Habitation caféière La Grivelière

English translation

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History

Situated at the end of the Grande Rivière valley, in an exceptional setting, the dwelling La Grivelière, which has retained its authenticity to this day, constitutes a unique ensemble in the French Antilles. The estate was probably created at the end of the 17th century. Property of the Jacobins until 1761, it was then named Saint-Joseph coffee estate but it was not until the end of the 18th century that a sugar refinery was established. The present buildings may date, for the oldest parts, to the end of the 18th century. It took the name Grivelière only in 1843. Around 1860, it became a rocou works (factory for the preparation of rocou, a colouring matter drawn from the seeds of the annatto tree) and a cocoa plantation and only became a coffee estate again at the beginning of the 20th century. La Grivelière consists of a master's house, a manager's house with worker's dwellings, two smoking-houses, a roasting shed, two decorticating mills, five houses for seasonal workers (perhaps former slave huts), pigsties and small outbuildings. The paths distributing the buildings are paved. After a brief interruption in coffee production around 1982, the plantation resumed its traditional activity.