautiful coastline). The island is protected by a very healthy coral reef, and there is even a big-wave spot that attract surf adepts from all over the world, and is considered one of the best breaks of the whole Indian Ocean.
Cannabis is not very common or easy to find on Mauritius, mainly because of very strict law enforcement. The penalties for possession of even the smallest amounts of cannabis are very harsh (10 to 20 years in jail, with no possibility of parole). Penalties for production of cannabis (even just a few plants) can rise up to life imprisonment. And this is already an improvement, considering that until the end of the 1990s drug trafficking (even in small quantities) was punishable with the death penalty. This very strict attitude against cannabis is common to most island-states in the Indian Ocean, including Seychelles and Maldives.
Currently there is a focus on the rapidly expanding role of the island as a money-laundering centre thanks to the well developed offshore-banking and financial sectors. An increasing number of Asian companies are establishing offshore financial centres on Mauritius, attracting money-laundering activities from all over the world.
In spite of all the anti-cannabis activity that creates such a regulated and repressive situation, there are many small grow operations on Mauritius, hidden under the forest canopy in the most inaccessible mountain areas. The island population consists of 4 main ethnic groups: African-Creole, Indian, European and Chinese. Between the African-heritage groups, there are few small communities of dedicated Rastafarians living in small villages on the mountains of the Southwest of the island, and some of them maintain small, flexible guerrilla-grow ops.
There are two yearly cannabis crops on Mauritius, one harvested in September-October (known as the “petite saisonâ€, or small season), and one harvested in March-April (known as the “grande saisonâ€, or big season).
The crop that is harvested in September-October is usually not very successful, as the plants feel the hours of light increasing and they tend to shoot out more leafy buds. The flowers are fluffy and the final product very leafy and green tasting. But the March-April crop is usually higher quality, thanks to the decreasing photoperiod and less rain. Unfortunately, due to the extremely dangerous circumstances, the plants are often harvested far too early; growers are very afraid of getting caught and they want to sell the weed as soon as possible. When the plants have developed some flowers and some resin they are already considered ready to harvest; and because of the fact that they start smelling, each plant becomes a higher threat. The scarcity of weed on the market guarantees that anything will sell, no matter how early it was harvested. Usually leaves and sticks are crushed and mixed with the buds after drying, further lowering the quality of the final product. The crops that are harvested in March or beginning April could easily flower for another month or six weeks before reaching the optimal ripeness.
Growers do not use fertilizers because of the logistical issues and because the island is entirely volcanic, with an extremely fertile soil. Watering is also rarely necessary, because it rains very regularly for most of the year.
The cannabis growing on Mauritius is all very similar. One could say that there are not many strains on Mauritius. In my view, there actually is just one strain growing on the island, and it differentiates into several phenotypes due to slightly different environmental conditions and microclimate factors. Mauritian weed is a mostly sativa plant with a squat and sturdy attitude, relatively short internodes and long thin buds. The aroma is spicy and nutty, but it has a fruitiness that reminds of pineapple and leeches; the trychomes are scarce but oversized, with long stalks and large heads. Growers are extremely careful to not keep any plants nearby their homes, and the planting is often done directly in the grow-area, on the most remote and inaccessible mountainsides and deep down in gorges. Most growers do not visit the plants very often, and males are left to pollinate the females, thus ensuring seeds for the next crop and a higher profit margin on sales.
The demand for cannabis comes for the largest part from a small percentage of the local population, while most of the tourists do not look for cannabis, in part because they are not the smokers types, in part because they are too afraid of the local laws. There is a high level of social control, as it always happens in small communities. The best way to find something to smoke is to venture outside of the tourist circles and join the local crowds on public beaches at weekends, or at one of the ever-present religious festivals around the island.
Mauritians are very hospitable and friendly people, and they live in an almost completely friction-free social environment, despite the fact that there are many religions on a small confined island nation. Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Christians, Animists and Jews all live in very peaceful and respectful manners; there are no ghettos or shantytowns, everyone lives and work next to everyone else. And this, together with the rare Mauritian bud, makes for a great destination.
Peace, Love & THC
Franco – Green House Seed Co.
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